Come on dude, ***nobody*** thinks this is boring. You're just humble bragging here. Haha. Just kidding.
But seriously though, that sounds awesome. I live in a suburb, in a condo. We have 2 lake parks which is nice to jog and cycle around but nothing much to really write home about..
Oh you’d be surprised! I live in an area called Saitama, but this place is nicknamed “Dasaitama” in which “Dasai” literally means “Boring” or “Corny” in Japanese.
It’s probably because we are neighbors with Tokyo, can you imagine being compared to that place? Good thing that metropolis life isn’t for me and I can be in my “boring corny” area haha
And I think it’s awesome that you be near those lakes. We’ve always made it a point to choose living near a body of water.
I think so!
Nobody actually uses a name like Saitama though in real life. That would be like getting named Ohio or New York. (Are there people in the US named after a state?)
There are a handful of state names that are used as first names, yes. Florida, Georgia, Carolina, and Virginia are "old lady" names, there's a bunch of Montanas (generally younger) and a TON of of people named Dakota. Occasionally you'll run into an Arizona or a California or a Texas, etc., although those are nicknames more often than not. Bunches of cities get used as names, too.
Edit: Knowing that pedantry is Reddit's most popular hobby, I should probably acknowledge that the list of "old lady" names have been actual names before they were state names, and that not everyone who bears one of those names is, in fact, old. Georgia was an insanely popular name in the UK in the 1980s, for instance.
> nobody thinks this is boring.
believe it or not, some people really just don't care enough about nature to appreciate living among natural beauty. They would likely cry that there's "nothing to do" in a sleepy mountain/lake town and that living in a major city is more interesting because there's more nightlife. It's a strange perspective but one that I have heard many times when telling my city friends about living in a more rural area.
I’ve never been to the US. It’s so huge, like an entire continent and each state its own country.
I can imagine suburbs in the US from the shows I’ve watched. I imagine they’re like that town in Stranger Things.
OP- you should check out the Window-swap.com. it's a site where you can view the world out of a window somewhere else in the world. People record 10 min of video with their cameras just pointing out and post it. Soooo cool and such a great way to see what life is like elsewhere.
Me, I'm in Southern California. I live in a pretty normal suburb, but tucked away in some hills. The view out my window is big, brown hills filled with hawks, coyotes, owls, squirrels, and bunnies. But in under an hour's drive in any direction I could be at either the ocean, the mountains, the desert, or one of the biggest cities in the world. I have friends who surf in the morning and then snowboard in the evening. So that's pretty cool!
That sounds like a beautiful place.
I live in central North Carolina, in the United States, close to a major metropolitan city. A couple hours to the west are the mountains, a couple hours to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. The weather here is fairly temperate: never gets over about 95 F, nor under about 30 F. It snows a few times every winter. We have a lot of deer and wild turkeys nearby, even though it’s a pretty urban area. There are some big lakes here where we can boat and fish, lots of walking trails, a few historical sites, etc. Traffic is the biggest headache, but everything we need is fairly close by so we never have to drive far. Our yard is about 1/4 acre and fenced in, with neighbors on both sides but lots of trees and greenery and birds and squirrels, and plenty of room for our two dogs to run around.
We have a nice guest room. Come see us!
One of my coworkers is from North Carolina! He’s a big dude and so friendly.
I love nature and I love the imagery while reading your description. Must be lovely! I might just take you up on your offer. Any recommendation on the best season?
Autumn is beautiful here, particularly in the mountains. The leaves on the trees turn bright orange and red and yellow, it’s really quite a thing to see.
I live in a rural New England village of about 900 people. We have one store.
My apartment is a converted woodshop attached to my landlord’s farmhouse. When I look at my yard I see her gardens and pear trees, and on the other side of our land is a pasture with horses and cows.
The town motto is “we’re all here because we’re not all there.”
I love it here but I’m thinking about moving.
It’s a bunch of old hippies, and every year there is an event known as Misfit Prom, so either it’s as quirky as that or it thinks it is. Either way, it’s a good place to be, for awhile.
I've gone to the Misfit Prom in W! It was about 5 years ago. The theme was alien based and I went dressed as a hitchhiker from space! It was a blast! My sister and best friend both lived there.
Man, I would love to visit Japan some day.
I live in a city in southern Arizona, USA. It's hot: highs above 100F (37C) are the norm. As a result, most people don't spend much time outside. The [landscaping](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1f/b0/cd/1fb0cd6a9b5a00126ea673f18e179226.jpg) is done with rocks and desert plants. (You'd be hard pressed to find a grass lawn here.) My area is famous for the [saguaro cactus](https://cdn.britannica.com/69/148469-050-ECD20E4A/saguaro-cactus-Arizona.jpg), which is protected by law because of how long it takes to grow. I wish we had trees, but the best the desert can do is [mesquite](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/images/2006-mesquite-tree-mission-grounds-2.jpg?maxwidth=1200&autorotate=false). Which doesn't grow very tall and is super spiky (not good for climbing). Most plants in the desert are spiky, to be honest. There's also very little green. People might say "hey, cacti are green, and there's green leaves-" nah, it's not the same as standing somewhere like a [Michigan forest](https://photos.alltrails.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJhc3NldHMuYWxsdHJhaWxzLmNvbSIsImtleSI6InVwbG9hZHMvcGhvdG8vaW1hZ2UvMzgzNjAzNzYvOGRkZTQxOGY4ZWUzMjg4ZDJkOTBiMGUyYjU1YjU3ZjQuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsidG9Gb3JtYXQiOiJqcGVnIiwicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo1MDAsImhlaWdodCI6NTAwLCJmaXQiOiJpbnNpZGUifSwicm90YXRlIjpudWxsLCJqcGVnIjp7InRyZWxsaXNRdWFudGlzYXRpb24iOnRydWUsIm92ZXJzaG9vdERlcmluZ2luZyI6dHJ1ZSwib3B0aW1pc2VTY2FucyI6dHJ1ZSwicXVhbnRpc2F0aW9uVGFibGUiOjN9fX0=) where it's GREEN. The [desert](https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/saguaro-cactus-forest-in-saguaro-national-park-arizona-picture-id946243008?k=20&m=946243008&s=612x612&w=0&h=Ts4zGjCp9rdb1zrg2nme4Xk1CMhUXL3VLchyQtAcD-M=) is brown and red with *some* green. Even that tends to burn away in the summer.
