And? I'm an Indianapolis native with very little to say that's positive about the place. I'll just say this: there are a LOT of nouveau riche in SoCal, and many, many of them came from the midwest. Not really drawing a conclusive link, just noting an observation.

I know exactly what you're saying, but (for me at least) the pros of Chicago outweigh the cons. I guess it could be the rose colored glasses effect of being stuck in a backwoods, repressed hellhole for so long.

Perhaps all you need, Satty, is a good strong push into a sheep taco. mmmmm.....

I know exactly what you're saying, but (for me at least) the pros of Chicago outweigh the cons. I guess it could be the rose colored glasses effect of being stuck in a backwoods, repressed hellhole for so long.

I like Chicago, quite a bit....not sure if I could adjust again to those winters, though, having lived in dryer, sunnier climates the last 13 winters. I have a number of friends there, try and visit every few years.

Moltie, do try Daphne's somewhere when you get the chance...for about $8, the chicken combo plate is great (chicken skewer and shaved gyro meat) plus the other stuff one gets in a Greek platter...and their vegetarian combo isn't bad either, though not as good a value for the same price. Caution: they try to upsell you into a meal deal, where they add in a drink and a dessert (their baklava isn't that good and it's just a "cube").

Tried Daphne's today at lunch..had that combo plate with the gyro and chicken skewer...pretty tasty. It's only 4 miles from my office, I had mis-read the google map the previous time I looked for it, I was on the wrong side of the 101 freeway.

Interesting developments this week may lead me eventually to Irvine, of all places. I've been steadily moving further west from NE Ohio since '94, maybe the OC is where it's at.

If you do come out here, check out nearby Aliso Viejo (where I live.) It's new and suburban like Irvine, but nestled in the hills behind Laguna Beach.....so it's much prettier geographically-speaking....and over 51% of the city is parkland up in the hills where you can hike, bike, etc.

Or if ur budget allows it, Laguna Beach is fabulous......both are a short (10-15mins) drive to Irvine. And depending on where in Irvine you'd be working, you wouldn't even have to get on the freeway to go to work....

I love it here....but alas might be moving.....but that's for another post on this thread......

Hahahaha yeah no one calls it "THE" OC if they're from SoCal...unless they're doing it ironically.

I can't stand Orange County...such a beautiful place, but the people...ugh. Some good ones, to be sure, but soooo many new monied boors.

Moltar, if you come to "THE" O.C., I really gotta recommend you stay west of the 405......and south of, say, the 55 freeway.

Huntington Beach can be cool.......but aside from that, O.C. is really best the more south and west you go. Too many people judge the county by their first visit to Disneyland (gross Anaheim....ghetto...) or driving down from L.A. though northern O.C. (more industrial, ghetto, older.)

Texas isn't part of the South West. It has it's own region called South Central.

Speaking of South Central......I might be moving to Oklahoma City soon to work with my family in their auto biz......

They have Volkswagen, Kia, and Mitsubishi in two different stores.....(VW is the VW "image" facility.)

Even the Mitsu/Kia store is doing really well......their business is ROCKING apparently.....I grew up in OKC as a little boy so it's still very familiar to me. And I read that Fortune magazine recently called it the most "recession-proof" large city in the country.....!!!!

I've already got someone to lease out my condo.....I think CA will always remain "home" to me (after 13 years here) and I'm not excited to leave....but one has to do what one has to do to pay the bills.....eh?

It will be interesting to move back there after so long......if things come together.....alot positive has happened in the last 10 years there, due to the strong economy.....lots of downtown development, bars, clubs, the "Bricktown" district......and it's damn cheap to live there.....(like $900 for a 3-bedroom home in an affluent suburb...)

We'll see.....

Moltar, if you come to "THE" O.C., I really gotta recommend you stay west of the 405......and south of, say, the 55 freeway.

Huntington Beach can be cool.......but aside from that, O.C. is really best the more south and west you go. Too many people judge the county by their first visit to Disneyland (gross Anaheim....ghetto...) or driving down from L.A. though northern O.C. (more industrial, ghetto, older.)

