5 ms·

Where is this place, if you don’t mind me asking?

citilife 4y ago
Not going to give it particularly away, but here are some similar towns I've visited before deciding on my current town (very similar): * Bloomington, Champaign, Morris, Charleston IL * Kenosha, Sheboygan WI * Hendersonville, Gatlinburg, Greeneville TN * Milton, Concord NH There's probably more, but these are just off the top of my head. They were fairly similar in the sense you had most amenities and what you didn't have was <1 hr away.
- mc32 4y ago
  To your point, almost all high-visitor (winter/summer) based community will have the above amenities. Places like Burlington, VT or Truckee, CA.
- fleetwoodsnack 4y ago
  I can only speak to Champaign (UIUC engineering) and Bloomington, IL, but I think your prior comment misrepresents the circumstances in these cities. The Asian/African/(-American) populations are mostly transient (students) and while grocery options exist they are oriented toward a student’s diet: expansive in snacks and novelties, but short on staple vegetables, grains, and meats. I’ve heard of times in the past when friends of mine had to travel to Chicago, which is 3 hours away, for their haircuts because their regular stylist closes down for the summer when students leave. Not to say this is representative of the other cities on your list, but your comparing the ones I’ve experienced to San Francisco is laughable.
  - citilife 4y ago
    > I’ve heard of times in the past when friends of mine had to travel to Chicago, which is 3 hours away, for their haircuts because their regular stylist closes down for the summer when students leave. This sounds more like a person is doing something unnecessary / eccentric. The majority hair stylists are definitely there year round lol. As I said, it's not a comparison directly to San Francisco in terms of all amenities - obviously a city such as SF with a massive Asian population will likely have additional options for food. As you said, if that's all you value than sure; massive city is your best bet. You'll give up other amenities for the food selection (such as space). I was pointing out that you can get 95+% of your wants and 100% of your needs met in a place that costs 1/4 as much with plenty of opportunity as well. I think most students don't realize how many different grocers and what not there are either. For instance, I knew people who would travel large distances to a trader joes... why? Because the brand name / status is what they were looking for. If you weren't looking for that, you can get almost anything you wanted. A team I managed worked in Champaign IL (why I knew about it) and all the adults I spoke with said they could make any dish they wanted (they were: American, Iranian, Vietnamese and Chinese). The Vietnamese guy in particular would bring in homemade food every day with pretty exotic produce.

Not going to give it particularly away, but here are some similar towns I've visited before deciding on my current town (very similar): * Bloomington, Champaign, Morris, Charleston IL * Kenosha, Sheboygan WI * Hendersonville, Gatlinburg, Greeneville TN * Milton, Concord NH There's probably more, but these are just off the top of my head. They were fairly similar in the sense you had most amenities and what you didn't have was <1 hr away.

mc32 4y ago
To your point, almost all high-visitor (winter/summer) based community will have the above amenities. Places like Burlington, VT or Truckee, CA.
fleetwoodsnack 4y ago
I can only speak to Champaign (UIUC engineering) and Bloomington, IL, but I think your prior comment misrepresents the circumstances in these cities. The Asian/African/(-American) populations are mostly transient (students) and while grocery options exist they are oriented toward a student’s diet: expansive in snacks and novelties, but short on staple vegetables, grains, and meats. I’ve heard of times in the past when friends of mine had to travel to Chicago, which is 3 hours away, for their haircuts because their regular stylist closes down for the summer when students leave. Not to say this is representative of the other cities on your list, but your comparing the ones I’ve experienced to San Francisco is laughable.
- citilife 4y ago
  > I’ve heard of times in the past when friends of mine had to travel to Chicago, which is 3 hours away, for their haircuts because their regular stylist closes down for the summer when students leave. This sounds more like a person is doing something unnecessary / eccentric. The majority hair stylists are definitely there year round lol. As I said, it's not a comparison directly to San Francisco in terms of all amenities - obviously a city such as SF with a massive Asian population will likely have additional options for food. As you said, if that's all you value than sure; massive city is your best bet. You'll give up other amenities for the food selection (such as space). I was pointing out that you can get 95+% of your wants and 100% of your needs met in a place that costs 1/4 as much with plenty of opportunity as well. I think most students don't realize how many different grocers and what not there are either. For instance, I knew people who would travel large distances to a trader joes... why? Because the brand name / status is what they were looking for. If you weren't looking for that, you can get almost anything you wanted. A team I managed worked in Champaign IL (why I knew about it) and all the adults I spoke with said they could make any dish they wanted (they were: American, Iranian, Vietnamese and Chinese). The Vietnamese guy in particular would bring in homemade food every day with pretty exotic produce.