My Philosophy On Picking A Place To Live

Wonderful thread and really appreciated everyone's takes...

I'm visiting Miami for the winter... but live in Vancouver... I just moved there pre-Covid... it's a wonderful city ... with much better weather than the rumors... unfortunately, real estate is even more expensive than my home city of Toronto.

I love all three of these cities, plus so many of the cities in the 40+ countries i've been too

And I'm with Mallthus... you gotta be make the best of where you are and be happy there.

We, a retired couple in our early 60s, moved to Miami from the Midwest having lived there most of our lives. We are very happy with our choice. Our relocation criteria included easy access to an international airport, and Amtrak, public transportation, museums, art, a culture different than our own, a place family would want to visit, no snow and water views. Miami became our best choice. We are also introverts, so I completely understand Ben’s points about avoiding large social scenes, but luckily there’s more to Miami than that. Having stayed home most of the last year, we’re ready to travel and I have great views while I google and plan our next trips. In some ways, Miami is also our staging ground/Home base but that doesn’t mean we’re not concerned about our building/residents/employees, our local restaurants, our neighborhood, our city. I’m glad others responded to Dodo because I’m in Miami to get away from people with one sided thinking with no ability to see different perspectives. Maybe he should travel more...

Hi Lucky! Great post - and I fully agree with the essence of it: making somewhere a home depends on your personal preferences. I was born in a midsize town in my country and loved growing up there. I’ve lived in 6 countries on 4 continents at various stages of my life, and currently call the capital of my country home.

I have now made a decision to relocate to one of the outer suburbs for a variety of reasons. My friends have started spreading out, I stopped clubbing years ago, plus I am noticing certain changes that I don’t appreciate. More “undesirable” elements roaming the streets, property prices becoming silly as well as a few other things. There are now several places within easy reach of the capital, which also offer great facilities, peace & quiet and both the airport and my family in a different county are only a short hop away. Don’t even need to buy a car.

Lucky, I think you made a great choice! I have a second home in Miami and my primary residence is in the tristate area. Since the pandemic started, I've been able to work remotely, so I'm staying in Miami. Miami is one of the most vibrant cities in the country" with awesome weather most of the year. I chose to live in South Beach because I enjoy having everything I need within walking distance: beach, great restaurants,shopping and nightlife. (But I stopped going to bars since Covid started.) I enjoy the international flavor and the proximity to a major airport with non-stop flights to my favorite international destinations CDG, BCN and GIG. If it wasn't for my job, I would make Miami my permanent home. Like someone else mentioned here, many choose to live in the northeast or in CA because it's easier to find a better paying job in those places than in Miami, but your job allows you to live anywhere, I think Miami is the best place in the country. And for Miami haters out there, stay where you are, because the more people are moving here from NY and CA, the more expensive Miami gets.

As retirees, we are now residents of a small medieval town in southern France. It has beautiful stone buildings and a hodgepodge of narrow stone-paved streets in the same pale creams and grays. We return to a beach town in Southern California for a few months each year to visit with our families who live all there. We absolutely adore living in restored buildings five hundred years old, walking to the green grocer, the pharmacy, the butcher, the boulangerie, the doctor, and the dentist, none being more than a ten minute walk, most two or three minutes. We enjoy having dozens of friends, both French and international, also within walking distance. In non-Covid times that proximity is especially cherished after imbibing the tasty local wines at dinner parties or restaurants. Because it is a gorgeous little tourist town with incredible Wednesday and Saturday markets, there are about fifty small restaurants and cafés, also within walking distance, making the town very lively on the circling boulevard and the squares in normal times. The sense of community is very strong and people, both French and foreign, are very friendly. Just today (masked) on my way to the the fish monger in the market square I chatted briefly with my neighbor and her two new American friends who were standing in our apartment courtyard, checked in on a 96 year old former neighbor (vaccinated like me), chatted briefly with another former neighbor, dropped by another friend’s apartment to collect some homemade soup she wanted to give my husband and me, and ran into another friend who I wanted to invite to lunch along with his husband now that we are all vaccinated. Though we know a great number of people here (we are very social, unlike Ben), the size of the town is perfect because it is large enough to know only a small percent of the populace, yet it is very compact with its rabbit warren of large mostly 16th and 17th century mansions now converted into apartments; so you run into people you know on every excursion out. The population expands in the summer with second-home vacationers and an increasingly large number of tourists; so, in non-Covid times, there are a plethora of interesting people to meet and befriend, even if the friendship is transitory.

