Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 44 of total 44 in this topic |
MisterE
Social climber
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 11, 2013 - 10:56pm PT
|
Townie stuck in the city.
People are too busy here - and I miss seeing familiar faces accidentally.
I saw MisterX today (his real name) one of the 250+ residents in the apartment complex I work in, as I rolled by him on Topanga Avenue - far from the usual environment and thought: I know that guy!
The rarity of that pulled on a yearning.
I prefer 30K or so as a comfort zone, but certainly more than 15K - it gets weird if it is too small of a community.
What do you say?
|
|
Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:01pm PT
|
I'm liking living in a town of <5k!
|
|
Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:01pm PT
|
Both.
But since one can't actually have both, my choice is to live in a biggish city with fast access to the wilderness.
|
|
Crackslayer
Trad climber
Eldo
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:04pm PT
|
Obviously a town person. I like some peace and quiet for sure. Eldo supposedly has 500 but I would say that it is less. Maybe 200-300.
|
|
limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:05pm PT
|
Town!
Proximity to empty areas is the big one though.
|
|
Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:09pm PT
|
I guess we are @ a whopping 10,000 now. Moved here 30 years ago so we've grown abit. When I get home each autumn from Tioga Pass I feel like Valley Center is a Los Angeles.
I guess I'm liking living in the forest and when I need what ever the city has to offer.....just what is that?....I can split to the land of cursing, honking and lights. hehehe lynnie
|
|
bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:10pm PT
|
Flagstaff is about as big a hamlet as I can manage these days. I'm casually looking for a place in Torrey, Utah. Anyone care to organize a mass migration?
|
|
donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:18pm PT
|
830 here in Ouray, feels kind of crowded but at least i'm really close to several wilderness areas.
Twelve years ago they put in the first, and only, traffic light in Ouray County. I'ts 9 miles away in Ridgway but i swear when conditions are right i can see it change from green to red.
It will be a cold day in hell before residents let another light get put in. Hell, they still haven't, thankfully, paved all of the streets.
|
|
Fletcher
Trad climber
The great state of advaita
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:22pm PT
|
I'm with Ghost. I like both but prefer the variety and diversity of urban with good access to solitude. I've been pretty successful at doing that in most places I've lived (New England, Chicago, SF Bay Area, Hong Kong, LA Area).
I found many, many familiar "around town" faces when I live in the mega-hive that is Hong Kong. I guess it helps to have a regular routine. Then you start running into the same people wherever you go.
Eric
|
|
this just in
climber
north fork
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:22pm PT
|
No traffic lights here and I'm never leaving. Hopefully....
|
|
The Call Of K2 Lou
climber
Squamish
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:27pm PT
|
I'm a rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond; call me what you will.
|
|
Chinchen
climber
Way out there....
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:42pm PT
|
I sure dig the small town life. Except for the lack of a music scene and the availability of asian transvestite hookers.
|
|
john hansen
climber
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:45pm PT
|
Some times when I am traveling, I will see a particular type of truck or a car and think,
"oh there is ,,," Small town.
|
|
Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:57pm PT
|
Small, very small towns in the rural west.
Choss Creek is about right.
|
|
mike m
Trad climber
black hills
|
|
|
Feb 11, 2013 - 11:59pm PT
|
I can't even drive to a city in 5 hours. Really thought I wanted to live in a city when I was young, but I love the rural setting now.
|
|
Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:29am PT
|
I'll take whatever I can get.
|
|
Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:33am PT
|
What so you think....city boy or desert hillbilly....
|
|
Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:36am PT
|
I'd also go for a small island in the warm latitudes......Love Mexico but now they be tellin' me not to go there. This world is a great place. People please don't muck it up. Thanks ll ll lynne
|
|
Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:40am PT
|
Fart in that cooler and you got a jacuzzi!
