OT - the place where you live

[JemmAus]

I LOVE seeing where other people live. Not stalking them or anything mental like that, but the countryside and things an area may be renowned for.

I just looked at google images after Quix referred to Columbia Gorge. I went WOW! Absolutely beautiful!

I live in Canberra, Australia. I was born here, though have lived in Surey in the UK, and Wellington NZ, and other places around Australia.

Anyway, I am curious: what is your area famous / infamous for? Or isn't it?

Mine is famous for politicians, bushfires (wildfires) and tourists getting lost because there are lots of circles / roundabouts on the roads. I love it because it is well planned, easy to find things, and currounded by mountains and bush.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

http://www.google.com.au/images?q=canberra&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=828

[treebranches]

I live in a suburb of Seattle.  I go camping and kayaking here:  http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/1302729.jpg

I think the Pacific Northwest is the prettiest I've seen in the US.  :)

[Eyesnlegs]

Shropshire is right in the centre of the UK, we are very close, about 3 miles away, from what is known as the birthplace of industry the Ironbridge gorge. The Ironbridge itself is literally a bridge made by smelting iron. It is considered to be an engineering feat of it's time. Designed and built by Abraham Darby III who first discovered how to smelt iron and engineer such wonders. It attracts millions of visitors every year from across the globe.

In fact he was so famous my secondary school was named after him. Lots of famous engineers were from this area including Thomas Telford and John Wilkinson (just google if you are interested).

We live on the top of a deep gorge through which the river Severn runs and far enough away from what the industrial heart of England  to be in the middle of beautiful countryside but able to travel to Birmingham the UKs 2nd city in about 40 minutes.

I live on the edge of a very small town, population 6,000, in a dormer bungalow, for my US friends that's a one storey building that has had the addition of bedrooms in the loft space. We have nothing but fields and woods for the 2 miles directly downhill, between us and the river, in fact the lovely field behind my place has 5 horses in and my lovely English garden is my haven from work.

Google maps search = Ironbridge Gorge, UK.

Pat x

Can I add to Jbear that Stoke on Trent is famous the world over for wonderful pottery! .

[tiffany515]

I am from Slidell, LA, although I usually just tell people I'm from New Orleans.  Slidell is a five mile trip to N.O. east, and a 20 min. trip to downtown and the french quarter. (and unless you are from LA, you wouldn't know where the hell Slidell was...lol).  New Orleans is famous for jazz music, crawfish boils, partying on Bourbon St., Mardi Gras, corrupt politicians and police force, and down-to-earth people!!  There are far too many famous people from New Orleans to list them all, but I do have to add that my absolute favorite author still lives uptown on beautiful St. Charles St, Anne Rice!  We are also the home of the current NFL champions!!!! Who Dat!!  (I am an avid Saints fan.....could you tell?).....I moved from Slidell to Walker, LA a year ago.  Walker is right outside Baton Rouge, LA, another great city in LA, but I don't know enough about it yet to give details!
Jemm.....thanks for this post....I have found it fascinating!!

[fortywhat2]

I am from Wareham, Massachusetts... the gateway to Cape Cod.  We are know for our cranberry bogs and the most shore line in Massachusetts (so I've been told).  We are the last town before you go over the bridges (Bourne Bridge and Sagamore Bridge) to enter Cape Cod.  Fall is very impressive here when they are harvesting the cranberries the bright red berries again the autumn leaves is amazing.  

[PastorDan]

Just posted in another thread about visiting Michigan's western shore, Silver Lake in particular.  Beautiful country.

North central Ohio here.  Land's flat as a pancake.  I think it would be a great place for a NASCAR oval.  Corn's huge this year, & beans aren't far behind.  I'll have to think on this topic a while before I add more.

[jean_619]

Michigan here -- about 20 minutes west of Detroit.  And there are many things Detroit is famous for  =)   To be positive, we are no longer listed as the murder capital of the world.  We look for blessings in everything  =)

We are, of course, known for automotive -- the industry that is now making a comeback and is showing profits and hiring.  I've worked for Ford and Toyota in the past.  Now I'm working in tech.

We are gaining ground in tech (with Google in Ann Arbor now) and the film industry -- some big stars are making movies here.

Surrounded by lakes both around the state and within it, we are known for water sports and activities.  If you watch the Pure Michigan ads -- it is exactly like that.  They aren't exaggerating.  