I loved my Southern California surfer-dude town with its incredible beaches, perfect weather, young vibe and freeway access, and we have visited more than sixty countries (and Miami many times), but we both love the pleasures and challenges of living in a completely different environment as we age, in a town founded by the Romans surrounded by seemingly unending vineyards, learning the language and culture and savoring the piquant life of ex-patriots. And views? Not the ocean framed in palm trees but our second floor terrace looks across a large garden to a jumble of medieval tiled roofs on to the imposing towers of the castle nestled among them at the highest point in the town.
The dentist and the doctors? Great and with the latest equipment - and paid for by France and my supplementary insurance. France truly wants all its residents to have good health care. My 96 year old friend told me today the French social services now has a helper come to her apartment one hour a day, six days a week to assist with housework and shopping so she can continue to live in her own home. Life expectancy here is four years more than in the US now. The atmosphere in this town is so peaceful that I sometimes don’t like to leave, although we are near the mountains and the Cote d’Azur, and major cities like Lyon and Paris are brought close by high speed trains. We have three cruises lined up post-Covid and will return to So Cal in the summer and again for Thanksgiving/Christmas. So we feel we have the best of all worlds, especially with the cost of living being much less here than in So Cal. There seems to be no “keeping up with the Jones” that can be so common and toxic in the US.

And the fish monger today? He wasn’t crowded as usual so he had time to explain the difference between his gravlax and smoked salmon - and gave me a bite of each! Merci! We are frequently out of our comfort zone because we are not really fluent in French, but we think that keeps our minds sharp and we do not shrink from adventure even as we approach 80. Vive la France!

Most of your criteria match mine, except I'm older, widowed, and straight. I live north of LA in the foothills, and I love it here. The weather is great almost every day. I'm right next to the mountains, but I can be in the city, beach, or desert for the day. I love the diversity of people and cultures. My cost of living is cheap, believe it or not! House is paid off; property tax is cheap for longtime homeowners because we benefit from old Proposition 13 that limits property tax increases; CA doesn't tax Social Security; and I don't mind the high sales tax because I don't buy much. I'm within easy reach of four airports, including LAX. Can't imagine moving unless I need to be nearer to my son and DIL in Denver at some point.

Hi Ben, it's great to see that you love Miami. While I have never lived there, I've visited often from Europe in the past as I had some family around Fort Lauderdale.

Personally, I love Florida as a visitor. I think it's a beautiful state with lots of options for living and good diversity.
I've been looking for a new place to live for a long time as I am not very happy in Europe anymore. While I'd prefer to go East, if I'd ever move to the U.S., Florida would be a place where I could imagine living. There's not as much of a city life as in some places like SF or NY, but it's got it's perks I think. Having said that, I'm looking at it from a purely subjective point of view, so school quality and all these things are not factored in.

In the end though, I think you have to live in a place that makes you happy. People are always overengineering this by comparing all kinds of KPIs. But what does it matter if the lifestyle in a place does not suit you? So in the end, this is a very personal and individual decision, for those who are even lucky enough to have a choice.

Ben is right about the wonderful opportunity to live in an area in south Florida like Miami. How many people get to sit on their lanai or balcony outdoors while they work? It’s a luxury few have. The weather is an amenity of great value. The clean air from the ocean and Gulf of Mexico is priceless. You can virtually be outdoors nearly everyday all year versus indoors waiting for spring to arrive. It is uplifting.

Hurricanes? That’s why you buy insurance. That aside, the weather catastrophies in the rest of the country during the past year have been so devastating, unusual and unexpected that Miamians and other Floridians’ possible freakish nature problems seemed nonexistent.

Views and landscaping. There’s something really special about living somewhere where your outside views are something right out of a travel magazine. The ocean views or a pond. The spectacular swaying palm trees. Many people enjoy places out west with the desserts, but there’s nothing like a waterfront view. Living in Florida is about the lifestyle. The open areas. The sun. The 360 degree window views to the outdoors. Outdoor conditions that are widely adored. It’s like being on vacation year round. In Ben’s case, it would be like returning from his job of travel and being on vacation when he gets home. What’s not to like about that?