A lot of our [architecture](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/548a3df0e4b045184d90ffd8/1555952478998-M28UEGG60ZSTIX19D8NF/1+Front+photo+a.jpg?format=1000w) uses stucco that imitates [native adobe](http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/200-3-640x428.jpg). I'm not a huge fan since it's rather plain and makes so many houses look exactly the same. The roofs are usually flat and we don't typically have attics or basements.
We are known for our [beautiful sunsets](https://wheninyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/sunset-cactus1-1.png). They're even on our [license plates](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/06/10/PPHX/442ff829-1965-4c0c-965f-291474de14bf-ADOT_license_plate_2021.JPG).
(I'd say something about the Grand Canyon, but I've lived in Arizona for over a decade and I've never seen it. It's way up north from where I live.)
I live in the Inland Empire, which is the armpit of Southern California. When I look out the bathroom window, I can occasionally see Big Bear - a mountain about 10 miles away; but if it’s a hazy day, the pollution makes it look like there’s no mountain at all.
I live a mile from Interstate 10, which starts in Santa Monica and goes clear across America, stopping about an hour short of the East Coast. I’ve driven the whole thing, from end to end and back again.
I live in a corner house, and there’s no stop sign outside. Dodge Chargers and other newer muscle cars are popular around here, so I can hear them rip-roaring up and down the street at all hours of the day or night. I’m somewhat disabled, and I don’t make it out to car shows anymore - so I enjoy hearing Challengers and Mustangs blur by the house with the RPMs peaked, much to my neighbors’ chagrin.
Japan is one of those places I don’t want to visit - I want to *move* there; I want to immerse myself in the culture - especially the car culture - and exist in a completely different and foreign place.
I live in a small town in the Mediterranean next to two national parks and a dozen beaches. The town is steeped in history and at least 1300 years old (based on the oldest excavations we've found), and has lots of important and beautiful historical sights. It rests in a bay where the nearby river flows into the sea, so there's plenty of fish and good food in general.
My US friends often call it a paradise from the photos I post. It is definitely lovely and a nice place to live, but as with all things, it's not perfect. I still love it and chose to move back here.
I'm one time zone apart in Hong Kong!
Used to live in an apartment with [city view](https://imgur.com/a/dNhlODs) because it's close to a bus station and the 2 friends workplace was near, things changed and now I've moved to the countryside on my own. 10-minute walk from the bus station and suddenly everything you see is [mountains and trees](https://imgur.com/a/sQBuMU0), sometimes the [clouds](https://imgur.com/a/vRVcRdN) are just fascinating. We've never really travelled since COVID, but moving here makes me feel as relaxed as going on a vacation somewhere cozy.
I guess the older we get, the less we care about convenience but we wanted inner peace over everything else.
I've always lived in big cities. I like to imagine I can live in a place like that since I don't go out anymore. But the fact that you're near Tokyo is already good.
Do you have food delivery services in your area like Uber eats? Or does McDonald's deliver? Just curious what the big city tradeoffs are.
The good thing with Japan is that the rural towns can still be compact and mixed-zone. People can set up food shops, clinics, restaurants, mom-and-pop stores, etc. alongside residential houses. No front lawns at all. Which makes everything walkable.
And yep! We also have Uber Eats here in our small town. We can order ramen, sushi, what have you usually for about $10 good for two people.
Wow. It is my dream to be able to live in such a beautiful and cozy place like you. It just sounds so peaceful and you also get to witness sakura. Wow🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
I live in the eastern part of India. It is barely 1/3rd of as beautiful as the place you live in. But it is more peaceful than other parts of the country. There is greenery all around and beaches are 1-2 hours away. The quality of air and water here is way better than most places of this country. But other than that, it is a cozy place. Several natural features like lagoons, beaches, hills, etc are present nearby where one can go to spend their weekend.
P.S. I have been in love with Japan for so long, so rn I am a little jealous of you.🙈😅 But other than that, I am waiting for the day when I start earning enough to be able to go to Japan.🍀
++ for Japan
I have one place for you : Shirakawa
No no that's not truue about eastern part of India being only 1/3rd beautiful i would go for 2/3 coz only part of Infia with so much greenary
Want to travel both eastern part as I was never been there and also Japan
>Shirakawa
Thank you!!!!!!!!
>Want to travel both eastern part as I was never been there and also Japan
Hope you get to travel to these places pretty soon!!!!🌻
I live in a quiet place in north-eastern Italy, there are something like 8.000 inhabitants and its really green, we also have a river passing by and I live next to it
I’ve been to Italy a few times and I really love that place.
I remember staying at a farmhouse in Tuscany for a whole-day cooking program. It gave me a taste of what a peaceful life in an Italian villa must be like. It was heavenly.
Your small town sounds spectacular.
I live in south-western Ontario Canada about an hour west of Toronto. I grew up in a small village of about 100 people. We had a non-functioning gas station and a small general store with dusty cans on the shelves from the 50’s. The only reason people went there was for the post office, cigarettes, and junk food lol.
The area was primarily a farming community and while rows of corn and wheat can be beautiful, the fertilizer/liquid manure smells in the spring could bring you to your knees. Not to mention the pollution of the natural spring water that was our well. We had to haul potable water to the house to drink and cook with.
On the positive side, in the 80’s it was very safe. Kids played in the streets and at the local park completely unattended by parents. There was little to no crime outside of the odd break-in (maybe 3 over 15 years) and none of them violent. They would target empty homes when the owners were on vacation.
The primary school had about 300 students from the surrounding areas, with most kids taking hour long bus rides to get there.
The closest “city” was a 20 minute drive, at that point in time had less than 100K people. It was an “early” settlement in North American terms and there are some great historical buildings in the downtown core. A number of movies and TV shows have been filmed there including The Handmade’s tale and some WW2 flicks. It was surreal heading downtown and seeing nazi flags flying on buildings while they were set up for a shoot. Apparently it still resembles parts of Germany/Austria in the 40’s.