Every winter I used to ask myself "why" doI still live in Michigan -- very cold!  But now that I have MS, the summer is more uncomfortable than the winter, and now in August, I'm looking forward to some snow flakes.  

I'm close to Ann Arbor (its 30 minutes west) and lived there for 15 years -- home to the University of Michigan and lots of culture.  Since I work in AA now and most of my friends live there, I spend lots of time there.  (I want to move back!)  If you are going to live in MI, that is the place to be.  Living along the west side of the state is wonderful -- but Ann Arbor has the best medical care outside of Detroit.

In reference to Victoria's post -- Tulip Time is awesome in Holland!

In short, Michigan is awesome -- but the weather *****.   Otherwise, I've liked living here all my life.  

[mj111169]

I am from Toms River, NJ, which is located on the Jersey Shore.  The town next to me is where they filmed the first season of "the Jersey Shore".  It is beautiful where I live, but expensive.  I am by no means rich, it just so happens that NJ is an expensive state to live in.  My husband and I are going to look into moving out of the state within the next few years.

We have the best pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches ever in the diners around town. Only locals refer to it as pork roll.  Out of towners may call it "Taylor Ham".  But it is, and always will be PORK ROLL.  THe pizza in my area is phenomenal!  I live by the Bay and always have a nice breeze in my yard.

NJ is famous for Atlantic City, the Sopranos, Giants stadium (thats right:  GIANTS stadium, the JETS just rent it out!)  NJ Devils hockey. (I happen to be a NY Rangers fan) My towns little league won the little league world series in 1999.  

I love having the 4 seasons, and if we move I hope its not too far South!  

[VictoriaDouglas83]

Hi.  I have been reluctant to post this because Holland, MI has changed so much in just 10 years!

I live in Holland, MI.  I went to high school here, then moved away and then in April we moved back.  Holland used to be a wonderfully beautiful town.  Full of nice people, shops and visitor attractions.  It is famous for the Tulip Time Festival.  Do any of you know of it?

It is still a very beautiful town, but there seems to be a few places around here that have gone downhill.  And I don't mean to be mean or racist, I am the furthest thing from it, but it seems like there are a few places that are getting a little ghetto, well a lot ghetto.  Houses are being boarded up, there is more gang activity then I would like to believe and I hear police cars zooming by more often then when I lived near Detroit!!

I still really love the area, but there are parts of it that I avoid.  If any of you are looking for a good family vacation I do recommend the Tulip Time Festival!!!  It's in May.

Victoria

[Guitar_grrrl]

Deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I live in the town Ken Kesey called home for many years (_One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest_, _Sometimes a Great Notion_).  Here, he also helped start the Merry Pranksters who traveled in an old converted schoolbus named "Further".  Very commonly seen in San Francisco in the late 60s.

This town is populated by artists, writers, musicians, and other creative types.  The others are comprised of old hippies, pot farmers, Stanford professors, geologists form the USGS (why do they like living in such a geologically unstable area?!?) and rocket scientists.  Redwoods, banana slugs, deer, coyotes, bobcats, and the occasional mountain lion harassing mushroom hunters.

Close enough to SF and Silicon Valley to go in, see a show/lecture/exhibit, but far enough out to enjoy some really wild nature!

[michelleric]

Cleveland, Ohio here:

Latest news:

LeBron James leaving us for the Miami Heat (Dont think the city will be getting over this anytime soon.)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Famous Clevelanders :  Jesse Owens, Halle Berry, Drew Carey, Phil Donahue, Betty White, Henry Mancini, Toni Morrison, Paul Newman, The O'Jays, Joe Walsh, Tim Conway, Debra Winder, Cy Young..and many others I cant think of right now.

It is a nice easy place to live in and raise a family.and is affordable here in the Midwest. (In the suburbs anyway). Near Cleveland Clinic, which is good for me, and lots of Medical places in the area.
It is fun to see where everyone is from. Thanks for the thread.

[Wobbly]

I'm living in the Vancouver British Columbia area... lovely place to visit, but I don't want to live here much longer, it's a very busy city and when my hubby retires we are looking for a new place, much smaller.... a small town would be nice, but I do need to be close to medical facilities.. I'm hoping to move to a warm place, but not sure how that would make me feel

It's nice to hear where people live and get an idea of different places..

wobbly

[Sailorsong]

Yes we have nice things here, and scenery, and even weather but it is all TOP SECRET so that a lot of people don't move here and ruin things. LOL :)

I have been trying to post some pictures of my recent trip along the Natchez Trace Parkway without much success yet. Normally the weather here is pretty nice, but this year the winter was colder and snowier than normal, we had no spring at all, and the summer has been hotter than normal. The other day the heat index was 121 by 11AM.