A buddy of mine that lives in the Denver burbs now used to work in Aliso Viejo and live in Laguna Nigel. I've never been to Disneyland and Anaheim...about the only places I've been in Orange County are Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Beach, San Clemente...

From what I've read, Compton up in LA sounds like it would be a charming area to live.

A buddy of mine that lives in the Denver burbs now used to work in Aliso Viejo and live in Laguna Nigel. I've never been to Disneyland and Anaheim...about the only places I've been in Orange County are Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Beach, San Clemente...

From what I've read, Compton up in LA sounds like it would be a charming area to live.

OH good....then you ARE already familiar with it......sorry I forgot, but past conversations are coming back to me.....

OH good....then you ARE already familiar with it......sorry I forgot, but past conversations are coming back to me.....

Yeah, been out to LA and Orange County maybe 10 times over the last 15 years...I usually stay in Santa Monica....I've stayed w/ a friend's wife's parents in Rancho Palos Verdes before, beautiful area there. Been to San Diego to the beaches almost as many times.

Speaking of South Central......I might be moving to Oklahoma City soon to work with my family in their auto biz......

They have Volkswagen, Kia, and Mitsubishi in two different stores.....(VW is the VW "image" facility.)

Even the Mitsu/Kia store is doing really well......their business is ROCKING apparently.....I grew up in OKC as a little boy so it's still very familiar to me. And I read that Fortune magazine recently called it the most "recession-proof" large city in the country.....!!!!

I've already got someone to lease out my condo.....I think CA will always remain "home" to me (after 13 years here) and I'm not excited to leave....but one has to do what one has to do to pay the bills.....eh?

It will be interesting to move back there after so long......if things come together.....alot positive has happened in the last 10 years there, due to the strong economy.....lots of downtown development, bars, clubs, the "Bricktown" district......and it's damn cheap to live there.....(like $900 for a 3-bedroom home in an affluent suburb...)

We'll see.....

Kool that's only 3 hours from the DFW area so if ya move let me know and next time we visit Texas maybe we can all hang out together.

Tried Daphne's today at lunch..had that combo plate with the gyro and chicken skewer...pretty tasty. It's only 4 miles from my office, I had mis-read the google map the previous time I looked for it, I was on the wrong side of the 101 freeway.

Glad you liked it. 101 Freeway? Were you at the one in Woodland Hills/Warner Center?

My friend in San Diego has always given me $h!: "man, you talk about Daphne's as if it's fine dining?" Hardly, it's just a solid portion of Greek food for a very reasonable price, sort of like what a stand-alone reasonably priced Greek family restaurant might offer.

Glad you liked it. 101 Freeway? Were you at the one in Woodland Hills/Warner Center?

My friend in San Diego has always given me $h!: "man, you talk about Daphne's as if it's fine dining?" Hardly, it's just a solid portion of Greek food for a very reasonable price, sort of like what a stand-alone reasonably priced Greek family restaurant might offer.

Nah, it's the 101 Loop around Phoenix..the Price Freeway section in Chandler.

Kool that's only 3 hours from the DFW area so if ya move let me know and next time we visit Texas maybe we can all hang out together.

Fo' shur.....

Dallas is where we moved from OKC when I was little........went to high school in Bedford....!

If I recall correctly...

sheep = mutton

Fo' shur.....

Dallas is where we moved from OKC when I was little........went to high school in Bedford....!

Bedford isn't anywhere near Dallas, but that would mean when I was growing up you went to HS about 25 minutes from me.

Small ass world.

If I recall correctly...

sheep = mutton

Yes.

Getting out of town (state) again this weekend, and frankly if the city of Springfield were to burn down, I would happily come back to dance on the ashes. These are some of the worst people I have ever met, getting away will be so therapeutic. Moving away will be even better.

I wonder how many of them feel the same about you?

I wonder how many of them feel the same about you?

Whatever the number is, its sure to rise over the next 4 months.

You have to find hapenis within yourself. No matter where you go.

I'm quite happy, just want to make sure the yokels know that they made it difficult.

On an unrelated note, my wife is plotting ways to either avoid paying tolls in Oklahoma, or making the state refund our $8.

Wherever you go, there you are.

Wherever you go, there you are.

Sounds good.

