Where We Live—Recommendations Where To Live

[Stuhoo 89,176]

26 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

 

 

Born and bread in Chicago.  I've got more than 50 years to see the good, the bad, and the currently ugly.  That includes 20 years of running a business and owning property.  You guys may be suffering from the frog in a boiling pot of water phenomenon.    

RE appreciation while up, lags other areas of the courty.  In a lot of cases, you have barely beaten inflation.  

The crime issue is real. Up until several years ago, I knew nobody who had been a victim of a crime.  I now know two who have been carjacked at gun point and one assaulted while walking the dog in a "safe" neighborhood.   

Wrigleyville, for example, went from a basic slum in the 70s, to a great neighborhood in the 80-90s, to guys being kidnapped at gun point walking down Clark street (driven around, robbed, and thrown out of the car).  Several such incidents happend blocks from my kid's aparment a few years ago.    

The gem of the City is its lakefront.  I am in a group of Chicago boaters.  The issues they have around the marinas (especially Montrose, Diversey, 31st Street) is unreal.  

Yeah, I know, all big cites have crime and issues.  But let me tell you this -- Chicago did not back in the day.  Not like it is today.  From that perspective, I will double down and repeat Chicago is a hellhole.  Good luck.  

Neighborhoods change.

when I was a kid pretty sure Wicker Park, West Loop, Logan Square, and South Loop weren’t very good places for a walk at night.

The full data set is apparently pretty good, and it’s a city with incredible buzz and vibe to me.

[Stuhoo 89,176]

31 minutes ago, Napleshoosier said:

Hooper, you got jacked up cuz u had a gator in ur yard?  Come on man…… fun creatures.  Used to have one as a pet.  His name was Wally!  Cool dude.  Very affectionate used to kiss me all the time.  Unfortunately Wally caught a reptilian virus called Samazo and passed away.  I was heart broken!  Man oh man!  I had to keep him inside the house cuz the neighborhood wouldn’t have approved…..wonderful memories!

Well sh!t.

Now me and @HoosierHoopster flat out demand that you post a picture of you and Wally the Gator snuggling.

[Napleshoosier 10,825]

1 minute ago, Stuhoo said:

Well sh!t.

Now me and @HoosierHoopster flat out demand that you post a picture of you and Wally the Gator snuggling.

I don’t kiss and tell!  :)

[realTomCrean 2,762]

7 hours ago, Napleshoosier said:

Naples, FL

Often recognized as the best city in the country to live.  It’s very clean, safe, and easy to get around.  Collier County Sheriffs Dept. and Naples City Police are very friendly but will NOT put up with ANY nonsense!  Beautiful Gulf of America beaches abound with fun had by all.  For golfers there are 93 courses in the county.  We have so many restaurants you could never visit them all.  There is plenty of entertainment choices to suit most tastes.  It has a very informal feel as well.  Also home to the famous Seed to Table.  #1 grocery market entertainment in the country.  No state income taxes in Florida works too!  Been here 22 years now.

downsides……very hot summers with afternoon showers and the occasional hurricane!

Just applied to a job in Naples today. Happy to hear! 

[Napleshoosier 10,825]

7 minutes ago, realTomCrean said:

Just applied to a job in Naples today. Happy to hear! 

Awesome bro!  Good luck.

[moyemayhem 1,744]

I’ll add to the Chicago narrative… Been here 17 years and LOVE it.  It’s walkable, each neighborhood is unique, and there is beautiful architecture.  The people are friendly.  The bars here are fantastic hangs.  The food is just great.  So many options, and you can find amazing food for cheap or spend a bunch and eat like a king. 

To golfman’s point, crime started getting worse 10 years ago and peaked during the pandemic.  It’s improved lately (no thanks to the mayor), but could always be better.  As others have said, crime is very dependent on what neighborhood you are in… and it’s easy to avoid the unsafe areas.

Have a family and kids now, and still have no interest in moving to the burbs.  It’s just so convenient being in the city, and if you do your homework you can find good schools.  

[8bucks 7,535]

On 4/13/2025 at 9:58 PM, HoosierHoopster said:

It’s an eyesore and honestly Houston is one ugly city. To have a nice neighborhood outside city limits you have to have master planned communities.  To each his own but for me it’s a disaster of urban planning. There’s a real homeless problem- it’s not helping affordable housing at all. 