Dennis

[Pablo_Morphy]

Louisiana: A wonderful place to be for everybody (who doesn't love great music, fantastic restaurants and Mardi Gras???), but it can be tough for MSers (shoot, it's so hot and humid outside right now!!!).

[meg321]

I am really getting frustrated...I just lost my post again and it was not short.  I dont seem to do a thing..it was disappears.  I wish they would fix that.

This will be shorter, if that is possible..lol

I have  lived in California since I was 9 mo. old. first near Ventura, in Ojai.   That is the nearest to So Ca that i have lived.

We moved north  to a small. town So. of Shasta, i was out of there in 4 yrs.  I got married  and moved to SF, got my first job and loved it there.  I had found my calling... but 13-14 yrs later  moved to the central Coast, loved it there too..the beaches are fantastic !!  But we moved back to The SF bay area again a few years later.

Now we are in Lake Co., we live on the side of a volcano called Mt.Konocti.   Its beautiful up here AND Is the place I complain about all the because I like to get out sometimes. There is not much for me up here now.  And I can't drive.....

hugs, meg

[JemmAus]

Sailorsong..............umm..............LOL!!!!  I'm thinking Cleetus the Slack Jawed Yokel from the Simpsons after your description...........you know that guns-in-bars legislation was deemed so nutty it even made the news way over here.
Is there anythin nice there? Scenery or weather? or are you too busy hiding from drunks with guns to notice ?? LOL sorry, couldn't resist!


Chobee, I ahve to say Obi Wan is my favourite, but more because of Ewan McGregor than anything else.
Mud and fishing is grand if that's what you like.

Quix, hot stuff with all those volcanos!

MsmsFl, shame disney is deemed more interesting than NASA.....I looked at Cape Canaveral on google earth and got a right old buzz seeing all the launch pads. I think you are fortunate to live near and to have experienced something so mind-bogglingly huge in man's history.

[chobee1kenobi]

I live in Okeechobee FL. hence the "chobee" in chobee1kenobi. lol. We are directly above the big lake in the center of florida AKA Lake Okeechobee. Thats really our only claim to fame. Small town with a whole lotta nothing to do, unless you like playing in mud or fishing, those are the only options. But its quiet, and I like it.

[Sailorsong]

OK I have been thinking about what I can say about Tennessee for days now.

We are know for some... how to put this gently,...Intellectually Challenged people.  In  a nearby city instead of build a bridge over some creeks they just pour a cement slab across the bed. This means that there is almost always an inch or two of water flowing over the street...and when it rains forget it.  Also last year ( I think) they changed the gun laws so that people are now allowed to bring handguns into bars and restaurants Think about that one. :) And if that isn't bad enough one of the people running for Governor want to do away with all gun laws so that even criminals can legally carry concealed handguns.

There are several noteworthy people from TN that include President James K.Polk ( 11th),  Alvin C York ( WWI hero), Davy Crockett,  and President Andrew Jackson (7th) and Elvis Presley..

Dennis

[Quixotic1]

You already know about the Columbia Gorge, but I also live within sight of Mount St. Helens.  Not to worry, it blew northward, away from where I live.  We can also see Mount Hood, the iconic mountain of Portland.

You know that you live in the Pacific Northwest if at any location you can point to at least 3 volcanos.  There is a chain of volcanos rising singularly from northern California to Alaska.  When people hear Shasta, Lassen, Crator Lake, Mount Bachelor, Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson, and Mts. Hood, Helens, Ranier, Adams, and Baker I don't think people realize they are all volcanos.   Historically Shasta has been the most active and Mounts Hood and Ranier are due any time now - geologically speaking.

So much for worrying about a subDUCtion earthquake and tsunami.  I still think that a subluxation earthquake sounds okay....

Quix

Q

[MsmsinFl]

Yep-- when I was growing up here, "Space" was the big novelty -- once the mousehouse arrived, NASA took a back seat.