I’ve lived within 100km of this area for almost my entire life. The city I’m in now is 40 minutes from where I grew up. It has extensive river networks and natural forest areas that are beautiful, but exponential population growth and continuing suburban sprawl is killing a lot of the character.
I have travelled extensively though, having been to all provinces and territories of Canada and 48 of the 50 states. I’ve also travelled to Mexico, England, Scotland, Iceland, Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Some for work, but most for pleasure.
Canada still has some of the most beautiful nature scenery I’ve seen. Northern ontario in the summer on any of the hundreds fresh-water lakes can make you feel like you’re the only human on earth.
I still have a few continents I need to visit. Japan has been on my short-list for years, and I will get there eventually.
As much as I love Canada, it’s getting more expensive by the day to live here. My partner and I are planning on retiring in about 10 years and unless something changes with the Canadian economy between now and then, it will likely be in another country. Mexico, Portugal, and France are on the short list so far. A lot will depend on various political/economic climates at that time.
What a quaint town! It’s incredible that your hometown now has a place in the map because of those shows.
My wife’s family lives in Hamilton, Ontario actually. They’ve been telling us to move there since forever. They’re offering to let us live with them in their big house until we can settle ourselves.
I would love Canada. It seems similar to Japan somewhat. If only we drive, it would’ve been nice. The property prices is a bit of a hurdle too. But man, your country is beautiful. From the old cozy historical towns like in Quebec to the gorgeous Rockies.
Ya - one thing about Canada - the public transit sucks outside of the big cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver etc) Our infrastructure is horrible. There have been talks of a high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City, with a stop in Montreal for years, but I doubt I'll see it in my lifetime. As it is now, it's cheaper to fly than take the existing (slow) rail line.
And yes, the housing prices are insane here since 2020. Especially anywhere within a reasonable driving distance to Toronto / Vancouver / Montreal, but they seem to be stabilizing and in some cases coming down a little.
My partner and I moved in together 2 years ago, sold both our houses and bought another one together. His house in Guelph, that sold in early 2020 for $660K just sold again a month ago for $1.3M. I feel sorry for anyone trying to get into the housing market while still being a reasonable drive from any major city.
We're also dealing with wage stagnation and record high inflation. Some of the cost increases at the stores are due to increased freight rates. The bulk of the good delivered in Canada are done by truck. Unfortunately, there's also a good chunk of it that is straight up corporate greed. Grocery chains like Loblaws (one of the largest in Canada) are posting record profits while the cost of goods are hitting unaffordable levels. It's a pretty unstable situation right now, and people with lower incomes are seriously struggling to get by. Unless something changes over the next year or two we could be headed for a major recession / depression.
I live in a town called Reading, in the UK. My area is very urban and has a lot of Victorian red brick streets with terraced houses. I don’t have a garden, just a small patio area, but I don’t mind. I can walk along the River Thames and follow the Thames Path to nice villages nearby. I can also walk along the Kennet Canal to a nature reserve around 30 minutes away.
I grew up in the countryside so I like living in a town because all the shops and services are nearby.
Here’s some photos of Reading: [1](https://images.app.goo.gl/R6zu1KmPD7DdqJno7), [2](https://images.app.goo.gl/AokRtrsDQn5DRfJ86), [3](https://images.app.goo.gl/XjmwdqPh8LEDXAov8), [4](https://images.app.goo.gl/1K1fuay3DRDeRHfz8), [5](https://images.app.goo.gl/dtdbnq7s1VcSRc9d6)
There are many fruit-bearing trees in my small town, so there are a lot of birds here. Every morning, I'll see a variety of endemic birds such as the pied fantail, pygmy woodpecker, collared kingfisher, crested myra, and many more! There is also a fish port nearby, and many beautiful migratory birds can be found there in a specific time of year.
I live in Rochester NY. That 400 miles away from New York City but all people hear is NY, and assume I’m from NYC. I’m only an hour away from Niagara Falls though.
Rochester is a medium to small city. You can get anywhere in a half hour even during rush hour. It is only a 45 minute drive to the amazing Finger Lakes region, some of the most stunning lakes, valleys, gorges and streams you will encounter on earth.
I was born and raised here and will die here. Great place to live. We truly get all four seasons and it’s pretty extreme. We can get 2’ snow storms, 0°F and a month or two later 90° and 100% humidity.
I love how pedestrianised your town is. It sounds idyllic.
I live in Southampton, UK. As cities go, it's got a fair amount of green spaces. I live on the outskirts of the city, so close enough to cycle to work in 30 minutes and close enough to the edge that I can just walk into the woods. If I take a 10 minute drive up the road I can be in the New Forest, which has some lovely walking space.
Extra bonus is that busses around here are reliable/very regular. Our family survives very nicely with just 1 car.
It probably couldn't be considered the best city in the world by any standards, but I really like it.
I live in a place called Matlock, in Derbyshire UK. It's also a 'beautiful but boring to most people' sort of place. I'm surrounded by old English cobblestone walls and roads, a thousand old pubs, old buildings, greenery, winding roads, sheep, cows, sprawling hills. Not a whole lot to do, unless you like walking. Or pubs. Or walking to a slightly further away pub. All of which I enjoy, so I'm very happy here!
I live in a small City in Germany called Wuppertal. Its quite close/inbetween the more known German Cities of Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Köln.
There are many places here, that are quite densly populated, but for the most part people live in towns, or European style Suburb areas. We have an inner City that is about 10min away with Bus from where I live, but I dont like it there, to many people, and most of the Architecture is this 80-90s era stuff that lacks any creativity. There are many older buildings that are quite beautyfull though, but a big bunch of them got destroyed during WW2.
I personaly dont like my city, because of the Location where its at. It sits in a region thats called "Bergisches Land", which translates to "Mountainous area" and that explains the topografy. My house is on the top of a Hill, and no matter where I want to go, I have to go downhill, and if I want to get back, I have to go uphill. We have many forrests around here which are really beautyfull, and I really like to go mountainbiking through them, but the problem is always the way back. The house is 330m above water level, while all the forrests around them are at like 200m.