Almost moved to Houston 3 times. Most recently in 2022. We probably would have lived near the Woodlands and bussed into the city. So glad we chose Tampa. 

[Dhop 488]

Lexington, NC.  Less than 1 hour to Greensboro, Charlotte and Winston-Salem
Born and raised in Indiana and still love it.  Knightstown, Bloomington, Indy, Lafayette (it sucked), merrillville, LaPorte

But…North Carolina since 2002.  Here to stay.  Great freshwater lakes, 1/2 day gets you to ocean or mountains.  Still have 4 legit seasons but never need more than a fleece.

[HoosierHoopster 8,222]

33 minutes ago, 8bucks said:

Almost moved to Houston 3 times. Most recently in 2022. We probably would have lived near the Woodlands and bussed into the city. So glad we chose Tampa.

Woodlands is a nice area but that bus trip is down i45 - a good hour at least, lousy commute, you dodged a bullet

[rcbowla 8,237]

Big city living is for the birds....pigeons especially. Different strokes for different folks. For me? Give me a couple acres of country land, a bonfire under a starry night (light pollution sucks) in a quiet neighborhood and a small/safe community all day. One place I did live for a couple of years that was awesome is Kalamazoo, MI. I lived there during the beginning of the craft beer insurgence. If anyone knows about the Zoo they know that it is a craft beer lover's haven. 

[Golfman25 6,749]

12 hours ago, moyemayhem said:

I’ll add to the Chicago narrative… Been here 17 years and LOVE it.  It’s walkable, each neighborhood is unique, and there is beautiful architecture.  The people are friendly.  The bars here are fantastic hangs.  The food is just great.  So many options, and you can find amazing food for cheap or spend a bunch and eat like a king. 

To golfman’s point, crime started getting worse 10 years ago and peaked during the pandemic.  It’s improved lately (no thanks to the mayor), but could always be better.  As others have said, crime is very dependent on what neighborhood you are in… and it’s easy to avoid the unsafe areas.

Have a family and kids now, and still have no interest in moving to the burbs.  It’s just so convenient being in the city, and if you do your homework you can find good schools.  

So I am not really going to belabor the point, but the opposite is actually true when compared to the time Chicago was a great city.  Back in the day, the violent crime was isolated to certain neighborhoods (and yes a lot is still in those neighborhoods).  The difference today (regardless of the rise or fall in the crime stats) is it now is migrating to the "nice" neighborhoods.  You never had to worry about being held up a gun point while walking the dog, or enjoying the evening out. 

But today, it's different.  Just last night there was a news report warning people in Wrigleyville that people where robbed while waiting on the corner for their Uber.  That was non-existent back in the day (except we were looking for cabs).  

Now get off my lawn.  :)   

[realTomCrean 2,762]

On 4/14/2025 at 9:06 PM, Dhop said:

Lexington, NC.  Less than 1 hour to Greensboro, Charlotte and Winston-Salem
Born and raised in Indiana and still love it.  Knightstown, Bloomington, Indy, Lafayette (it sucked), merrillville, LaPorte

But…North Carolina since 2002.  Here to stay.  Great freshwater lakes, 1/2 day gets you to ocean or mountains.  Still have 4 legit seasons but never need more than a fleece.

Ever visit Mount Airy? Went to a wedding there last month. It is the origin town of “Mayberry” from the Andy Griffith Show. Awesome Main Street. I passed Lexington while in state, didn’t stop but I agree with your premise of proximity to ocean/mountains. 

[FortWayneHoosier 6,814]

Fort Wayne, as most of you know is the second largest city in the great state of Indiana. Our population here is very very diverse. A lot of neighborhoods have their own cultures grocery stores, clothing stores, and places of worship, a lot like bigger cities typically have. This city has grown tremendously in the last 8 to 10 years. We are 2.5 hours from Chicago, 1.5 hours from Indy, 2.5 hours from Detroit, 3 hours from Cleveland. We are in the middle of so many major midwest cities its really nice. The city itself is also nice because our mayor we had until he passed last year, really put a lot of effort into improving the downtown area, its very walkable and has places to actually go and hang out. Its also very affordable here. I would recommend to anyone that has never really lived in a "big city" because it would be a lot to explore, but we have a lot of chicago residents that move here for various reasons and they say its boring/quiet compared to what they are used to in chicago. 

