What are the very best things about where you are?

I love my husband, the kindest, most easy-going guy I’ve ever known.

I love that my mother lives 2 miles away, and that I get to see her every day.

I love my boutique health club, which is close by in the neighborhood and has fabulous exercise classes.

I love my doggie…oh, that’s right, you already know!

A small town that has pride.

I love the relaxing life that I have here in a small port town. Seafood are common here, they can be as fresh as possible. The sea air is much better than the air that I breathe when I live in bigger metropolitan cities. I can’t get enough of the orange sunset and the smell of spices (I smell cinnamon) carried by the wind in the afternoon. It’s a sleepy little town and many things are still handled traditionally here.

Where I live? I love that I have so many people around me with incredible experience and knowledge, and they share it willingly. I went to a lecture on driverless cars this morning, it was very interesting. I was privileged several months ago to sit in on a lecture about the CIA museum. Morris Wolff, author of Whatever Happened to Raoul Wallenberg, lives here, and I have been to his lecture about his incredible experience trying to free Wallenberg (he saved many Jews in Hungary during the Holocaust). Science and Technology discusses some topics I’ve never even heard of before. I could name so many more topics. So many discussion groups. It’s like fluther in real life.

I also get to take any class I want all for free. Exercise classes, dance classes, crafts, art, archery, and on and on.

We have live music every night in all three town squares in my city. Any night that I feel like I want to see some entertainment I just drive 15 minutes and there it is, all free.

I have two grocery stores within 1.5 miles.

The weather is mostly warm, I’m in Florida.

Most people who live here live it, so I’m surrounded by happy people. The first few months I lived here it was almost eerie, it felt like being in Stepford. People with perma-grin saying how much they love it here. It really felt like if you said something negative they would report you. Lol.

The ocean is half a mile away
Great local live music scene
Indie movie theater nearby
My house is cheery, safe and cozy
Good friends around
My Unitarian congregation is a wonderful community
I can get into NYC fairly easily
Beautiful Falls and Springs

The food, the scenery, the weather.

When I had internet data on my phone I discovered that my apartment was a Pokémon stop. I got 50ex every 5 minutes from my bed. Stopped playing when I got bored, (at level 8) and got a $250 charge for internet use.

Lol lol lol lol lol, gasp choke, lol.

It’s close to Chicago.

I love the mountains, I like small towns compared to large cities.
I love the the west coast of Canada.

I live in an isolated area, unlike anywhere I’ve been before.
We have 4 seasons. I enjoyed shoveling snow today.
People are friendly here.

The very best thing about where I am is me and I’m thinking that the same applies to your good self too.

The quietness.

There’s nothing better than sleeping in the quiteness :)

There are a lot of trees too.

The best thing is the land, the streams, creeks, ponds, rivers, lakes and magnificent caves. Its incredibly peaceful and calming. We still get stuck behind combines, we still have old farmers at the coffee shop early mornings, still wave to the neighbor kids at the bus stops every morning. Its got a Mayberry USA feel, which isnt as easy to find as it used to be. We promoted our first female sgt last night, are getting a more diverse community thats all-inclusive, and its pretty inspiring to be part of change.

One thing I like about living in the Northeast is the lack of natural disasters that seem to plague the rest of the country – hurricanes, flooding, droughts, tornadoes and earthquakes. The seasonal weather changes seem just right – not as mild as further south, and not as extreme as the central part of the country.

Hahaha, @LostInParadise, you are lucky to live in the part of the NE that doesn’t get hurricanes!

I love being in a coastal town.
I love the New England foliage in the fall.
I am close enough to NYC and Boston to enjoy big city stuff.
My town is impossibly cute and even has a verifiable famous pirate history!
People here are fiercely protective of each other.

Thanks for the positive Q, @Patty_Melt, it’s a nice change from the “what do you hate” Qs.

1. Very close to a supermarket
2. Close to a river and a canal system
3. Easy and fast access to the city
4. Cycleways and walking routes at my doorstep
5. Convenient for visiting mountains and lochs
6. Cinemas and restaurants conveniently close.
7. You don’t need a car to live here.

Crabs, craft beer, AFI movie theater, a diverse progressive county and Washington DC with its museums and monuments.

Not too hot in summer, not too cold in winter. Not a damp climate because we’re far from the ocean with 2 mountain ranges to the West, and 1 big range to the East. There is high desert to the South and alpine mountains to the North. Lots of fishing and hunting, lots of sun, like Denver, Co. without all the people, although our population is growing fast because retirees like the climate! I can walk to the river where there is a greenbelt pathway and lots of good fishing. Stores are close by with a hardware store at the end on my street.

I live in a small town where I have a home on one acre of flat land, 3 minutes from stores and restaurants, neighbors across from me, but not on top of me. There are many beautiful sights and places to visit in my state.

Climate, landscape, variety, diversity, the ability to drive 20 miles in one direction and be in the middle of a major city, or drive 20 miles in another direction and be in a near wilderness overlooking the Pacific.

Not to mention some of the best food in the world,

Countryside, acre upon acre of countryside.
Beaches, lots & lots of beaches.

@zenvelo Ah! Dim sum!

Wonderful thoughts! I feel like I am traveling through the cyber highway to lovely parts of the world.
Are there activities specific to your area/climate/zone which you enjoy doing?
I expected at least one story about the joys of clam digging, or surfing, or rock climbing.

Where I am is beautiful because it is full of life.
I am in a city where there is very little gang activity, schools are good, and it seems like a very large village. My neighborhood is quiet.
There is plenty of wildlife to enjoy. We have a neighborhood owl, and he is quite vocal.
If I could drive, I could visit countless fun and unique places.
Weather wise, we get four seasons, but we get passed over by the worst storms.