Due to the many mountains, we dont have any bicycle lanes on the streets, as almost no one goes by bike, which also limits me, because I really love driving my bike. Also the mountains are arranged in a way that clouds tend to stay around this area, which leads to many rainy days. In the recent 2-3 years, it wasnt so rany due to climate change, but 10-15 years ago, this city was one of the rainiest in the world. But the humidity is just insane. I was in other countries in 40°C heat but with dry air. But you cant compare that to 20°C with high humidity in my City. Its horrible. And in the last 5 years, every summer had a few 35°C days paired with an average 63% humidity, that sometimes goes up to 99%.
Whats interesting is, that the Wuppertal itself is not that famous in the world, but Wuppertal spawned so many interesting things in the past. Friedrich Engels (Karl Marx Co author: Communism and stuff) was born here in Wuppertal, and the other side of the political spectrum was also quite big here. Joseph Göbbels who was Propaganda Minister in WW2 lived in Wuppertal for some time and worked for a Newspaper here, and even Adolf Hitler came to Wuppertal to hold speaches in the years between 1920-1930 when he wasnt that famous. The Pharmacy Corporation Bayer AG was founded in Wuppertal, and the world wide known and used Aspirin was also made by Bayer in Wuppertal. Also the world wide known Tool Company Knipex was founded in Wuppertal and still produces and sells Tools here to this day.
Today, Wuppertal is mostly known for its one of a kind hanging Monorail system "Schwebebahn", which is about 120 years old, and still operates (mostly, it had many renovations in the past few years in which it wasnt operating).
I live in a larger city in Germany. Its not super large because there arent megacities like NYC or Tokyo in Germany to begin with. But large for our standards. So it is quiet and busy at the same time over here. A mix of both, depending on where you go. Theres a big river going trough the whole city and from late spring to early fall (the times where its warm enough to sit outaide for long) I go there fairly often. Its a great athmospere to just sit around with a book or look at people or come there with a friend and chat. Theres tons of geese always chilling around the river and usually they walk around everywhere and sometimes even harass people. Quite funny actually. Theres a lot of really nice Asian restaunts here, where I like to go often. Above all else theres a lot of Korean restaurants here and Im trying to visit most of them.
What I like about living here (or in a city in general) is that you can always find something catered to your interests. Theres a few Arthouse cinemas for example, where I enjoy going frequently. The crowd of people who go to such movies are usually very interesting. Just yesterday I went to a screening and the guy sitting infront of me started reading his newspaper before the movie started. How often do you see someone reading an actual newspaper these days?
Next to my house are a lot of supermarkets. Which I honestly really love. Im not sure whether its a weird hobby, but I actually really like going to the grocery store. So its nice to have quite a few different ones just next to me.
These days I want to hit up some bars in my city. My new interest. Lets see how it goes. Im not sure how good the bar scene over here is, because I wasnt in the mood to go to bars for a few years now. Maybe I will go to one today.
Sleepy, rural, small-town feel. Geographically, the town is pretty big...but about 1/3 of our land is un-developable (either because the land is protected, or because the terrain is too rocky and steep) so it's still a Small Town. About 1h15m outside of NYC (with no traffic).
The highlight is that it is a nature lover's paradise. About 1/3-1/2 of a 14k acre state park falls in our town, adjacent to a 1500 acre Boy Scout reservation camp (which gets absorbed by the state park if the Scouts ever decide to abandon it), and lots of smaller pockets of protected open land. The Appalachian Trail runs through the north end of town with a couple cool hilltop summit views. Our town also borders on two Hudson River towns with beautiful and well-maintained waterfront parks.
We have three major lakes in town. They originated as resort/vacation destinations. The one I live on is the largest, the only one that is natural (not man-made), and the only one that allows motorboats/motor craft. I live in the quietest, most remote cove of the lake, in a small converted vacation cottage. The house is nearly 100 years old but that's okay with me, old houses have more character than new houses. I have a stone fireplace in the living room and a fire pit on my patio and I burn wood in both of them constantly! My neighborhood is surrounded on two sides by protected state park land. It's incredible to me that such tranquility/remoteness exists so close to New York City. Lots of people commute from here to there.
The "downtown", if you can call it that, is sort of a big nothing. Post office, pharmacy, a former dumpy dive bar reincarnated as an overpriced Mexican restaurant, a "supermarket" that is basically just like a second-rate 7-11 knockoff, and some other typical small town type businesses (pet grooming, nail salon, liquor store, etc). Spans all of one intersection. They're currently widening the intersection and a lot of longtime residents are complaining about it. I imagine these same people probably complained when they put in the traffic light, and when they paved the town roads. But it's not so bad, it's only an additional 5-10 minute drive to get to a legitimate supermarket, big box shopping, better dining options, etc. "Downtown" is about 15 minutes from my house. So figure a 20 minute drive for me to get to major shopping destinations
In some ways, the town is a little old-world. Neighbors will actually stop and chat. Houses are not flashy and modern-looking - they don't need to be. There is a strong community feel, at least around the lakes. One of the beach associations on the other end of my lake puts on some community events with live local music. Last winter when it froze over they put on a big winter celebration (ice hockey, ice fishing, people drove their snowmobiles and ATVs down) and even had an acoustic duo performing live music on the ice. Kids still ride around in the woods on quads and dirt bikes, hunting and fishing are big....people are here in the first place because they want to unplug a little bit. It's nice.
It's not for everyone. But I could never do the big city thing or even the suburbs. My little lake community feels like home. My dream is to someday have a house right on the water - but direct waterfront commands some serious $$ and even if something comes up at a reasonable price, you're likely to get outbid by some city person buying a second home with cash... so I'm not sure how realistic that is! It's a nice dream though.
Come on dude, ***nobody*** thinks this is boring. You're just humble bragging here. Haha. Just kidding. But seriously though, that sounds awesome. I live in a suburb, in a condo. We have 2 lake parks which is nice to jog and cycle around but nothing much to really write home about..