[Dhop 488]

5 hours ago, realTomCrean said:

Ever visit Mount Airy? Went to a wedding there last month. It is the origin town of “Mayberry” from the Andy Griffith Show. Awesome Main Street. I passed Lexington while in state, didn’t stop but I agree with your premise of proximity to ocean/mountains. 

Mt Airy is a cool little town.  Been there MANY times. Pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch is the way to go if you’re passing through for the Mayberry theme.

if you are BBQ fan you’ve probably heard of Lexington style barbecue.  A town of only 20k, but when we moved here there were 26 mom and pop barbecue joints.  Changing times though.  Maybe a dozen now.  Still good stuff if your a pig shoulder fan.

[Dhop 488]

4 hours ago, FortWayneHoosier said:

Fort Wayne, as most of you know is the second largest city in the great state of Indiana. Our population here is very very diverse. A lot of neighborhoods have their own cultures grocery stores, clothing stores, and places of worship, a lot like bigger cities typically have. This city has grown tremendously in the last 8 to 10 years. We are 2.5 hours from Chicago, 1.5 hours from Indy, 2.5 hours from Detroit, 3 hours from Cleveland. We are in the middle of so many major midwest cities its really nice. The city itself is also nice because our mayor we had until he passed last year, really put a lot of effort into improving the downtown area, its very walkable and has places to actually go and hang out. Its also very affordable here. I would recommend to anyone that has never really lived in a "big city" because it would be a lot to explore, but we have a lot of chicago residents that move here for various reasons and they say its boring/quiet compared to what they are used to in chicago. 

Nice to hear about Ft Wayne.  Through there a lot 25 or so years back and it certainly was not what you’re stating now.  Nice that it has rebounded.

[FortWayneHoosier 6,814]

3 minutes ago, Dhop said:

Nice to hear about Ft Wayne.  Through there a lot 25 or so years back and it certainly was not what you’re stating now.  Nice that it has rebounded.

I think it’s a lot of perspective too. I was born and raised here. Other than being stationed all over the country when I was in the service, it’s all I know. The changes have been quite good, now that’s not to say that there are some rough parts of town. 

[Dave from Dayton 4,003]

Madison WI was a great place to live from late '77 to '82.  Located on an isthmus between two lakes, the State of Wisconsin Capitol building is beautiful.  Open markets every Saturday when produce is available.  U of WI is 7 blocks away with a pedestrian-scale walk featuring restaurants, boutiques, night spots, vendors, galleries and street performers.  The WI student union is great in that there is a terrace overlooking Lake Mendota and a small university-run set of piers for sailboats and kayaks etc.  Being the liberal city with only one big industry...Oscar Mayer...it is a service-oriented and diverse cultural center.  Hockey and winter sports are embraced.  Snow skiing is one hour away.  You like parks and primitive camping? It is loads better than anything that Indiana or Ohio has with the exception of Turkey Run and Hocking Hills...but without the population pressure.  Walks, hiking and camping can be very remote. Arguably, better than Brown County.   Not like a KOA.  

Loved the politics of Madison WI.  Milwaukee had a lot of population-driven culture.  Fresh baby Swiss cheese that you see the small cheese factory making is a treat.  Have you visited the House on the Rock?  Horicon Marsh?  Do you know who Aldo Leopold is?  The Dells?  Have you ever heard a loon in the morning as fog rises over a lake?  

I have lived in PA, W and E KY, but those do not count since I was too young.  Mt. Carmel IL, Evansville IN, Bloomington IN, Chicago IL, Groton CT, Portsmouth and VA Beach VA, Madison WI, and Dayton OH.  I have visited over 45 states, Mexico, Canada, multiple islands south of here, all over Europe...and Madison WI wins hands down.   Except, it sure gets cold up there.

It really depends, I think, on one's social circle and being inquisitive.  It may have been the timing and situation, too.  I was with my new bride and Wisconsin was an adventure away from my home routine in Indiana.  It is a big, wonderful, exciting world out there.  I would leave Dayton if my family had not set up roots here.  

Toying with the idea of Ashville NC.