FindYourSpot.com (US-centric)

Sacramento, California  
Las Vegas, Nevada  
Little Rock, Arkansas   
Baton Rouge, Louisiana  
New Orleans, Louisiana 
Los Angeles, California  
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Monroe, Louisiana   
San Diego, California   
Orange County, California   
Honolulu, Hawaii   
Portland, Oregon 
Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana   
Long Beach, California   
Chico, California   
Lafayette (Cajun Country), Louisiana
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Henderson, Nevada
El Cajon, California 
Riverside, California  
Alexandria, Louisiana 
Washington, District of Columbia 
Baltimore, Maryland 
Gaithersburg, Maryland 

Here's my recomended list from FindYourSpot.com's quiz:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Little Rock, Arkansas
Oakland, California
Los Angeles, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
San Diego, California
Orange County, California
Lafayette (Cajun Country), Louisiana
Alexandria, Louisiana
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Long Beach, California
San Jose, California
Monroe, Louisiana
Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
New Haven, Connecticut
Boston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Sacramento, California
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Baltimore, Maryland
Providence, Rhode Island
Chicago, Illinois

Apparently I should never leave New England??????? (Yay that Baltimore and DC showed up so high, though! WHERE THE FUCK IS MINNEAPOLIS?????)

Hartford
New Haven
Providence
Boston
Portland
Sacto
Worcester
Little Rock
Honolulu
Vegas
Baltimore
San Jose
DC
SF
Danbury
Oakland
NoLA
Baton Rouge
Long Beach
Santa Barbara
Cape Cod
Albuquerque
Fayetteville, AR
Medford

Second Try, slightly different (more accurate?) preferences, no geographic privilege:
Sacto
Little Rock
Honolulu
Vegas
Portland
Baltimore
San Jose
DC
SF
Hartford
New Haven
NoLA
Long Beach
Oakland
Providence
Baton Rouge
Boston
Worcester
San Diego
OC
Fayetteville
Chicago
Albuquerque
Frederick, MD

Two lists and not once does NY, LA or Seattle show up - please

1: Miami FL
2: West Palm Beach FL
3: Charleston SC
4: Houston TX (I'm not nuts about Houston, but the Vietnamese suburbs are cool)
5: Fort Worth TX
6: Phoenix AZ
7: Tampa FL
8: Orlando FL *: ex lives there
9: Austin TX
10: Dallas TX
11: Memphis TN
12: Atlanta GA
13: Jacksonville FL
14: San Antonio TX
15: El Paso TX
16: Oklahoma City OK half*: too much snow
17: Coral Springs FL
18: Birmingham AL *: grandfather lives there
19: Delray Beach FL
20: Clearwater FL
21: Tucson AZ
22: Galveston TX
23: Brownsville TX
24: Louisville KY

haha my grandmother lives here.

Apparently FindYourSpot.com can't decide if they think I'm a hippy liberal, a backwoods redneck, a chowderhead, or a GOONIE (see: #20). I am entertained.

"Enjoy breezes [or high winds] from sapphire-blue [or green, or muddy brown] Lake Michigan as you ride your bike along scenic Lake Shore Drive [I've found that a bike path is safer] or fish from a pier [but for the love of God, don't eat it].... Or spend a day shopping along ritzy North Michigan Avenue, known as the 'Million Dollar Mile' [ha bloody ha]."

Whoever wrote this has never put one toe in Chicago, much less lived here. I'd imagine the same is true for all these cities.

Norfolk, Virginia Heart of the Hampton Roads
Long Island, New York The Great Island
Louisville, Kentucky Home of the Kentucky Derby
Charlotte, North Carolina The Queen City
Richmond, Virginia Rising Star of the South
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Big City on the Plains
Nashville, Tennessee Music City, U.S.A.
Seattle, Washington The Emerald City
St. Louis, Missouri Wonder of the Modern World
El Paso, Texas Where the Sun Always Shines
Lexington, Kentucky Heart of the Bluegrass
Tucson, Arizona Sonoran Desert Oasis
Cincinnati, Ohio The Queen City
Wilmington, Delaware The Flowering City
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania City of Brotherly Love
Knoxville, Tennessee Gateway to the Smoky Mountains
Denver, Colorado The Mile High City
Chesapeake-Virginia Beach, Virginia The Southern Tidewater Region
Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota Wealth of the Twin Cities
New York City, New York The City That Never Sleeps
Phoenix, Arizona Valley of the Sun
Indianapolis, Indiana The Crossroads of America
Toledo, Ohio Glass City of the Great Lakes
Bergen-Passaic, New Jersey Better than the Big Apple

The idea that I would rather live in Toledo or Cincinnati than San Francisco or even my current locale is pretty sickening. God.