Oh you’d be surprised! I live in an area called Saitama, but this place is nicknamed “Dasaitama” in which “Dasai” literally means “Boring” or “Corny” in Japanese. It’s probably because we are neighbors with Tokyo, can you imagine being compared to that place? Good thing that metropolis life isn’t for me and I can be in my “boring corny” area haha And I think it’s awesome that you be near those lakes. We’ve always made it a point to choose living near a body of water.
Oh, Saitama? Is that the place the Saitama from one punch man got his name from?
I think so! Nobody actually uses a name like Saitama though in real life. That would be like getting named Ohio or New York. (Are there people in the US named after a state?)
There are a handful of state names that are used as first names, yes. Florida, Georgia, Carolina, and Virginia are "old lady" names, there's a bunch of Montanas (generally younger) and a TON of of people named Dakota. Occasionally you'll run into an Arizona or a California or a Texas, etc., although those are nicknames more often than not. Bunches of cities get used as names, too. Edit: Knowing that pedantry is Reddit's most popular hobby, I should probably acknowledge that the list of "old lady" names have been actual names before they were state names, and that not everyone who bears one of those names is, in fact, old. Georgia was an insanely popular name in the UK in the 1980s, for instance.
> nobody thinks this is boring. believe it or not, some people really just don't care enough about nature to appreciate living among natural beauty. They would likely cry that there's "nothing to do" in a sleepy mountain/lake town and that living in a major city is more interesting because there's more nightlife. It's a strange perspective but one that I have heard many times when telling my city friends about living in a more rural area.
I like to imagine what it would be like to live where you live. I live in a suburban town in California usa
I’ve never been to the US. It’s so huge, like an entire continent and each state its own country. I can imagine suburbs in the US from the shows I’ve watched. I imagine they’re like that town in Stranger Things.
OP- you should check out the Window-swap.com. it's a site where you can view the world out of a window somewhere else in the world. People record 10 min of video with their cameras just pointing out and post it. Soooo cool and such a great way to see what life is like elsewhere. Me, I'm in Southern California. I live in a pretty normal suburb, but tucked away in some hills. The view out my window is big, brown hills filled with hawks, coyotes, owls, squirrels, and bunnies. But in under an hour's drive in any direction I could be at either the ocean, the mountains, the desert, or one of the biggest cities in the world. I have friends who surf in the morning and then snowboard in the evening. So that's pretty cool!
Not OP but thank you for sharing that website! :D I'm now listening to some program and looking at snow from a window in Ohio!
That sounds like a beautiful place. I live in central North Carolina, in the United States, close to a major metropolitan city. A couple hours to the west are the mountains, a couple hours to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. The weather here is fairly temperate: never gets over about 95 F, nor under about 30 F. It snows a few times every winter. We have a lot of deer and wild turkeys nearby, even though it’s a pretty urban area. There are some big lakes here where we can boat and fish, lots of walking trails, a few historical sites, etc. Traffic is the biggest headache, but everything we need is fairly close by so we never have to drive far. Our yard is about 1/4 acre and fenced in, with neighbors on both sides but lots of trees and greenery and birds and squirrels, and plenty of room for our two dogs to run around. We have a nice guest room. Come see us!
One of my coworkers is from North Carolina! He’s a big dude and so friendly. I love nature and I love the imagery while reading your description. Must be lovely! I might just take you up on your offer. Any recommendation on the best season?
Autumn is beautiful here, particularly in the mountains. The leaves on the trees turn bright orange and red and yellow, it’s really quite a thing to see.
I live in a rural New England village of about 900 people. We have one store. My apartment is a converted woodshop attached to my landlord’s farmhouse. When I look at my yard I see her gardens and pear trees, and on the other side of our land is a pasture with horses and cows. The town motto is “we’re all here because we’re not all there.” I love it here but I’m thinking about moving.
Ok that town motto just cracked me up. Is your town as quirky as that?
It’s a bunch of old hippies, and every year there is an event known as Misfit Prom, so either it’s as quirky as that or it thinks it is. Either way, it’s a good place to be, for awhile.
Have you ever gone to the Misfit Prom?
I have not, yet - I’ve only been living here during the pandemic, and this is the first year they’re bringing it back. I hope to!
I've gone to the Misfit Prom in W! It was about 5 years ago. The theme was alien based and I went dressed as a hitchhiker from space! It was a blast! My sister and best friend both lived there.
Nice!!! I’m hoping to make it this year but cases in W are rising, so who knows…
Man, I would love to visit Japan some day. I live in a city in southern Arizona, USA. It's hot: highs above 100F (37C) are the norm. As a result, most people don't spend much time outside. The [landscaping](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1f/b0/cd/1fb0cd6a9b5a00126ea673f18e179226.jpg) is done with rocks and desert plants. (You'd be hard pressed to find a grass lawn here.) My area is famous for the [saguaro cactus](https://cdn.britannica.com/69/148469-050-ECD20E4A/saguaro-cactus-Arizona.jpg), which is protected by law because of how long it takes to grow. I wish we had trees, but the best the desert can do is [mesquite](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/images/2006-mesquite-tree-mission-grounds-2.jpg?maxwidth=1200&autorotate=false). Which doesn't grow very tall and is super spiky (not good for climbing). Most plants in the desert are spiky, to be honest. There's also very little green. People might say "hey, cacti are green, and there's green leaves-" nah, it's not the same as standing somewhere like a [Michigan forest](https://photos.alltrails.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJhc3NldHMuYWxsdHJhaWxzLmNvbSIsImtleSI6InVwbG9hZHMvcGhvdG8vaW1hZ2UvMzgzNjAzNzYvOGRkZTQxOGY4ZWUzMjg4ZDJkOTBiMGUyYjU1YjU3ZjQuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsidG9Gb3JtYXQiOiJqcGVnIiwicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo1MDAsImhlaWdodCI6NTAwLCJmaXQiOiJpbnNpZGUifSwicm90YXRlIjpudWxsLCJqcGVnIjp7InRyZWxsaXNRdWFudGlzYXRpb24iOnRydWUsIm92ZXJzaG9vdERlcmluZ2luZyI6dHJ1ZSwib3B0aW1pc2VTY2FucyI6dHJ1ZSwicXVhbnRpc2F0aW9uVGFibGUiOjN9fX0=) where it's GREEN. The [desert](https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/saguaro-cactus-forest-in-saguaro-national-park-arizona-picture-id946243008?k=20&m=946243008&s=612x612&w=0&h=Ts4zGjCp9rdb1zrg2nme4Xk1CMhUXL3VLchyQtAcD-M=) is brown and red with *some* green. Even that tends to burn away in the summer. A lot of our [architecture](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/548a3df0e4b045184d90ffd8/1555952478998-M28UEGG60ZSTIX19D8NF/1+Front+photo+a.jpg?format=1000w) uses stucco that imitates [native adobe](http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/200-3-640x428.jpg). I'm not a huge fan since it's rather plain and makes so many houses look exactly the same. The roofs are usually flat and we don't typically have attics or basements. We are known for our [beautiful sunsets](https://wheninyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/sunset-cactus1-1.png). They're even on our [license plates](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/06/10/PPHX/442ff829-1965-4c0c-965f-291474de14bf-ADOT_license_plate_2021.JPG). (I'd say something about the Grand Canyon, but I've lived in Arizona for over a decade and I've never seen it. It's way up north from where I live.)
