What's "nice" about where I live?
well, we're slowly recovering from the recession, and the nice neighborhoods are managing to stay nice. thank god. there was a little ghetto seepage, but they won't last. our block watch group just got someone evicted from our block for suspected drug dealing -- random people in their drive at all hours, sometimes bumping music - always being shady. made complaints to city council who notified the landlord, blah blah blah -- it worked.
the winters suck, and are sometimes looooong, but the spring/summer/fall is generally great. winter is good for saving money and working on projects - things there's just no time for during riding season!
we're close to lake erie, and there's a couple islands you can take the jetboat ferry to and get stoopid and see lots of women being wild+crazy. The city isn't big-city, so it's not overwhelming. there's no gridlock, it's generally safe to walk around wherever you want without someone trying to pickpocket you or mug you.
and we have TONS of great places to eat - we used to be "the restaurant capital of america" because so many places liked using us as a test market.
we have a pretty amazing arts scene, tons of local musical talent, and always something to see and do. an amazing, gigantic art museum which consistently ranks in the top 5 in the nation, and an amazing zoo.
which reminds me, the zoo does help make the winter awesome by hosting an event called "The Lights Before Christmas" which now runs most of the winter -- the whole zoo is decorated with christmas lights, and people walk around and take sanctuary from the cold in some of the buildings and concession shops where you can sip hot chocolate and eat gingerbread.
as much as everyone #$%*es about it, it's really a decent place to live.