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha awesome

That's the color commentary, though, it doesn't necessarily reflect the logic of the quiz (and is undoubtedly not the work of the quiz's author). The quiz is just determining things based on a checklist of "does it or does it not have X," the color commentary sounds like cut and pasted brochure text about intangibles.

Wow. This has to be the first instance of my birthplace and hometown showing up on ilxor. The population of the whole county can't be anymore than 15,000.

It's a great place to grow up in, but I'll tell ya that it's been dry since the forties.

(Wow. That might be the dumbest question I've ever asked.)

1) Do you like the local food;
2) Do you like the character of the people;
3) Other local culture and pick-and-choose national culture questions.

Stuff it could ask about but doesn't:

1) More specific sports questions (I'm sure Bloomington got some points when I said I'm "a fan of pro and college sports," since I couldn't specify one or the other, much less what kind of sport, but the only sports available here are the ones I'm not interested in).

2) Questions about non-Spanish ethnic community -- which aren't going to be universally important, granted, but are probably about the equal of mountain biking and local NOW chapters.

Yeah, but weighted against nothing. That's probably why if you check "Democrat," it automatically wants to put you in New England.

ha ha ha ha ha

Dee, millions of people have no difficulty getting into the holiday spirit in warm weather, including most of your neighbors.

Chattanooga, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee 
Tacoma, Washington 
Hickory, North Carolina
Carlisle, Pennsylvania 
Kent, Washington
Johnson City-Kingsport, Tennessee
Asheville, North Carolina
Bellingham, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Roanoke, Virginia   
Tulsa, Oklahoma   
Olympia, Washington 
Seattle, Washington   
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania  
Albany, New York   
Clarksville, Tennessee   
Greenville, South Carolina   
Lynchburg, Virginia   
Norfolk, Virginia   
Louisville, Kentucky   
Anchorage, Alaska  
Nashville, Tennessee  
Altoona, Pennsylvania 

nevermind Appalachia or the Rockies

I have no idea how Jacksonville snuck in there, a town I don't like at all. Same for Anchorage and Cleveland. But Asheville and Charleston are two of my favorite cities in the country, so I guess they got that right.

Population: 542,000 | Average Home Price: $175,000 | Precipitation: 43" | Snow: 30"



Worcester, Massachusetts The Heart of the Commonwealth
This city at the heart of New England is home to the EcoTarium, a science center for all ages…

Population: 502,500 | Average Home Price: $215,000 | Precipitation: 48" | Snow: 45"



Providence, Rhode Island New England’s Best Kept Kept Secret
This Rhode Island spot is the home of the award-winning flaming sculpture WaterFire, installed on the three rivers of downtown...

Population: 955,500 | Average Home Price: $190,000 | Precipitation: 48" | Snow: 32"



Danbury, Connecticut Small-Town Charm Near the Big Apple
Zadoc Benedict began making beaver hats here in 1780, starting this Connecticut town's important hat industry...

Population: 75,000 | Average Home Price: $280,000 | Precipitation: 39" | Snow: 50"



Boston, Massachusetts America’s Walking City
Here in "America's Walking City," you can stroll down to famous Franklin Park for the annual Kite Festival...

Population: 3,400,000 | Average Home Price: $365,000 | Precipitation: 43" | Snow: 41"



Bend, Oregon Oregon’s Natural Playground
This Oregon town's municipal airport was used for pilot training during World War II…

Population: 52,000 | Average Home Price: $209,000 | Precipitation: 12" | Snow: 34"



Hartford, Connecticut The Insurance Capital
This Connecticut city is home to America's oldest State House, oldest public art museum, and oldest continuously published newspaper...