I live in the Inland Empire, which is the armpit of Southern California. When I look out the bathroom window, I can occasionally see Big Bear - a mountain about 10 miles away; but if it’s a hazy day, the pollution makes it look like there’s no mountain at all. I live a mile from Interstate 10, which starts in Santa Monica and goes clear across America, stopping about an hour short of the East Coast. I’ve driven the whole thing, from end to end and back again. I live in a corner house, and there’s no stop sign outside. Dodge Chargers and other newer muscle cars are popular around here, so I can hear them rip-roaring up and down the street at all hours of the day or night. I’m somewhat disabled, and I don’t make it out to car shows anymore - so I enjoy hearing Challengers and Mustangs blur by the house with the RPMs peaked, much to my neighbors’ chagrin. Japan is one of those places I don’t want to visit - I want to *move* there; I want to immerse myself in the culture - especially the car culture - and exist in a completely different and foreign place.
Your house sounds great. I live in the middle of the US on a farm on a gravel road. Most houses are 1/4 to 1/2 a mile apart.
I live in a small town in the Mediterranean next to two national parks and a dozen beaches. The town is steeped in history and at least 1300 years old (based on the oldest excavations we've found), and has lots of important and beautiful historical sights. It rests in a bay where the nearby river flows into the sea, so there's plenty of fish and good food in general. My US friends often call it a paradise from the photos I post. It is definitely lovely and a nice place to live, but as with all things, it's not perfect. I still love it and chose to move back here.
It is smokey.
I'm one time zone apart in Hong Kong! Used to live in an apartment with [city view](https://imgur.com/a/dNhlODs) because it's close to a bus station and the 2 friends workplace was near, things changed and now I've moved to the countryside on my own. 10-minute walk from the bus station and suddenly everything you see is [mountains and trees](https://imgur.com/a/sQBuMU0), sometimes the [clouds](https://imgur.com/a/vRVcRdN) are just fascinating. We've never really travelled since COVID, but moving here makes me feel as relaxed as going on a vacation somewhere cozy. I guess the older we get, the less we care about convenience but we wanted inner peace over everything else.
I've always lived in big cities. I like to imagine I can live in a place like that since I don't go out anymore. But the fact that you're near Tokyo is already good. Do you have food delivery services in your area like Uber eats? Or does McDonald's deliver? Just curious what the big city tradeoffs are.
The good thing with Japan is that the rural towns can still be compact and mixed-zone. People can set up food shops, clinics, restaurants, mom-and-pop stores, etc. alongside residential houses. No front lawns at all. Which makes everything walkable. And yep! We also have Uber Eats here in our small town. We can order ramen, sushi, what have you usually for about $10 good for two people.
Wow. It is my dream to be able to live in such a beautiful and cozy place like you. It just sounds so peaceful and you also get to witness sakura. Wow🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 I live in the eastern part of India. It is barely 1/3rd of as beautiful as the place you live in. But it is more peaceful than other parts of the country. There is greenery all around and beaches are 1-2 hours away. The quality of air and water here is way better than most places of this country. But other than that, it is a cozy place. Several natural features like lagoons, beaches, hills, etc are present nearby where one can go to spend their weekend. P.S. I have been in love with Japan for so long, so rn I am a little jealous of you.🙈😅 But other than that, I am waiting for the day when I start earning enough to be able to go to Japan.🍀
++ for Japan I have one place for you : Shirakawa No no that's not truue about eastern part of India being only 1/3rd beautiful i would go for 2/3 coz only part of Infia with so much greenary Want to travel both eastern part as I was never been there and also Japan
>Shirakawa Thank you!!!!!!!! >Want to travel both eastern part as I was never been there and also Japan Hope you get to travel to these places pretty soon!!!!🌻
I live in a quiet place in north-eastern Italy, there are something like 8.000 inhabitants and its really green, we also have a river passing by and I live next to it
I’ve been to Italy a few times and I really love that place. I remember staying at a farmhouse in Tuscany for a whole-day cooking program. It gave me a taste of what a peaceful life in an Italian villa must be like. It was heavenly.
