Favorite Cities

[Rachel20]

What are your favorite cities that you have lived in/visited or have wanted to? Why do you love it?

What do you look for, if you want to live in a city?


PS - Wait for the poll.
The poll is just asking which city you'd like to visit/be at the moment. It will be multiple choice. These are the top 10 cities of the world that I can think of at the moment. You can always choose other and talk about it in your post.

 

[tourist]

My favorite city is Orlando, Florida. I lived there 20 years and it is very much a cosmopolitan city with many cultures and religions. Then there is Walt Disney World. I've been there bunches of times and always enjoyed it with my family. It is a hot place though in the summer months so thank God for air conditioning.

 

[tekton]

I love big cities that have both large, interesting metropolitan areas and are surrounded by equally interesting areas to explore. If the city or life in general wears on you, it's nice to be able to quickly get away.

I've always need somewhere quiet to pray, to get away, preferably close to water. Here in Las Vegas, there are a few places, but not many that close with water (that doesn't smell foul like Lake Mead). I like to visit the Wetlands Park here (slight smell, but they're treating the water well), especially when things just get too overwhelming. Still, not sure I've ever been able to really fall in love with this city. I think it feels kind of like a faux city, not a lot of authenticity or even that much culture.

Having been to LA and SF, there's something about them, at least from a distance, that has me drawn towards them. There's just so much stuff to do. Plus, they're tech hubs, which is automatically appealing to a lot of geeks, including myself.

Seattle is somewhere I've been once, and definitely have to go back to. The trip was just too short, but was full of interesting stuff to see. The gum wall behind Starbucks was fun! I think it would be interesting to see it before and after cleaning (first hand). Any city next to the ocean is cool!

I think the biggest thing, to me, about a city, is to be able to feel a sense of authenticity and history.

 

[notmyown]

i've visited 3 of the cities on the list, and they were nice for a few days. i've spent time in other cities, too, and felt the same.

there's a little town of about 400 in the Adirondacks you just about need 4WD (or a horse!) to get to 8 months of the year.

cell service is spotty to non-existent, the pace is sloooowww, and i like it better than anywhere i've ever been.

(please don't make me leave the planet. lol)

 

[DreamsOfNorthernLights]

Berlin or Reykjavik. Both are artsy and have cold weather and Reykjavik is surrounded by spectacular scenery.

 

[Pipp]

I'm not a big city type.

 

[Innerfire89]

I've been in New York a long time ago. It was exciting, but I don't care to go back.

 

[20]

My favorite city is New Jerusalem, with foundations, whose architect and builder is God ...

 

[Daylilies]

London is my favorite, with New York a close second. There is so much to do in both cities, and when you want some down-time it is great to chill in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens or Central Park!

 

[JamesW]

Dubai was pretty neat

 

[Daylilies]

I've always need somewhere quiet to pray, to get away, preferably close to water.

If you ever get a chance, visit the Apostle Islands and spend some time on Madeline. It is the most peaceful place to pray.

 

[zeroturbulence]

My favorite city is Las Vegas... Where else can you visit the Eiffel Tower.. Venice, Italy... New York, NY... a medieval castle (Excalibur)...a pyramid (Luxor), plus several world-class all-you-can-eat buffets that are somewhat affordable... plenty of sightseeing, shopping, luxury hotels, drive a ferrari at a race track, live performances by artists like Celene Dion and Circque Du Soleil, beautiful desert scenery, warm nights, etc....

My second favorite "city" is the island of Maui... I've actually been to this restaurant. Its in Hana. Hawaii is so beautiful it makes me feel like crying just thinking about it..

 

[christian74]

Lansing, Michigan.


- MI Supreme Court surrounded by residential area
- Meijer
- Farming community, highways with beautiful sceneries
- No traffic
- Small towns
- Four seasons

I recently had to flew to Michigan for an unexpected reason and realized, when I landed in Grand Rapid, that I've been missing my heart all along and it was buried somewhere in Michigan.




Really nice walk, connected with Michigan State Capitol



I really love this place!



This is kind of a house I want to settle in, start a family with her



Just get off at Charlotte and it leads to a beautiful scenic road



Lansing Downtown



Michigan Supreme Court literally next to a residential neighborhood



slightly humid summer with firebugs, plenty of snow

 

[notmyown]

Lansing, Michigan.