OK, @Patty_Melt, story. When I first lived here, in the beginning of fall, a couple of wild turkeys moved in to the neighborhood. They were cute and funny, wandering around, gobble-gobbling. But they told their friends. And after another week, there were a couple of dozen wild turkeys aggressively marching around the streets, making all the dogs nuts, blocking the streets, rushing the kids at the school bus stops, and crapping everywhere. They would occasionally face off with each other in clumps, it was kind of a West Side Story scenario with turkeys.

We called Animal Control, they laughed at us. We called Public Works, the mayor’s office, all of them laughed at us.
We called the state university Zoology Department, they told us to wait it out.

One morning they were gone. Just like that. It was an event worthy of a Harlan Ellison story.

It never happened again.

@KNOWITALL and I share the same basic culture…the retired farmers all meeting at the same cafe every morning, without fail.
Getting stuck behind giant farm machinery on road.
Telling sub-seasons by when it’s time to burn, time to disc & plant, and time to harvest.

We try to send our 15, 16, 17 year old boys out on harvest in the late summer. You won’t see them for 6 weeks but they come back more men than boys, and pretty damn rich to boot!

Hey @KNOWITALL…you know those super super tall farm vehicles o the road? Rick knows what they are called but I don’t….you ever get the urge to drive your car under it instead of passing on the left? :)

Did the turkeys all suddenly disappear right before Thanksgiving?

We have a turkey that’s made itself at home in our town too. The locals named her Isabel. And she’s pretty smart too, as multiple people have remarked on her use of crosswalks.

@raum, Hahaha, they were gone by November 1st, I think they started paying attention to the discussions of Thanksgiving plans and menus. ;-)

We have deer running through town once in a great while. The last time I saw one was about 8 years ago or so. It was heartbreaking. He / she was SO panicked, running blindly between houses, trying to gt back to the woods.

We live in the heart of a mid-size city on an isthmus. We are surrounded by water. It’s a 2 minute walk from our home to the largest lake that sits north of us. It’s a 5 minute walk to the lake that sits south of us. We can walk from our home and be fishing, boating or ice skating in just minutes.

Our city leads a very active, outdoor lifestyle. We have 75 miles of bike paths. There are more bicycles than cars here. It’s also one of the greenest cities in the states. More than 15,000 acres of lakes, 200 miles of hiking and biking trails, and 260 parks with a combined total of 6,000 acres of parkland that add to the environmentally conscious approach here.

We are a 5 minute walk to 3 major music venues in the city. There are others that are just 1–2 miles away. We can walk to see our favorite musicians when they are in town.

We’re also within a mile of museums, dozens of restaurants of all shapes and sizes and just about any type of cuisine you can think of, breweries, comedy clubs and the state capitol building.

We have an endless supply of Wisconsin beer and cheese within walking distance of our home.

We’re 2 miles from the UW-Madison campus. The city also has amazing schools that are all LGBT supportive.

We have an excellent medical community here.

I could continue gushing about how amazing this city is but I think you get the hint.

@Dutchess_lll Those are sprayers. I also had the same thought when we lived in rural Illinois. Do I go under or around? ;)

^^ Uhh..you got a spare guest room? I cook! I clean! I do yard work! I am a professional Gramma!

@Dutchess_lll We’ve downsized to apartment living but we can inflate a nice air mattress for you. :)

Not having to deal with yard work is so nice!

The view from my bedroom window is green, green, green. At present it is interspersed with white roses and bluey-mauve hydrangeas.

@Adagio Sounds lovely from gray and brown New Jersey in winter!

@janbb Next turn is yours…:)

Loving the stories!
Aren’t turkeys funny? They really are quite bossy.
We had about a dozen I our neighborhood when we lived in Omaha.
I once went to the front door when there was a knock. All I saw was turkeys all over the front yard wanting corn.
My daughter claims that first snow, the lead Tom kicked snow at her. He seemed to think humans were responsible..
They are awesome for clearing grasshoppers. I loved those crazy birds. I always thought they resembled soldiers. They moved about with such authority, and seemed afraid of nothing.
When they took to the trees for sleep I laughed. Those great big, awkward birds, each with their own tree.

I too like the old farmers gathered at a cafe early mornings. When I can, I try to get a table near them, so I can hear them go on while I eat. Man, that stuff gets mighty serious sometimes.

Fresh unpolluted air, wildlife,waterfalls,canyons,trails,Glaciers ( not far from Town),tourists from all over the world come and tell us what their Country is really like in their accent,which is so exciting as if I were travelling the world meeting different cultures.
Boredom is nonexistent here where there are Canyons,Glaciers,trails,all kinds of activities sports related,tours,Museums,Artists,Musicians,Events, wild animals,birds,fishing,photography,cafes,unique resorts like Jasper Park Lodge where the Queen stayed and celebrities have stayed over the years.Housing is cheaper than most cities,restaurant food varieties offered as well as the mundane A&W,convenience stores,Banks,everything. A new library just built,Rec center which offers,
hockey and ice skating,Rodeo,Jazz Fest,and much more depending on the venue. It takes some used to the large number of tourists that enter the Park gates every Summer season ( in the millions..last count I believe was 12 million passed though some stay for awhile others pass through onto the next province as this is one of three ways to get over the mountains to the Ocean coastline of the Province of British Columbia, Canada.

I have everything I ever wanted, a home in California with a white picket fence in front and a swimming pool in the back and a healthy, loving husband Family lives near by and visits frequently,
I miss being near the ocean. I once lived in heaven on earth (Santa Barbara), and second best (Ocean Beach), so this is number three on my list, but I still feel extremely lucky.