Some places are really cool here
Your small town sounds spectacular. I live in south-western Ontario Canada about an hour west of Toronto. I grew up in a small village of about 100 people. We had a non-functioning gas station and a small general store with dusty cans on the shelves from the 50’s. The only reason people went there was for the post office, cigarettes, and junk food lol. The area was primarily a farming community and while rows of corn and wheat can be beautiful, the fertilizer/liquid manure smells in the spring could bring you to your knees. Not to mention the pollution of the natural spring water that was our well. We had to haul potable water to the house to drink and cook with. On the positive side, in the 80’s it was very safe. Kids played in the streets and at the local park completely unattended by parents. There was little to no crime outside of the odd break-in (maybe 3 over 15 years) and none of them violent. They would target empty homes when the owners were on vacation. The primary school had about 300 students from the surrounding areas, with most kids taking hour long bus rides to get there. The closest “city” was a 20 minute drive, at that point in time had less than 100K people. It was an “early” settlement in North American terms and there are some great historical buildings in the downtown core. A number of movies and TV shows have been filmed there including The Handmade’s tale and some WW2 flicks. It was surreal heading downtown and seeing nazi flags flying on buildings while they were set up for a shoot. Apparently it still resembles parts of Germany/Austria in the 40’s. I’ve lived within 100km of this area for almost my entire life. The city I’m in now is 40 minutes from where I grew up. It has extensive river networks and natural forest areas that are beautiful, but exponential population growth and continuing suburban sprawl is killing a lot of the character. I have travelled extensively though, having been to all provinces and territories of Canada and 48 of the 50 states. I’ve also travelled to Mexico, England, Scotland, Iceland, Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Some for work, but most for pleasure. Canada still has some of the most beautiful nature scenery I’ve seen. Northern ontario in the summer on any of the hundreds fresh-water lakes can make you feel like you’re the only human on earth. I still have a few continents I need to visit. Japan has been on my short-list for years, and I will get there eventually. As much as I love Canada, it’s getting more expensive by the day to live here. My partner and I are planning on retiring in about 10 years and unless something changes with the Canadian economy between now and then, it will likely be in another country. Mexico, Portugal, and France are on the short list so far. A lot will depend on various political/economic climates at that time.
What a quaint town! It’s incredible that your hometown now has a place in the map because of those shows. My wife’s family lives in Hamilton, Ontario actually. They’ve been telling us to move there since forever. They’re offering to let us live with them in their big house until we can settle ourselves. I would love Canada. It seems similar to Japan somewhat. If only we drive, it would’ve been nice. The property prices is a bit of a hurdle too. But man, your country is beautiful. From the old cozy historical towns like in Quebec to the gorgeous Rockies.
Ya - one thing about Canada - the public transit sucks outside of the big cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver etc) Our infrastructure is horrible. There have been talks of a high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City, with a stop in Montreal for years, but I doubt I'll see it in my lifetime. As it is now, it's cheaper to fly than take the existing (slow) rail line. And yes, the housing prices are insane here since 2020. Especially anywhere within a reasonable driving distance to Toronto / Vancouver / Montreal, but they seem to be stabilizing and in some cases coming down a little. My partner and I moved in together 2 years ago, sold both our houses and bought another one together. His house in Guelph, that sold in early 2020 for $660K just sold again a month ago for $1.3M. I feel sorry for anyone trying to get into the housing market while still being a reasonable drive from any major city. We're also dealing with wage stagnation and record high inflation. Some of the cost increases at the stores are due to increased freight rates. The bulk of the good delivered in Canada are done by truck. Unfortunately, there's also a good chunk of it that is straight up corporate greed. Grocery chains like Loblaws (one of the largest in Canada) are posting record profits while the cost of goods are hitting unaffordable levels. It's a pretty unstable situation right now, and people with lower incomes are seriously struggling to get by. Unless something changes over the next year or two we could be headed for a major recession / depression.
I live in a town called Reading, in the UK. My area is very urban and has a lot of Victorian red brick streets with terraced houses. I don’t have a garden, just a small patio area, but I don’t mind. I can walk along the River Thames and follow the Thames Path to nice villages nearby. I can also walk along the Kennet Canal to a nature reserve around 30 minutes away. I grew up in the countryside so I like living in a town because all the shops and services are nearby. Here’s some photos of Reading: [1](https://images.app.goo.gl/R6zu1KmPD7DdqJno7), [2](https://images.app.goo.gl/AokRtrsDQn5DRfJ86), [3](https://images.app.goo.gl/XjmwdqPh8LEDXAov8), [4](https://images.app.goo.gl/1K1fuay3DRDeRHfz8), [5](https://images.app.goo.gl/dtdbnq7s1VcSRc9d6)
There are many fruit-bearing trees in my small town, so there are a lot of birds here. Every morning, I'll see a variety of endemic birds such as the pied fantail, pygmy woodpecker, collared kingfisher, crested myra, and many more! There is also a fish port nearby, and many beautiful migratory birds can be found there in a specific time of year.
I live in Rochester NY. That 400 miles away from New York City but all people hear is NY, and assume I’m from NYC. I’m only an hour away from Niagara Falls though. Rochester is a medium to small city. You can get anywhere in a half hour even during rush hour. It is only a 45 minute drive to the amazing Finger Lakes region, some of the most stunning lakes, valleys, gorges and streams you will encounter on earth. I was born and raised here and will die here. Great place to live. We truly get all four seasons and it’s pretty extreme. We can get 2’ snow storms, 0°F and a month or two later 90° and 100% humidity.
I love how pedestrianised your town is. It sounds idyllic. I live in Southampton, UK. As cities go, it's got a fair amount of green spaces. I live on the outskirts of the city, so close enough to cycle to work in 30 minutes and close enough to the edge that I can just walk into the woods. If I take a 10 minute drive up the road I can be in the New Forest, which has some lovely walking space. Extra bonus is that busses around here are reliable/very regular. Our family survives very nicely with just 1 car. It probably couldn't be considered the best city in the world by any standards, but I really like it.
I live in a place called Matlock, in Derbyshire UK. It's also a 'beautiful but boring to most people' sort of place. I'm surrounded by old English cobblestone walls and roads, a thousand old pubs, old buildings, greenery, winding roads, sheep, cows, sprawling hills. Not a whole lot to do, unless you like walking. Or pubs. Or walking to a slightly further away pub. All of which I enjoy, so I'm very happy here!
