Dream City To Live In - Page 3

Vancouver or Sydney.

Perth (lived there in 2007, soon-to-be wife followed me back from there)
Victoria, BC

I guess I dig small-to-mid sized cities with outdoor lifestyles - as long as they have little enclaves of neat shops and restaurants.


I could throw Lyon, France, and Istanbul in there but I don't know how long I'd last in either.

I couldn't ever imagine leaving my current city (East coast of Canada)

But if I had to, it would be Zermatt

I like Sydney too. I would live there if I had a billion dollars, maybe, only because I'd want to live someplace with one of those amazing postcard views of the harbour.

Tokyo is alright but it's endless square miles of people and has no depth, at times. The safety and cleanliness are nice, there are a bunch of women who are 5-7's and then some knockout 9.5-10's here and there, people are reasonably polite and not out to ruin your day, and if you can buy it with money (legal or not) you can probably get it in Tokyo. The cost of living is pretty outrageous sometimes though. I can't imagine trying to live in Japan on a low income, it doesn't really seem possible to enjoy much here if so. In light of recent exchange rates, you really need a good (for) NYC type salary or better to live.

Seoul is depressingly ugly, dirty, insanely expensive if you want to live a civilized existence (really, most just do not) and doesn't offer much at all in the way of dining or anything world-class, and the people are generally very weird - but you can go out on the streets every night and people are out having fun, they're positive, it's pretty safe (almost like Japan, except people are a bit more hot-headed) and there's a ton of fuckable talent out there. Hardly ever see true 10's, because they have a weird standard for beauty in Korea, but there's a lot of 8-9's wandering around, with pretty low standards. It's pretty easy to have fun out there. I've thought about moving back in order to save a little on rent and things like car ownership, and I get along better with my own people out there - but the thought of the food and drink in Korea bothers me still. Also, I decided that if I do Seoul again, I'd have to buy a bunch of shit in the US and put it into a container and ship it to myself in Seoul if I ever wanted to have nice examples of things like furniture and housewares, and I'd regularly come back to Japan, like once a month at least. Sometimes to just buy things like groceries and liquor. It's pretty bleak.

Those are about the only places where I can live for extended periods, I think.

Phnom Penh is an interesting choice....what do you enjoy about it so much?

Seems odd to say PP and Singapore in the same breath, since one is cowboy frontierland, and the other probably outlawed cowboys (except for the old ladies line dancing at China Square) and considers the bridges to Malaysia to be a frontier....

Paris. I'd live out my Miller-esque fantasies. (or just drink coffee and chill in a cafe every morning)

I'm very poorly traveled, but among the places I've been to: Barcelona.

Otherwise, I'd probably just prefer places I've already lived in-L.A. and New York.

currently auditioning Honolulu as my city to retire in.

but where i currently am, South Florida/Miami, is pretty damn good. not perfect, and pisses me off frequently, but i can't think of many cities that i'd prefer to be in

I grew up on the south coast of Norway, and I do have a special place in my heart for cities with an archipelago.

Stockholm immideatly springs to mind, and I think I could really enjoy it there.
And in no particular order, not necessarily with any regards to the coastal thing:
London
Chicago
Seattle
Copenhagen

I haven't visited Cicago, but it seems nice, without being able to put a finger on what exactly draws me to it. I think Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are places I would consider living, but not for the rest of my life - perhaps just a few years as a way to kick start my career.

I guess Sydney would be nice too, or perhaps Amsterdam. Or San Francisco. Also Canada seems nice - I would definitely consider moving there.

Buenos Aires

Very good wine that costs practically nothing. Restaurants, while not up to Michelin standards for the most part (which I can't afford on a weekly basis anyway), are very affordable and there are enough good choices to keep me happy. The city itself is interesting. I loved Recoleta and could totally see myself living there. Lots of cafes are outdoor patios to drink on. Lots of green space. Safe compared to most other places in SA. The tango is fun. They have a great opera house. It's cheap to get around, even if you take taxis all the time. Attractive women. The people are nice. You can also go north, south, eats or west and hit some very different climates/landscapes, which is nice. I absolutely loved Patagonia so I could totally see myself with an apartment in BA, a ski lodge in Bariloche, and doing regular treks/climbing in Patagonia.

San Sebastián (coast, good food), Verona (some fantasy of Italian life) or Paris (duh)
Edited by Parker - 9/2/12 at 10:32pm

good call. there are a few wrinkles, primary being the scary inflation and the weird political culture, but no city is perfect. it has gotten a lot less safe in recent years though - I go once a year for work and last time some members of my group were targeted for a baggage theft scam (no one hurt and nothing stolen thank god). cops told us that crime was on the rise and sadly they were not surprised

Come on out to Chicago, its great here ;)

Paris for a dream city.
Aix en Provence for a dream small city.

What is the dream city for a poor man?