My Dad was a structural engineer, and worked on the VAB design;  as a young adult working for him I was able to go inside it -- that's where the shuttles are worked on.  Too fun!

[JemmAus]

This is fascinating - thanks so much everyone!

Janbubears, I'm sure Stoke-On-Trent has as much going for it as other places (though sometimes it can be hard to see until you're not there any more!) I reckon the historical side of that area must be chock-full of interesting stuff.

Shermay - wow! I always find it slightly mind-boggling trying to imagine the amount of money those people must have. One of my best friends is currently holidaying in France- she is in Lyon at the moment.

I thought I just read someone saying they can see space shuttles blasting off.....but now I cannot see it. Maybe I am going mad...oh, ther eit is MsmsinFl.........WOW! I LOVE LOVE LOVE NASA!!!  About 20 miles from where i am is Tidbinbilla Tracking Station, which is the NASA base here, and it has the original 'dish' that was at Honeysuckle Creek in 1969, and it beamed the very first pictures of Armstrong on the moon.

My son and I went there for a look a month ago: it's just amazing thinking of all those Big Bang Theory-types working away there every day.

The biggest satellite dish they have there is still picking up signals from Voyager 1 (or was it 2?) that was launched in the 70s. The man showing us around said it is now 4 times as far from the earth as Pluto. They expect to lose the signal in the next decade. It takes 18 hours for the signal to reach earth.

I thought it was amazing!

[MsmsinFl]

Central Florida, home of the world-famous mouse, and known as "Theme Park Central."

Lived here since early childhood, waaaay before Disney.

But there's lots more that's good here -- 30 minutes to the beach; can watch space launches from our yard;  lots of outdoor activities -- to the detriment of cultural opportunites, since folks want to be swimming, golfing, etc instead of being indoors for the arts.

We live on a rare (for our area) 13-acre wooded lot, 15 minutes from downtown.  We have too many raccoons, possums, otters, wild pigs, etc;  currently have a nest of baby hawks in one of our trees.  Last year, there was an 8-foot gator in our front yard -- had it trapped & relocated.

In summer, we love to head to the North Carolina mountains!

[Audrey_M]

I live in Southeastern Connecticut, on the shoreline. I was raised here and moved back to the area 13 years ago.

Growing up here was great. It was still a rural area, with lots of farms and I was fortunate to work on several as a kid. The area is also right smack dab between Boston and New York, so that we had the sophisticated cultural influences of both cities and easy access to both. School trips were often to either city. Also, great sports teams in both cities which generates quite the divide of loyalty in the state. The biggest rivalry is still the Red Sox vs. the Yankees; if you read between the lines, you might be able to guess my loyalty by my listing of the teams!

Connecticut weather is typical for any New England state. In the words of Mark Twain, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes", because the weather can change on a dime. We do have four traditional seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. We are also very fortunate overall not to experience much in terms of severe weather; with our proximity to both Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, a lot of weather systems steer away from us or lose their punch along the way.

Topography is very pleasant here. SECT is heavily wooded, with rolling hills inland and marshland on the shoreline. There is a large variety of wildlife here. We are also home to the origin of Lyme Disease, which was first noted in Lyme, CT. I live less than 3 miles from an interstate highway, yet I still see lots of wildlife in my neighborhood and property.  And just what those might be? Deer, rabbits, skunks, bobcats, coyotes, more bird species than one can count (including bald eagles), snakes and the list could go on and on.

Robert Frost wrote in the poem “Mending Wall”, “Good fences makes good neighbors.”  New England, which includes Connecticut, has its unique manner of socializing, with people very much valuing their privacy. For people not from the Northeast, this can be hard, especially during the winter months when people do not go out as often.

Gosh durn it, I found a beautiful picture to post, but the comment box doesn't give me the option. Maybe I'll post it in my profile.

[shermay]

I live in the South of France.

We have a LOT famous people with second homes here that we see from time to time - example, Price Charles 10 mins away, and Jonny Depp, and then the Beckhams.

We always know when they're here as the helicopters fly over :))))

Debs

[MonkeyMom4]

I live in Lincoln, Nebraska (USA). Nebraska is home to Johnny Carson (rip), Warren Buffett calls Omaha home, birthplace of Malcom X, we invented Kool-Aid, a member of music group Maroon 5 is also from Nebraska. Of course you can't mention Nebraska with thinking of Husker football. Yes our team has gone through the dumps the past decade but we'll come back.