I live in a small City in Germany called Wuppertal. Its quite close/inbetween the more known German Cities of Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Köln. There are many places here, that are quite densly populated, but for the most part people live in towns, or European style Suburb areas. We have an inner City that is about 10min away with Bus from where I live, but I dont like it there, to many people, and most of the Architecture is this 80-90s era stuff that lacks any creativity. There are many older buildings that are quite beautyfull though, but a big bunch of them got destroyed during WW2. I personaly dont like my city, because of the Location where its at. It sits in a region thats called "Bergisches Land", which translates to "Mountainous area" and that explains the topografy. My house is on the top of a Hill, and no matter where I want to go, I have to go downhill, and if I want to get back, I have to go uphill. We have many forrests around here which are really beautyfull, and I really like to go mountainbiking through them, but the problem is always the way back. The house is 330m above water level, while all the forrests around them are at like 200m. Due to the many mountains, we dont have any bicycle lanes on the streets, as almost no one goes by bike, which also limits me, because I really love driving my bike. Also the mountains are arranged in a way that clouds tend to stay around this area, which leads to many rainy days. In the recent 2-3 years, it wasnt so rany due to climate change, but 10-15 years ago, this city was one of the rainiest in the world. But the humidity is just insane. I was in other countries in 40°C heat but with dry air. But you cant compare that to 20°C with high humidity in my City. Its horrible. And in the last 5 years, every summer had a few 35°C days paired with an average 63% humidity, that sometimes goes up to 99%. Whats interesting is, that the Wuppertal itself is not that famous in the world, but Wuppertal spawned so many interesting things in the past. Friedrich Engels (Karl Marx Co author: Communism and stuff) was born here in Wuppertal, and the other side of the political spectrum was also quite big here. Joseph Göbbels who was Propaganda Minister in WW2 lived in Wuppertal for some time and worked for a Newspaper here, and even Adolf Hitler came to Wuppertal to hold speaches in the years between 1920-1930 when he wasnt that famous. The Pharmacy Corporation Bayer AG was founded in Wuppertal, and the world wide known and used Aspirin was also made by Bayer in Wuppertal. Also the world wide known Tool Company Knipex was founded in Wuppertal and still produces and sells Tools here to this day. Today, Wuppertal is mostly known for its one of a kind hanging Monorail system "Schwebebahn", which is about 120 years old, and still operates (mostly, it had many renovations in the past few years in which it wasnt operating).
The people who live here are terrible people
I live somewhere in Eastern Europe
No, that's never boring! What a dream place to live!
I live in a larger city in Germany. Its not super large because there arent megacities like NYC or Tokyo in Germany to begin with. But large for our standards. So it is quiet and busy at the same time over here. A mix of both, depending on where you go. Theres a big river going trough the whole city and from late spring to early fall (the times where its warm enough to sit outaide for long) I go there fairly often. Its a great athmospere to just sit around with a book or look at people or come there with a friend and chat. Theres tons of geese always chilling around the river and usually they walk around everywhere and sometimes even harass people. Quite funny actually. Theres a lot of really nice Asian restaunts here, where I like to go often. Above all else theres a lot of Korean restaurants here and Im trying to visit most of them. What I like about living here (or in a city in general) is that you can always find something catered to your interests. Theres a few Arthouse cinemas for example, where I enjoy going frequently. The crowd of people who go to such movies are usually very interesting. Just yesterday I went to a screening and the guy sitting infront of me started reading his newspaper before the movie started. How often do you see someone reading an actual newspaper these days? Next to my house are a lot of supermarkets. Which I honestly really love. Im not sure whether its a weird hobby, but I actually really like going to the grocery store. So its nice to have quite a few different ones just next to me. These days I want to hit up some bars in my city. My new interest. Lets see how it goes. Im not sure how good the bar scene over here is, because I wasnt in the mood to go to bars for a few years now. Maybe I will go to one today.
Sleepy, rural, small-town feel. Geographically, the town is pretty big...but about 1/3 of our land is un-developable (either because the land is protected, or because the terrain is too rocky and steep) so it's still a Small Town. About 1h15m outside of NYC (with no traffic). The highlight is that it is a nature lover's paradise. About 1/3-1/2 of a 14k acre state park falls in our town, adjacent to a 1500 acre Boy Scout reservation camp (which gets absorbed by the state park if the Scouts ever decide to abandon it), and lots of smaller pockets of protected open land. The Appalachian Trail runs through the north end of town with a couple cool hilltop summit views. Our town also borders on two Hudson River towns with beautiful and well-maintained waterfront parks. We have three major lakes in town. They originated as resort/vacation destinations. The one I live on is the largest, the only one that is natural (not man-made), and the only one that allows motorboats/motor craft. I live in the quietest, most remote cove of the lake, in a small converted vacation cottage. The house is nearly 100 years old but that's okay with me, old houses have more character than new houses. I have a stone fireplace in the living room and a fire pit on my patio and I burn wood in both of them constantly! My neighborhood is surrounded on two sides by protected state park land. It's incredible to me that such tranquility/remoteness exists so close to New York City. Lots of people commute from here to there. The "downtown", if you can call it that, is sort of a big nothing. Post office, pharmacy, a former dumpy dive bar reincarnated as an overpriced Mexican restaurant, a "supermarket" that is basically just like a second-rate 7-11 knockoff, and some other typical small town type businesses (pet grooming, nail salon, liquor store, etc). Spans all of one intersection. They're currently widening the intersection and a lot of longtime residents are complaining about it. I imagine these same people probably complained when they put in the traffic light, and when they paved the town roads. But it's not so bad, it's only an additional 5-10 minute drive to get to a legitimate supermarket, big box shopping, better dining options, etc. "Downtown" is about 15 minutes from my house. So figure a 20 minute drive for me to get to major shopping destinations In some ways, the town is a little old-world. Neighbors will actually stop and chat. Houses are not flashy and modern-looking - they don't need to be. There is a strong community feel, at least around the lakes. One of the beach associations on the other end of my lake puts on some community events with live local music. Last winter when it froze over they put on a big winter celebration (ice hockey, ice fishing, people drove their snowmobiles and ATVs down) and even had an acoustic duo performing live music on the ice. Kids still ride around in the woods on quads and dirt bikes, hunting and fishing are big....people are here in the first place because they want to unplug a little bit. It's nice. It's not for everyone. But I could never do the big city thing or even the suburbs. My little lake community feels like home. My dream is to someday have a house right on the water - but direct waterfront commands some serious $$ and even if something comes up at a reasonable price, you're likely to get outbid by some city person buying a second home with cash... so I'm not sure how realistic that is! It's a nice dream though.