Population: 1,183,000 | Average Home Price: $155,000 | Precipitation: 41" | Snow: 42"



Cape Cod, Massachusetts Jewel of the New England Coast
This peninsula is home to the oldest public library in America: the Sturgis Library, established in 1644…

Population: 222,000 | Average Home Price: $325,000 | Precipitation: 46" | Snow: 34"



Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut Connecticut’s Key Cities
This seaside spot in Connecticut is projected to have the highest median income in the country by 2009…

Population: 353,600 | Average Home Price: $365,000 | Precipitation: 43" | Snow: 47"



Carson City, Nevada Nevada’s Historic Capital
This Frontier city thrived and became a territorial capital following the discovery of the famous Comstock silver lode in the 1850's…

Population: 53,000 | Average Home Price: $175,000 | Precipitation: 11" | Snow: 32"



Cambridge, Massachusetts Boston’s Spirited Sister
Home to Harvard, MIT, and a large number of high-tech companies, this spot is world-renowned as an educational and technological mecca…

Population: 101,000 | Average Home Price: $380,000 | Precipitation: 42" | Snow: 41"



Santa Fe, New Mexico Jewel of the Southwest
This New Mexico town receives more snow annually than most towns in Connecticut…

Population: 62,000 | Average Home Price: $250,000 | Precipitation: 14" | Snow: 29"



Portland, Oregon City of Roses
This Oregon city has the nation's largest forested municipal park, the aptly-named Forest Park…

Population: 1,573,000 | Average Home Price: $196,000 | Precipitation: 36" | Snow: 5"



Reno, Nevada Biggest Little City in the World
This "biggest little city in the world" is famous for its casinos and recreational opportunities…

Population: 180,500 | Average Home Price: $225,000 | Precipitation: 7" | Snow: 24"



Medford, Oregon Gateway to the Pacific Northwest
This gorgeous spot boasts the West's only operating water-powered grist mill, located on the banks of Little Butte Creek since 1872…

Population: 63,000 | Average Home Price: $166,000 | Precipitation: 19" | Snow: 8"



Albuquerque, New Mexico The Pulse of New Mexico
This city's International Balloon Fiesta features 850 hot air balloons each October…

Population: 450,000 | Average Home Price: $163,000 | Precipitation: 8" | Snow: 15"



Baltimore, Maryland The Sparkling Harbor City
This Atlantic seaboard city is home to the National Aquarium…

Population: 4,750,000 | Average Home Price: $215,000 | Precipitation: 40" | Snow: 18"



Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Genuine American City
This Wisconsin "City of Festivals" celebrates its diverse ethnic heritage all year long, with over 20 major cultural festivals…

Population: 1,500,000 | Average Home Price: $125,000 | Precipitation: 31" | Snow: 47"



Washington, District of Columbia The World's Greatest Capital
This most patriotic of American cities was laid out by a French architect…

Population: 572,000 | Average Home Price: $300,000 | Precipitation: 39" | Snow: 16"



Gaithersburg, Maryland The Park City
This town is home to a "Latitude Observatory" - one of five in the world - built in 1899 to measure the wobble of the earth's axis...

Population: 53,000 | Average Home Price: $300,000 | Precipitation: 40" | Snow: 18"



Chicago, Illinois The Windy City
This big city has more shopping center space per capita than any other American city…

Population: 8,300,000 | Average Home Price: $210,000 | Precipitation: 32" | Snow: 40"



Madison, Wisconsin Athens Of The Midwest
Located between lakes Monona and Mendota, this picturesque spot is the only North American city built on an isthmus…

Population: 426,500 | Average Home Price: $202,000 | Precipitation: 30" | Snow: 44"



Oak Park, Illinois A Great Way of Life
This spot is home to the world's largest collection of Frank Lloyd Write designed houses and buildings, with 25 of them built between 1889 and 1913…

Population: 52,500 | Average Home Price: $298,000 | Precipitation: 35" | Snow: 33"



Sacramento, California The River City
This state capital is the oldest incorporated city in California…

Population: 1,628,000 | Average Home Price: $224,000 | Precipitation: 17" | Snow: 0"

Guess I'll stay right where I am.

West Virginia is so not the Midwest.

Up until a coupla years ago, you coulda bought three or four houses for that kinda cash. At least.

