I was born in San Francisco, and I have lived in the bay area my entire life. I think of myself as a bit of a San Franciscan snob. By the way, please DO NOT call it 'FRISCO! Outside of it's-not-Frisco, New York has been the only other place in the U.S. where I've wanted (longed, yearned) to live - except D.C., of course, which has grown on me during my visits over the last three years.
I always wondered where else I could or should live. Many of my friends have moved away to other cities, and even other countries, which made me ponder whether I would want to live there too: New York, Boston, Seattle, D.C., Chicago, Portland, L.A., Korea... Kris is one of those relocated friends who is now living in wedded bliss in Arizona. She was back in town this week, and we were having dinner with Gene and Heishin tonight when they mentioned FindYourSpot.com. After a quick quiz about various lifestyle preferences, the site provides a list called Your Top Spots.
- My #1 "top spot" was Baltimore, which is where Taer grew up as a kid! He doesn't necessarily speak too highly of it now, and I can't say that I was terribly impressed the one time we visited. I will admit anyway that I found this amusing, and I did have a corny "we're meant to be" thought.
- #6 on my list is Orange County. Like, oh my GAWD! I could like SO totally be like on Laguna Beach!
- San Francisco is #14. I'm not sure what that means. But it's still #1 in my heart!
- And New York is NOT on my list at all! Sadness! My secret confession is that I re-took the quiz and geared my answers toward getting N.Y. to show up (Sure, this California girl loves cold weather. No, I don't need to golf anymore. Crime is fine!), but to no avail. I tried twice!
Of course, I realize that this site is not highly scientific, but it's still fun nonetheless. Here are my complete - and original, first time around - results, if you're at all interested:
Baltimore, Maryland The Sparkling Harbor City. This Atlantic seaboard city is home to the National Aquarium...
Population: 4,750,000 Average Home Price: $215,000 Precipitation: 40" Snow: 18"
Boston, Massachusetts America's Walking City. Here in "America's Walking City," you can stroll down to famous Franklin Park for the annual Kite Festival...
Population: 3,400,000 Average Home Price: $461,500 Precipitation: 43" Snow: 41"
Providence, Rhode Island New England's Best Kept Secret. This Rhode Island spot is the home of the award-winning flaming sculpture WaterFire, installed on the three rivers of downtown...
Population: 1,213,000 Average Home Price: $242,000 Precipitation: 48" Snow: 32"
New Haven, Connecticut Home of Yale University. The first hamburger was cooked at Louis' Lunch in this Connecticut spot in 1900...
Population: 542,000 Average Home Price: $175,000 Precipitation: 43" Snow: 30"
San Diego, California California's First City. This highly livable city is home to one of the finest zoos in the world...
Population: 1,266,700 Average Home Price: $540,000 Precipitation: 9" Snow: 0"
Orange County, California Live The California Dream. Home to 42 miles of sandy beaches and some of California's best known attractions, this spot boasts great surfing, sunning, and sailing...
Population: 2,958,000 Average Home Price: $550,000 Precipitation: 12" Snow: 0"
Oakland, California East Bay Living. The area around this now-famous city was once owned by Don Luis Peralta, a Spanish soldier granted the land to help settle and secure it...
Population: 2,465,000 Average Home Price: $522,000 Precipitation: 18" Snow: 0"
Long Beach, California LA's Ocean Playground. Thanks in part to the introduction of the Pacific Electric Trolley, this spot became the fastest growing city in America in 1902...
Population: 475,000 Average Home Price: $500,000 Precipitation: 12" Snow: 0"
Hartford, Connecticut The Insurance Capital. This Connecticut city is home to America's oldest State House, oldest public art museum, and oldest continuously published newspaper...
Population: 871,500 Average Home Price: $148,000 Precipitation: 41" Snow: 42"
Little Rock, Arkansas Where America Comes Together. All Maybelline products distributed in the U.S. are made in this fashion-conscious spot...