To the OP... neither. burbia or mtns or maybe desert. Cities of 800k + just don't seem to add much value (other than a job) to other cities. So city for city sake doesn't seem to cut it. Towns, i think of a place like Lone Pine (might bit too small for me until I retire).
But a mtn town, different gig as long as I like my neighbors.
Not sure why.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:41am PT
|
I've lived in 'towns' of less than 300 and liked it muchly. But it's hard to entice Vladimir Ashkenazy and his ilk to places like that.
But I could definitely live here...
|
|
10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:47am PT
|
Town
|
|
Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:51am PT
|
I live in a crowded neighborhood....
|
|
Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 12:54am PT
|
|
|
Anastasia
climber
Home
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 01:05am PT
|
Small town with access to a descent sized city, plus access to good health care is my ideal. I love being around real neighbors but... I also love a bit of culture, art, great museums, Really Good Doctors, etc. Not living in a major city ROCKS! Living close enough to visit, see a world renown Medical specialist, SUPER NICE!
AFS
|
|
Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 01:05am PT
|
I'm a small town girl that likes cities nearby, but the wilderness closer. Grew up in a town of 4,000, 90 minutes from NYC, 2 hours from Boston, 20 minutes from lots of 100 foot crags and small ski hills, couple hours to the Gunks, and 5 hours to blissful North Conway. Everyone knew me and my family. Now I live in a town of 1,200, close to Portland and the Cascades. Not bad, but too much time in the car. I look forward to the next phase of life, closer to the rock and mountains. I'll still be able to get to a big city from time to time. I'll be close to a small airport, with good access to wherever I may roam.
|
|
hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 08:26am PT
|
there's a crossover point ... the more people, the more filtering, excluding, keeping people at bay to preserve sanctity. in a small town, i might not let everybody in, but eventually i manage to see past the crustiness and develop some empathy for a wide variety of folks i would likely dismiss in a crowd
|
|
zBrown
Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 08:52am PT
|
When I grew up, the town was around 20-30 thousand, so I've never really lived in a small town. My mom on the other hand grew up in Ironwood, MI. Now that's a small one.
Couldn't find the population graph I was looking for, but I found this eye-opener
|
|
mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 09:37am PT
|
My small town (now) was once one of the largest cities in the American West at the turn of the last century...
It's a cool town now, but OH, to have been there in 1900 :-)
|
|
justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 09:55am PT
|
I'm in Ghost's camp. I've lived in Los Angeles my entire which fits the bill of "city with fast access to the wilderness". I appreciate the fact that LA basically has everything. I'm highly adaptable and used to people and crowds, so the hustle and bustle doesn't really get to me as long as there is convenient access to wilderness.
As I've gotten older I don't find myself heading into Hollywood to hang out at the Viper room and pick up those Asian trannie hookers (Jason waxes nostalgic) about so much any more :( so I have an open mind about moving to a quieter setting that would save my husband's sanity. :)
|
|
hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 10:16am PT
|
How about out of town, as far away from a stop light as possible? Or a town so small it has no stop light.
City? Possibly claustrophobia and a panic attack. Some are better than others. LA? Gotta be a real special reason.
|
|
Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 10:28am PT
|
I,d rather live urban and spend my weekends off trail and out of bounds.
But I have found a compromise for now.....
|
|
Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 02:09pm PT
|
This is where I want to live...
|
|
Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 02:10pm PT
|
Where I grew up the options were being a town person or a country person.
Alas, I was a city person.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 02:13pm PT
|
Geez, Ghost, you have a batch of yeast go rogue on ya? There's condos at the base of Jannu?
But my pic was real.
|
|
Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 03:22pm PT
|
I was the most comfortable when I loved near Yerington NV, other then the distance to anything climbable.
Lived about 8 miles out of town, 45 minutes would put me in Carson City and an hour to Reno if I needed to do "City" stuff. So I would say that I prefer rural living.