I've seen parking spaces in Manhatten sold for more than what I paid for my house.

actually, I privileged new england, but I suspect it would've turned out this way regardless. I heart the berkshires.

providence
portland
new haven
hartford
worcester
boston
little rock (?!)
baltimore
eugene, or
corvallis, or
baton rouge
new orleans
salem, or
washington
milwaukee
danbury, ct (??!)
medford, or
sacramento
san francisco
san jose
shreveport
cape cod
honolulu
alexandria, la

Perhaps, but my cheap house in my nice little neighborhood is worth a lot more than it was two years ago, and what I pay on my mortgage each month wouldn't rent a closet in NYC or DC. There isn't as much to do here, true, but I can afford to do all of it if I want.

I have a coworker who moved into his house last summer, he gets paid more than anybody else on his street and he lives in the smallest house. When he told his neighbor what he paid for it she was just like "shit, if I'd known they was going for that much, I'd a let you have mine." Hers is quite a bit larger. Makes him feel great.

sorry I don't mean to get particularly nasty towards you but this is really one of my touchy issues lately, finding out that Alex in NYC sold his loft in downtown Manhattan for less than I see condos in CRAP DC NEIGHBORHOODS going for, or hearing how others are buying HOUSES in Brooklyn, etc. etc. I'm like wtf ever DC metropolitan land, you can totally go fuck yourself. I just need a job in NYC or some other real city besides this shithole, and to finish my master's, and I'm never coming back here again.

$1150/month RENT for a "1BR" smaller than my "studio" with no closet space to speak of, crappy appliances, awful carpet and essentials right on the distant edge of 4-5 blocks, with nothing to do unless you hop on the subway - DC ain't that fuckin' special. Please do not tell me any more details about your mortgage, I honestly don't want to hear anything about it. This region can suck a dick (and it will, eventually, I mean when the Discovery Channel has a TV show making fun of how ridiculous your real estate market is, that might be a sign it's time for a slowdown (or a crash))

My cheap, large 2 bdrm apt "came with" free utilities and a public transit system that actually works and about 8 trillion things to do and a job market whose pay scale is so retardedly overinflated that a secretary can make more than her stockbroker father who lives in another city, if we're going to get into pissing matches over a joke.

Like you said already, your own house wouldn't be going for cheap now, which kind of implies what I asked you in my question: "Where, Kiev?" BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE PRICE IT IS NOW IS IT?

Jesus dude.

(xpost)

Ha ha ha ha. You should see how sparsely decorated my neighborhood is right now. I mean, like, there are only about two houses per block that have any decorations at all up right now. And I know it's early in the holiday season and all, but even right around Christmas Eve last year only three houses per block were decorated, and IIRC there are twenty houses per block in my neighborhood.

Truth is, I'm sick of hot and humid weather WHENEVER, regardless of whether it affects the holiday season or not. I am tired of having fall or winter start later and later each year. I am tired of having sweaters in my closet I hardly ever seem to use. I am tired of wanting to live in an ice bath for five months out of the year. I hate crispy tanned skin, I don't own any shorts or tank tops (and believe me, you wouldn't want me to), I'm 150% sure employers around here would frown upon beachwear at the office, and, damn it, I want to see ACTUAL SNOW falling for once in my life! I mean, like, actual snowflakes, with actual ground accumulation, with maybe enough snow on the ground to form a few snowballs.

As for the decorations -- pretty much the whole of the northwest side seems pretty much not to be into the holiday spirit, but as for the rest of the city? Well, the west side is pretty much anything pro-celebration and festivities, so they'd happily take any excuse to decorate. The northeast side has to put on elaborate decorations so it'll pull the hundreds of thousands of passers-by who'll drive through that area gawking at the holiday displays, and the downtown has to put on displays for the tourists. The rest of the city I don't know about, though I'd imagine the east side would be much like the west side (except toned down a bit).

I guess you are glamourizing the Other here, though, much like I seem to be. I see tamales all year long; there's nothing particularly special about them. The chocolate thing, I do confess, I have yet to try out, though I could go anywhere to get the Abuelita bricks and the molcajete to make it. (And we do have both here at the house.) The local university that has an annual tradition of festooning a pathway with lights does it not out of some sense of wanting to participate in a special version of Christmas but rather out of its innate impulse to try to outdo every other university in town, even though the quality of its academics is mostly suspect. And... other sorts of things.

(And I'm not trying for "normal", really! Just different. More "American". Something that's Other. I mean, you're dealing with someone who's coming up on her fourth year of not even being out of town, so she's sorta got a massive case of cabin fever.)

*ahem* Anyway. So... how 'bout that Pittsburgh place?