Love the Valley of the hot hot sun ... no mosquitoes any time of day year round.

Now that sounds good....

So today was spent near Tulsa. Want to know what was awesome about Oklahoma? Didn't see a single Wal-Mart or McDonalds or Taco Bell or Jiffy Lube or really any other evil large chains anywhere.

So today was spent near Tulsa. Want to know what was awesome about Oklahoma? Didn't see a single Wal-Mart or McDonalds or Taco Bell or Jiffy Lube or really any other evil large chains anywhere.

Really?

We saw a Best Buy and a few Sonics. I actually hadn't noticed the lack of evilness until we went to find someplace for lunch and while searching for a parking spot I realized that nothing around us was a national chain. I made it a point to lookout on the way home, and there wasn't really anything. The place we ended up eating was a tiny, family owned burger joint that was incredible. Best onion rings I've ever had.

Wow, not my experience in Tulsa at all--chains galore when/where I went. And the freeways were designed by committee--bad, cheap designs and lots of poor signage.

Hmm, yeah I remember chain restaurants there. Long John Silvers/A&W, a Quiznos. I can't remember where else we ate there...but then food wasn't the reason we traveled to Tulsa, the `57 Belevedere unearthing was.

I really liked visiting Denver/Fort Collins, but growing up near the coast, I don't think I could live too far in the interior.

We were in a Tulsa suburb, not Tulsa itself and there was nothing, but it could just be that I'm to used to Springfield where there are 2 fast food places on every corner.

As for the freeways, thats what my buddy NAV is for.

Edited February 28, 201015 yr by Satty

As for the freeways, thats what my buddy NAV is for.

As an urban transportation planner, they just piss me off with how poorly-designed/built they are. That's why I could never live there; it would just drive me absolutely nuts.

I know I-44 dates back to the early 50's, I'd bet the rest of Oklahoma's turnpikes were designed and built in the same era. Thats before that wacky socialist Eisenhower got the Interstate Highway Act passed and national standards were set, so of course they're not very good by todays standards, but with GPS, they're navigable.

I know I-44 dates back to the early 50's, I'd bet the rest of Oklahoma's turnpikes were designed and built in the same era. Thats before that wacky socialist Eisenhower got the Interstate Highway Act passed and national standards were set, so of course they're not very good by todays standards, but with GPS, they're navigable.

There's more wrong with them than just their age--even the new/reconstructed sections are awful. I don't have a problem with the navigation of them--their design just really pisses me off because the poor design leads to unnecessary congestion. Almost universally.

Unnecessary congestion is a bitch. For example, this sinus infection I've got, blah.

Unnecessary congestion is the norm in the Meth-west.

Unnecessary congestion was a big problem in Colorado Springs when I lived there '97-02. Almost 400k people, but no decent cross town freeway or beltline, just one N/S freeway. A study named it the most congested city in the US w/ under 1/2 mil back in the late '90s. They've done a lot of freeway widening and construction since then, better now, I think. I was down there visiting last year, but wasn't there at rush hour..

I'm quite happy, just want to make sure the yokels know that they made it difficult.

On an unrelated note, my wife is plotting ways to either avoid paying tolls in Oklahoma, or making the state refund our $8.

I thought Wisconsin was bad as far as having crabby people(some of my family included).

Tee hee, I'm giddy with anticipation. Slightly tempered by the fact that there is nothing in my house other than an air mattress, a couple of suitcases and my old laptop.

Nice....

Yeah, if I weren't a moron I would have kept a TV around, or maybe some DVDs or the Wii or my bike, but no, all that stuff is on its way out of town. Tomorrow and Monday might be the most boring days of my life.

Why? By your description, you still have everything you need for a porn studio.

No camera and sex on an air mattress isn't something that sounds like it would be fun.

Just can't see that working...

Tee hee, I'm giddy with anticipation. Slightly tempered by the fact that there is nothing in my house other than an air mattress, a couple of suitcases and my old laptop.

Moving?

...on up? To a dee-luxe apartment in the sky?

We considered a couple condos, but ended up buying a house.

A house?? Oh please let it be in the suburbs, please let it be in the suburbs, please let it be in the suburbs...