Population: 595,600 Average Home Price: $177,000 Precipitation: 48" Snow: 5"
Honolulu, Hawaii America's Tropical Paradise. This state capital has long been an important port city; its name is Hawaiian for "protected bay"...
Population: 876,000 Average Home Price: $445,000 Precipitation: 23" Snow: 0"
Portland, Oregon City of Roses. This Oregon city has the nation's largest forested municipal park, the aptly-named Forest Park...
Population: 2,000,000 Average Home Price: $259,000 Precipitation: 36" Snow: 5"
Los Angeles, California The Dream Factory. This West Coast town was the first to coin the word "tourist" to describe the people that came to enjoy the beaches, mountains and weather...
Population: 3,820,000 Average Home Price: $550,000 Precipitation: 12" Snow: 0"
San Francisco, California The Golden Gate City. The towers of this city's Golden Gate Bridge are purposely out of alignment in order to compensate for the curvature of the earth...
Population: 751,700 Average Home Price: $785,000 Precipitation: 21" Snow: 0"
Washington, District of Columbia The World's Greatest Capital. This most patriotic of American cities was laid out by a French architect...
Population: 572,000 Average Home Price: $300,000 Precipitation: 39" Snow: 16"
Worcester, Massachusetts The Heart of the Commonwealth. This city at the heart of New England is home to the EcoTarium, a science center for all ages...
Population: 502,500 Average Home Price: $215,000 Precipitation: 48" Snow: 45"
Las Vegas, Nevada Entertainment Capital of the World. Ladies' Home Journal called this one of its Best Cities for Women, citing skyrocketing job growth and shriveling crime rates...
Population: 1,722,000 Average Home Price: $250,000 Precipitation: 5" Snow: 1"
Chicago, Illinois The Windy City. This big city has more shopping center space per capita than any other American city...
Population: 2,869,000 Average Home Price: $237,000 Precipitation: 32" Snow: 40"
San Jose, California The Silicon Capital. This city is home to Lou's Living Donut Museum, a combination donut shop and museum with tours and a secret recipe...
Population: 898,350 Average Home Price: $640,000 Precipitation: 16" Snow: 0"
Sacramento, California The River City. This state capital is the oldest incorporated city in California...
Population: 445,000 Average Home Price: $319,000 Precipitation: 17" Snow: 0"
Norfolk, Virginia Heart of the Hampton Roads. This spot was the only American city completely destroyed and rebuilt in the Revolutionary War; a British cannonball in St. Paul's Church wall is a reminder...
Population: 1,606,000 Average Home Price: $182,000 Precipitation: 45" Snow: 7"
Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Genuine American City. This Wisconsin "City of Festivals" celebrates its diverse ethnic heritage all year long, with over 20 major cultural festivals...
Population: 1,500,000 Average Home Price: $136,000 Precipitation: 31" Snow: 47"
Gaithersburg, Maryland The Park City. This town is home to a "Latitude Observatory" - one of five in the world - built in 1899 to measure the wobble of the earth's axis...
Population: 53,000 Average Home Price: $300,000 Precipitation: 40" Snow: 18"
Charlotte, North Carolina The Queen City. Home to First Union and Bank of America, this spot is renowned as a financial center...
Population: 1,335,000 Average Home Price: $232,000 Precipitation: 43" Snow: 6"
1 comment:
Jennipah,
Why would you leave California to come to Baltimore. I have lived in Baltimore most of my life (almost 39 years, except for a few months) and I'm trying to leave. I have done the quiz on findyourspot.com. I have asthma and I'm looking for somewhere where the climate is mild year round, not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. Baltimore is HOT and HUMID and HAZY. Actually, most of the summer the weatherman just say, "tommorrow-the 3 "H's" again" and everyone here knows what that means. Find Your Spot, actually gave me mostly southern locations, which of course is just as hot as Baltimore. I'm looking at Oregon, not so much Portland but a small town, low traffic, low crime, wave to your neighbor everynight kind of place. Well it was great reading your blog and chatting. Good Luck in your search of your perfect spot.
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