The lack of state tax, the accessibility to a large international airport, the easy benefit to services, the nearness of family, the safety and comfort of one’s gender identity, the feeling of acceptance in a diverse society enriched with a plethora of cultural events, and a long list of other plusses of Florida living make Ben’s choice a sound decision.

One thing worth mentioning and adding is health facilities. Miami has excellent hospitals and other medical facilities. In fact, many foreigners travel to Miami-Dade hospitals for surgical care. Some people consider being close to emergency care, and good health care, one of the primary reasons of their choice of where to live.

One con is the traffic. I-95 is hectic at times. Some drivers like to think it’s a race track. Ben and Ford, if you decide to take a ride west on Alligator Alley, which is much more sane, you’re welcome to have lunch with us sometime.

Lived in the east bay in California for most of my life, with a few year stint in Hawaii, and now I've lived in Seattle for the last 9 months. I guess I'm different in that I don't mind a bit less sun (although the summers are very sunny and mild, the best summer season in the country IMO). The natural beauty around Seattle is breathtaking (mountains, water, tons of trees), the food is great, lots of diversity, solid airport, tons of jobs, can drive to the ocean/Canada/Portland easily.

We also found a great place within walking distance of tons of stuff for a decent price, so that enhances the experience a lot. It really is important to find a great neighborhood/home whatever city you live in.

Sure it rains (drizzles mostly), so I just wear a North Face jacket, or bring one just in case. Need to have the right jackets in the closet when it's not summer, plus I have a couple pairs of waterproof shoes.

This is a topic that has always fascinated me. Throughout my career I have traveled extensively, mostly in the US but also internationally. Everywhere I go, I ask myself, would I be happy living here. Usually, the answer is no. For me a big issue is character, and most places are, especially in the US, are too generic and lack character. I’m also fortunate to have a job where I can live anywhere, and live in Vermont. The reasons I live here work for me, because of the things we have and don’t have and in spite of the things we don’t have. We have a civil society and get along - for example, I’m a liberal Democrat who voted for our Republican Governor who voted for Biden. We don’t have billboards, and how cool is that? Our rural landscape is our playground for skiing, mountain biking, and lots more. Our climate is definitely isn’t the best but when the weather is good, it’s glorious. Our internet is bad, and my airport is small which means I have to connect to go almost anywhere. We have real towns and very little sprawl. We have high taxes. We have few freeways and most of our roads are gravel (really). Put it all together and it works for me.

I’ve met many people who don’t care where they live and that has always seemed sad to me. In Las Vegas, the major reason that many people live there is that the cost of living is cheap and not because they like it. Or “I live here because this is where I got a job.” I understand that one, but still find it sad. Lucky seems to like living in Miami because considering the whole package, it works for him. We should all be so lucky.

And BTW, I don’t want to live in Miami, but do really like it.

Family and a feeling of being comfortable in my surroundings are what matter most to me. State income tax is an incomplete argument, as you really need to look at your total tax burden (including property tax, sales tax, school tax, etc.), *IF* you're going to make taxes a factor. I live in San Diego, which is where my family lives, and where I feel at home. The weather and the people (including the politics) are a big part of that feeling. I know it's a pricey place to live, but we make it work. Could I afford a mansion elsewhere? Sure. But what good is a mansion in a place you hate? That would be awful.

I'm finding that I am a bit overwhelmed with choices in where I will live next. The pandemic has completely up-ended my personal and professional lives. The end result as far as living situations go is that I have no ties, job, or even apartment lease to keep me in any single place. My previous career allowed me to travel extensively and see many parts of the world. But now that the end of the pandemic is in sight, the prospect of picking one place to call home, and where that place will be, is proving quite daunting.

You have no interest in being a part of where you live, no connection to the place, you make zero contribution, and most of all you have no “skin in the game” — no “stake” in the lives of others who are rooted there, no interest in that place’s success or failure. You’re indifferent to the place, as you admit yourself — and as you demonstrated when you fled your last couple places of residence. For you, it’s just a place to crash for a while before you move on.

That’s not “living” anywhere, that’s just passing through.

That’s why I don’t want you living in my hometown. We have enough disinterested tourists already.

— Bobo Bolinski

You got that from this article? Yikes. What exactly does being a part of or having a connection to the place where you live mean to you?