- MI Supreme Court surrounded by residential area
- Meijer
- Farming community, highways with beautiful sceneries
- No traffic
- Small towns
- Four seasons

I recently had to flew to Michigan for an unexpected reason and realized, when I landed in Grand Rapid, that I've been missing my heart all along and it was buried somewhere in Michigan.

(i snipped this for brevity, forgive me?)

but yay, Lansing! MSU! i'm from Battle Creek, and my aunt lives in Holland on the lake, south of Grand Rapids.

the downside of a Michigan winter is it's always cloudy, for some reason. if you can bear that, it's all good!

...there are a couple of other members here from Michigan. they're awesome. no connection, probably.

 

[Susanna]

There's many nice cities scattered all over the world, but they are not necessarily the most interesting cities.

I have visited cities that really made me feel uneasy and yet intrigued by them. The feeling you get when you're visiting a city where everyone can tell you're a foreigner, not by race or appereance, cause they're your race and color, that feeling is somewhat addictive. You want to leave and go back home, but when you're home you're planning on your next trip there.

All of this cities were small places, maybe more like towns, in Russia.

 

[seoulsearch]

Hi Rachel! What a cool thread!

I've been to about half the cities in the poll, but only for a few days each:

1. NY -- I loved the excitement, but it seems way too sophisticated for a small town girl like me.

2. Los Angeles -- I remember being intimidated by this city, and although it seemed like a great place to explore, even Disneyland felt a little less cheery in all that smog.

3. Seattle -- I loved its artsy, "coffee-house" vibe, and the fact that there seem to be so many unique, off-the-wall places and not just all the big franchises (cough, cough, Starbucks.)

4. Paris -- There was nothing like contemplating life, the world, and God while standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower, gazing over the City of Lights in the middle of the night. And even though the Louvre (art museum) is, of course, famous for the Mona Lisa, there were so many other works there that I enjoyed a whole lot more.

5. Rome -- The Colosseum was one of THE most fascinating things I've ever seen.

6. Seoul -- It's been a while, so I hope someone can refresh my memory... Seoul has a main highway right through the city that has something like 10 (???) lanes of traffic with NO median. Our tour guide told us that this is in case a war should break out with the North (which is all the more reason to pray for Korea)--this highway can automatically be converted into a runway that can accommodate any size aircraft in the world.

* I would have to agree with Zero about Las Vegas--I love architecture and theming, so I loved walking through the hotels on the strip. And the Cirque de Soleil "O" show was out of this world!

* Like Tourist, I love Orlando for its wide variety of things to do, and of course, The House of Mouse.

* But when all is said and done, I would have to say that Chicago will always feel like "home". Almost all of my "big" school field trips as a kid were to Chicago, and I tried to go back to most of those same museums and places after I became an adult.

Chicago will always feel like like my own "Secret Garden" stepping stone into a world outside of the Nowheresville, USA, where I grew up.

 

[PennEd]

Hi Rachel! What a cool thread!

I've been to about half the cities in the poll, but only for a few days each:

1. NY -- I loved the excitement, but it seems way too sophisticated for a small town girl like me.

2. Los Angeles -- I remember being intimidated by this city, and although it seemed like a great place to explore, even Disneyland felt a little less cheery in all that smog.

3. Seattle -- I loved its artsy, "coffee-house" vibe, and the fact that there seem to be so many unique, off-the-wall places and not just all the big franchises (cough, cough, Starbucks.)

4. Paris -- There was nothing like contemplating life, the world, and God while standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower, gazing over the City of Lights in the middle of the night. And even though the Louvre (art museum) is, of course, famous for the Mona Lisa, there were so many other works there that I enjoyed a whole lot more.

5. Rome -- The Colosseum was one of THE most fascinating things I've ever seen.

6. Seoul -- It's been a while, so I hope someone can refresh my memory... Seoul has a main highway right through the city that has something like 10 (???) lanes of traffic with NO median. Our tour guide told us that this is in case a war should break out with the North (which is all the more reason to pray for Korea)--this highway can automatically be converted into a runway that can accommodate any size aircraft in the world.

* I would have to agree with Zero about Las Vegas--I love architecture and theming, so I loved walking through the hotels on the strip. And the Cirque de Soleil "O" show was out of this world!

* Like Tourist, I love Orlando for its wide variety of things to do, and of course, The House of Mouse.

* But when all is said and done, I would have to say that Chicago will always feel like "home". Almost all of my "big" school field trips as a kid were to Chicago, and I tried to go back to most of those same museums and places after I became an adult.

