Which coast would you live on???

[demi]

Hey Guiness...lived in Salinas for 20 years...small world.  Would imagine it is very different from when you were there.

[Anonymous]

I was born and raised, as they say, in West Virginia, lived twelve years on the coast of South Carolina and now I have been on the coast of California (Orange County) for about eleven years. I am fortunate to have enjoyed them all. I have traveled most of the country and have some favorites including Southwest Utah and the Florida Keys. If you made me pick one place that I had to make my home for the rest of my life, it would be a really difficult choice. Probably Islamorada, FL. , on a boat.

[islandchild82]

MattH wrote:

(and about half the rest is in California, but I can't afford their insane housing costs and have no desire to spend half my life on their freeways).

Message Edited by MattH on 08-21-2008 08:12 AM

It's not too bad, depending on your commute of course. You learn when it's safe to leave: usually after 7 in the evening and before 5 or 6 in the morning. Though there is nothing worse then driving down the 405 on a Sunday morning and sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@islandchild82 wrote:

@MattH wrote:

(and about half the rest is in California, but I can't afford their insane housing costs and have no desire to spend half my life on their freeways).

It's not too bad, depending on your commute of course. You learn when it's safe to leave: usually after 7 in the evening and before 5 or 6 in the morning. Though there is nothing worse then driving down the 405 on a Sunday morning and sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.

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That many churchgoers, huh?

I'm not having any luck defining a commute as "not too bad" if it involves leaving at 5:30 a.m. and returning home 13 1/2 hours later. My commute is 25 miles each way, and it takes me 26-28 minutes, barring fools in the left lane. (Yay for my stealth Accord. )

You have my respect, and my sympathy.

[atlastontheroad]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:

That many churchgoers, huh?

I'm not having any luck defining a commute as "not too bad" if it involves leaving at 5:30 a.m. and returning home 13 1/2 hours later. My commute is 25 miles each way, and it takes me 26-28 minutes, barring fools in the left lane. (Yay for my stealth Accord. )

You have my respect, and my sympathy.

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Having done the 1¼-1½ hour commute (each way ) for 16 years, I don't miss the driving.  The 9-12 minute commute to work is something I don't brag about in person.  It's relatively unheard of here in the New York Metro area.  I work with people who commute from New Jersey, Connecticut and all five Boroughs: their commutes range from 20 minutes to 2 hours each way.

After 8 years, it's difficult to imagine not living within a stone's throw of salt water.  An hour drive gets us to the mountains, 5 minutes to the beach, 10 minutes to work, 32 minutes on the railroad to Penn Station.  We have four seasons, gorgeous autumns, especially.  Still, I do miss the mountains of snow of my Chicago youth.

Crazy high taxes and cost of living are very much part and parcel of the whole experience.  As much as I can't imagine not living here, I don't know where I'll be retiring in 20 or so years.

atlast....

[haulingthescoreup]

Like some of the others, I first took the subject line to be literally about coasts. So for me, I don't really care where the coast would be, as long as it's rocky and with serious surf, and an occasional good storm roaring through. I'm not much for the miles of sand and itty-bitty wavelets lapping on the shore. Although if offered, I'd take it.

[Phoenix-rising]

Give me the Gulf Coast any day.  The best thing about south Louisiana is the people and the food.

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JewelryGirl wrote:

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thrasher865 wrote:

JewleryGirl:  WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?  The gulf has MUCH nicer beaches than the Atlantic Coast.  The sand is white and you can swim in the ocean without being mauled by groves of seaweed and nastiness.  I don't know about in LA, but on the panhandle of Florida are some of my favorite beaches.  I used to visit Ft Walton every summer.  I miss that place.

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Thrasher, in my neck of the woods is where you will find all the seaweed and nastiness.  Lol.  What I wouldn't do for some beautiful blue water.

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Beaches?  Here?  Yuck.  The best beach we've got is Grand Isle and the sand is nothing at all like those beautiful white Florida beaches.

[demi]

OK, I am going to change my perspective on this one....If I had the choice (and the money) my coast would be the coast of Lake Tahoe.  Still think its one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Of course, we are talking a lake front home, which, unless I am some heiress of Bill Gates or something like that, is pretty unlikely.

[MattH]

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@demi wrote:

OK, I am going to change my perspective on this one....If I had the choice (and the money) my coast would be the coast of Lake Tahoe. Still think its one of the most beautiful places in the world. Of course, we are talking a lake front home, which, unless I am some heiress of Bill Gates or something like that, is pretty unlikely.

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Actually, my absolute favorite coast is on the shore of a small lake in a Wisconsin State Park where I often camped in my youth. It's a very pretty little lake, surrounded by pine trees, but Wisconsin has thousands of such lakes. What made this lake extra special was that it was about a quarter mile down a narrow trail from the nearest road. That's the PERFECT distance for a campsite: an easy hike to carry tents, canoes, supplies, etc., but just far enough that 99.9 percent of people won't bother. So it was pristine and QUIET since nothing motorized could be heard. I always found myself being careful to paddle the canoe as quietly as possible to avoid breaking the silence. It was especially magical in early morning to hear the loons calling in the mists. I haven't been there in 20 years and dunno when I'll be able to carve out the time for such a trip now that I'm on the East Coast and my relatives are practically everywhere EXCEPT Wisconsin...

[haulingthescoreup]

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@demi wrote:

..... which, unless I am some heiress of Bill Gates or something like that, is pretty unlikely.

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Plus you'd have to kill him off first.

If I could afford it, I'd move to New Orleans. Even after a year's worth of insider info from DD#1 doing her rebuilding stuff. I'd also ride the St.Charles street car multiple times a day, if I could learn to keep all body parts inside the windows. (Those trees are something else.)

I'd also probably have to start buying tent dresses or bib overalls, because that cooking is simply over the moon.