Smiley! East Bay

[telecom_goddess]

I didn't want to hijack the other thread but I noticed you mentioning if you ever move to the Bay Area you would want to live in the East Bay. I come from the East Bay....and for a piece of advice skip Oakland my hometown. You would be happier in Berkeley. But I will warn you all of the Bay Area is expensive to live in. If you want a gay friendly place that's cheaper to live come here to Portland.

I do miss the Bay Area sometimes though....having the Bay right there....being able to walk to the beach....more temperate climate.....sigh.

[Andara Bledin]

You know, I was just discussing Portland with my company's contact with the collection agency we use.

He lives in Portland and the way he described it, it sounded like a pretty happening place to be.

Totally unrelated, but listening to him talk, he sounds a lot like John Francis Daley (Dr. Sweets on Bones).

^-.-^

[telecom_goddess]

All in all it's a good place and I do like it....I just miss my home area sometimes. The winters here are getting to me though. They are cold and wet for soooooo long.

[smileyeagle1021]

TG, I was thinking more Pleasant Hill or Walnut Creek area, it's got the mountains which I like and is a short and cheap BART ride to both the city and the ocean (which hubby likes).

Oddly enough, Portland was up in my top 5 (Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, Reno, and DC), those are in no particular order, those are just the 5 that keep coming up. Vegas, Boston, and SoCal also come up occasionally, but not as frequently as those 5.

[Greenday]

Don't join the military. Afghanistan is not so friendly in that regard.

[Plaidman]

I've been trying to get smiley down to Portland forever. He not biting.


No-one listens to the Plaidman.

[Andara Bledin]

Here's an interesting city mashup at Sterling's Best Places for various factors. Four of the five top choices were in the top 10, as were two of the alts. (note, each "city" is actually a larger metro area. eg the Los Angeles section includes Santa Ana and all points in between)

Portland ranks 4th, behind San Francisco, Boston, and Denver. Salt Lake City comes in 10th.

Various other rankings for the Portland region, including #2 for Fiscal Fitness right behind SLC.

^-.-^

[Greenday]

Boston sucks. Don't move to Boston.

[telecom_goddess]

Hah well if Plaid and I start in on Smiley maybe it will sway him this way.

[smileyeagle1021]

Andara, if you look the main things for their listing Salt Lake it's winter sports (not interested in winter sports, so doesn't help me) and good economy (which when I get my degree I can go almost anywhere that isn't in a full blown depression).

[Andara Bledin]

Andara, if you look the main things for their listing Salt Lake it's winter sports (not interested in winter sports, so doesn't help me) and good economy (which when I get my degree I can go almost anywhere that isn't in a full blown depression).

And public transit.

Yeah, the specifics of why the metro areas are where they are matter. Sports are one of the few things that don't matter at all to me, either, but things like a decent public transit system improve life for everybody in the area.

^-.-^

[smileyeagle1021]

Wait, public transit in Salt Lake being a reason for a top 10...
Maybe in a few years when the Frontlines project is done we'll be ranked up there with the tolerable system. Our rail system is amazing if you are going to where it goes, but it is limited in where it goes. Our bus system however is a joke. If you need to transfer to and from the rail system, then the bus system is still good, but if you need to go anywhere that isn't downtown, transfers are a nightmare, routing is convoluted, fares are outrageous ($2.25 for a basic fare and $5 for an express fare, and that is going to go up to $2.50 basic and $5.50 express, and then there is Frontrunner which has its own convoluted fare structure), and the drivers are rude and unprofessional to boot ( hubby can't count how many times that a driver has driven past his stop that he requested well in advance, hell, I've lost count too, and had the driver argue with him over whether or not said stop even exists... umm, there be the sign for it, so I guarantee you mr. overpaid unprofessional douchebag, it exists).

Though, I have heard that transit in Portland is amazing, and I already know it's good in San Fran and DC from past experience.
Reno, not so much, but Reno is also cheap enough that we could afford a second car.

[telecom_goddess]

I think you would go nuts in Reno. I used to spend a lot of time there and it's....boring.

The Bay Area does have a good transit system, I grew up using it. It gets confusing between the East Bay and SF to me though.

Portland has a great transit system. I use it every single day. And in my opinion I think you would probably be happiest on the east end of town vs the west end near Beaverton where I live.

[Stormraven]

Living in the East Bay, I can speak to some things. It's a nice place, overall.

[smileyeagle1021]

TG, I think you forget, I know a lot about Reno, I grew up there. And while it is a boring place, I have friends and family there, which is something that I can't really say about any other cities on the list (okay, so San Fran and Portland I know people from on here, but Reno I have the friends that I've known since I was 12, the friends that when I came out to them could only respond "well, it's about damned time you told us").