Chicago will always feel like like my own "Secret Garden" stepping stone into a world outside of the Nowheresville, USA, where I grew up.

Wow! You've done a lot of traveling! I haven't been to very many places, but I'm glad to see you put Rome on your list. My wife is from Italy and we are going there, and Venice in the Spring for our 25 yr wedding Anniversary.

BTW. Beautiful new profile picture. (I hope that's ok to say in this day and age! lol)

 

[toinena]

I don't like big cities a lot. But I will too give a list of places I liked and that I would love to come back to.

1. Cardiff, Wales. It was a cool city, not too big but with great shopping possibilities and cultural and historical venues to visit.

2. Flensburg, Germany. It is a Hansa town that has a small Danish speaking community. Sea and culture and history and shopping. And only a day's journey from here.

3. Vasa, Finland. Bilingual town as well and close to the sea. Great people, you see so much of Finland's history in such a small area, from the Russian Orthodox church to the old court of Korsholm that is now a magnificent Lutheran church, theater in both Swedish and Finnish, shopping..... I miss that town. Not too big.

4. Cleveland. Somehow it felt like home, although we went there by accident. Friendly people as well and Superman is from Cleveland.

5. Toronto. Wow. I love that town. Accessible and fun. Loads of good memories.

6. Strasbourg, France. It is where the European Parliament is situated on the boarder to Germany. I was there once on a conference. Also great accessibility and the food market I was visiting..... never tasted such food in my life! Everything was just gorgeous.

7. Jerusalem. Although I was just a child, it will never leave me. To walk where Jesus walked. To touch the stones on the buildings that where there at the time of Jesus....

8. Barcelona, Spain. Great food, great climate, great culture, great people, great accessibility, great architecture. Ever going to Europe and not wanting to go to Norway? Go to Barcelona.

For some reason most of these towns are bilingual or multilingual. I think that does something to the place. I haven't really done Asia or Africa but I have been to Marrakesh, Morocco and Beijing. Both great but too noisy.

 

[seoulsearch]

Wow! You've done a lot of traveling! I haven't been to very many places, but I'm glad to see you put Rome on your list. My wife is from Italy and we are going there, and Venice in the Spring for our 25 yr wedding Anniversary.

BTW. Beautiful new profile picture. (I hope that's ok to say in this day and age! lol)

Hi Ed!

Most of my traveling was the result of me being available to be an extra wheel to help split the costs with family, friends, or church groups. I could have never just done it all on my own.

I haven't been able to travel like that in a long time, and the one thing that was always missing was an amazing guy to share it with (unless my brother counts! Ha ha ha... ), but hopefully, someday.

How exciting that you and your wife will be going on such an amazing trip!!!! I hope you enjoy every second of it. I LOVED Venice. If you get a chance (and are into such things), check out Basilica Dei Frari. It is absolutely stunning and I couldn't get enough of the sarcophagus that was set into the middle of the wall, because I had never seen anything like it before:

The entire place is absolutely astonishing.

Blessings to you and your beautiful wife--have a safe and completely fantastic trip!!!

P.S. Thank you very much for the compliment on my avatar. At first it seemed silly to post, but the more I thought about it, the more I think that it represents the real me quite accurately: a little bit of mystery, a little bit offbeat, and a whole LOT of clumsiness! Thank you again, Ed, and God bless.

P.P.S. I just saw Andrea's post... WOW. You have had an AMAZING life, and I am very glad that you're here to share it with us.

 

[toinena]

Wow! You've done a lot of traveling! I haven't been to very many places, but I'm glad to see you put Rome on your list. My wife is from Italy and we are going there, and Venice in the Spring for our 25 yr wedding Anniversary.

BTW. Beautiful new profile picture. (I hope that's ok to say in this day and age! lol)

Rome is also amazing. I was there in my twenties. I still had a kind of romantic view on the Roman Catholic Church back then. But what struck me in the St Peter's Cathedral was the big tombs like shrines to all the Popes and it felt like Jesus was lost in all the glorification of men. It was a major turnoff for me. But for the art work and the frescos and architecture it is worth the trip. I would rather go to Florence or Venice again, though, if I return to Italy myself.

BTW. I am impressed by you and your wife being married for 25 years. You look like a loving couple.

BTW2. I also like Kim's new avatar. A woman of many faces and clouded appearance...