Both the towns I grew up in - Forks WA and Walker CA - were small towns. Now I live in Vegas, going on 11 years. I really don't care for the amount of people here, and have a strong dislike for most of them - no substance. But I get out of town at least once a month for a couple days, and for hiking and climbing it's a great central location.
|
|
Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 05:40pm PT
|
I grew up, and now live again, five miles out of a town of 2k. I like it, but I think I enjoyed the ten years I spent in Truckee more. 10k, still small, but large enough for pretty ladies and ethnic food.
|
|
snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 06:01pm PT
|
Either place is a good place to be- as long as you have the means to get away when you want to.
In 1900, the world population was 3% urban. Now it is 50%.
By 2050 when we hit 9 billion people we will be 80% urban, and that is a good thing. The per capita energy efficiencies that come from cities are one of the primary ways we will preserve the natural environment. New York City is the greenest city in the US.
|
|
SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 06:24pm PT
|
Santa Cruz is perfect for me...somewhere in the middle. I can run to the beach in the morning, yet my home tucks up against the Santa Cruz mountains. In the afternoon I have access to the best road and mountain bike venues. Every knd of yoga options you could imagine, and health food stores on every corner. A decent climbing gym, a wonderful university and reasonable drives to Yosemite or ski areas. When coming home from some adventure I'm always happy to be here.
And bestest.....we have so many open spaces for dogs, mountain hikes, beach, awesome dog parks too!
Susan
|
|
Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 06:36pm PT
|
SC seagoat, I love Santa Cruz too, but your traffic is beserko.
When I drove thru two years ago couldn't believe it was the same place I honeymooned at in in the late 60's. We saw the famous guy from India plucking his Indian guitar (forget it's name) he was famous and he had his daughter with him playing too.
Miss ya SC and Ferretlegger....lynnie
|
|
mechrist
Gym climber
South of Heaven
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 06:50pm PT
|
When I live in a city I can generally walk or ride my bike everywhere. I miss that. Unfortunately most "towns" in the west are not set up for that... everyone wants their own little private piece of land... which destroys any sense of community. I miss wandering down to the coffee shop and running into people I haven't seen for years.
|
|
nutjob
Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 06:55pm PT
|
I grew up in a town of 2,000, and for a while my family lived with one other family in a big hilltop house with nothing for miles around. Now I'm rolling dense in Los Angeles.
Keys for me are quick access to wilderness, access to quality food, and healthcare/education. I like having space between neighbors, enough privacy to be naked in my back yard or balcony, but it's nice if someone is close enough to help in emergencies.
I guess I'm a townie who can tolerate city life and enjoy the good parts of it.
|
|
Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 07:10pm PT
|
I love small towns but feel like I'd lose my privacy in them too quickly. Everyone seems to know everyone's business, whether you want to or not. I had a friend who couldn't wait to get out when he hit his late teens because everyone still viewed him as the 10 yr. punk who broke someone's window rather than the person he grew into.
I'm with those who prefer the city but with quick access to the outdoors. I think my favorite days are when I can do something like climb at Horse Flats or bike up Mt. Wilson and then hit the Hollywood Bowl in the evening. Perfect.
The suburb I live in is kind of a good mix of big/little town. You see your neighbors and their kids at the supermarket, riding bikes around the neighborhood, etc. Makes an otherwise big town feel much more familiar and intimate.
|
|
Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 07:22pm PT
|
Anonymity is a blessing if you're not social, I guess. My town knows that I'm a weirdo who lived in California and spends time in Central America. This is a huge black mark to my credibility. They find it strange and tell me so when I see them in the grocery store. Fact is, I don't really care. Let them think what they want, it amuses me.
I sleep with the sound of a river behind my house. I find that preferable to cars.
Perhaps I'm a burgeoning curmudgeon.
|
|
tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2013 - 09:55pm PT
|
Neither. i am a country person. live 4.5 miles out @ the end of a dead end dirt road and that is not deep enough for me. Wish I had more space and fewer neighbors...
|
|
| Messages 1 - 44 of total 44 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!