Hello Darlings,
One of the life’s biggest challenges is deciding where to settle for the long-term. In large part due to the internet, the opportunities to make a life wherever you want is increasingly more realistic. But is having more choices isn’t necessarily a good thing?
The past few years, one of the best things that I’ve accomplished is visiting many different places. Writing this tonight, I am in Dallas Texas, which got me thinking about where are some of the places that I could see myself living, and why! Texas ranks high, and in the past few years I have experienced Houston, Austin, and now Dallas. People in Texas are friendly, and the cities are clean. Austin is my favorite, but it’s small so probably I would be bored quickly…. so moving on!
Toronto has always been my home. I grew up in Etobicoke, but in the past 2 years have lived in Rosedale, Moore Park, and also the King West neighborhood downtown. The Toronto economy seems to be thriving, so there are lots of jobs. There are also events almost every day mostly downtown, so King West or Rosedale are two of the best options if you are regularly going out. So while I love Etobicoke, one lessons that I’ve learned is the amount saved in taxi fares more than made up for the extra cost of living downtown. And I also had so much more time to do things, because I wasn’t losing so much time out of each day in transit. Toronto is also a very pretty and clean city, and the first three photos are all of downtown Toronto.
Miami was my home away from home last winter. South Beach is famous, but I could never see living there as it’s more than a bit sketchy. I did enjoy downtown Miami (photo below), which seems to be where a lot more young people are making their lives. But just the same, while the Miami weather is appealing, it didn’t take long before it felt like a small town without a large community of creative young professionals. So I really could only ever see Miami being part of my life for weekend getaways in the long term.
Los Angeles is probably very high on most people’s list. The weather is great, and it’s a big city with many job opportunities and cultural happenings. In my experience though, Los Angeles is a lonely place where people spend more time in their car than they do interacting because it’s so spread out - photo below is from Runyon Canyon overlooking downtown Hollywood with downtown LA in the distance. If I was a multi-millionaire, I could see myself living in Los Angeles, but alas I’m not…
New York seems the most logical choice for me (if not Toronto). I love fashion and New York is the heart of the North American fashion industry. And there are events and parties happening almost every night, which are mostly within a 10-15 minute taxi ride from wherever I would probably live. Soho and Chelsea would probably be my first choices for neighborhoods to settle in, since they are closest to where the majority of the events take place, especially in the fashion scene. Washington (photo below) is also a beautiful city, but I was disappointed how few things there are for young people to do in the downtown Georgetown neighborhood that people had told me lots of good things about.
Curious to hear your thoughts. If you could live anywhere, where would you live, and why?
With Love…
Marta
I enjoyed reading this! Have not been enough places to answer where I would want to live. I live just outside of Vancouver, born in Toronto. I would maybe like to live downtown Vancouver as I am in the burbs. I love Vancouver
Thanks Heather. I am planning a trip to Vancouver for January. Any suggestions of things I should check out while there?? (it’s my first time visiting Vancouver…)
I enjoyed this post as well, since I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I was born in a small farming community outside of Toronto, and now live in Etobicoke (and love it), and my husband was raised in Hamilton. We both like to be close to a big city but not downtown. I have been dreaming of moving to Vancouver because it seems like the best of both worlds - city and nature all rolled into one beautiful skyline.
Hi Leah,
Where in Etobicoke are you living?
I am planning to go to Vancouver in late January. So excited since I’ve heard a lot of fabulous things about it too.
Happy holidays!
Marta
Hi Marta,
I love your site! I am a professor living in Chicago, IL. I’ve finally added your site to my Google Reader. Chicago is a great place to live for numerous reasons: 1) Le Colonial, Roy’s, Sunda, Spiaggia, and Table fifty-two are excellent fine-dining restaurants. 2) The club scene in Chicago is jumping thanks to Billy Dec. 3) I live near Lake Shore Drive. Getting a place near Lake Michigan is the best of all possible worlds! 4) Chicago is preferable to both LA and New York. It is small enough to appreciate the multiple scenes and large enough to still get lost a bit in the different ethnic neighborhoods across the city. Also, people are not nearly as snobbish or rude in Chicago as they are those other places. By the way, if you ever come to Chicago, let’s tour the city and take lots of photos! Two questions: Have you finally decided on where you will reside? And will you post your videos with DeMarco here for those of us not on Facebook? Thanks! Finally, you look fabulous in all outfits. My secret crush is Charlotte from Sex and the City. She has a sweetness that is alluring yet neither overbearing nor annoying. Given your beauty, personal aesthetic, and attention to detail, you favor her a good deal. Keep up the excellent work!
Wow thank you so much for such a wonderful e-mail. Love waking up to read this! Yes, I am going to post a story with lots of photos with DeMarco this morning, and also have quite a few fun videos to post too.
Thanks for the insights about Chicago. It’s high on my list of places to visit, and love that you gave me some good suggestions!
Couple of questions: (1) what do you teach, and (2) do you enjoy photography??
Best wishes,
Marta
Hi Marta,
I teach philosophy. In the past I taught Greek aesthetics in the context of an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy course. Additionally, I teach courses on German philosophy, political philosophy, social philosophy, and moral philosophy.
I am a big fan of Gordon Parks. In general, I love beautiful things, beautiful people, and lots of color.
For more detailed correspondence, I can be reached at the email address listed above.
Stay beautiful and amazing!
If I had to move not too far from here, I’d probably pick Paris. Which, however, would be fine only if I could afford to live in the city - too much commuting time can be very stressing.
If I could pick a city anywhere, that’d be Toronto. I have loved it every single time I have been there, and people seem very friendly and kind. I also love NY, but it’s much more chaotic than Toronto.
Ottawa seems nice too, but a bit too quiet for me…
Of course I lovee “my” Rome too, but it’s a mess, and it gets very very stressful to live there!
Hi Chiara,
Thanks for the nice comment. Do you have a blog that I could also check out! Would love to see your pics from your travels…
Happy holidays,
Marta
Hi! Yes, my blog is foreverout.blogspot.com. I have some pictures from my last trips, but haven’t updated pictures from my honeymoon, last summer, which was last time I was in Toronto.
Happy Holidays to you too!
If I could live anywhere in the world it would be Stockholm. The city itself is gorgeous, the people are fantastic and the fashion scene is very interesting - if only it weren’t so expensive.
Kate xo petite-adventures.blogspot.ca
Wow Stockholm Kate! I never expected to hear that one… Although it’s ironic since I said to a friend this week that Stockholm is somewhere I want visit in 2013
If I could live anywhere, I would probably try Ottawa. Being born and raised in Toronto all my life, I’d love to try somewhere a bit more calmer, yet still with some city essences to it. As well, it’d be a great opportunity to learn French, and of course, Ottawa is much cleaner than Toronto being the country’s capital!
My second choice and choice that will most likely never change is New York City (every girl’s dream). I firmly believe that every person needs to live in NYC at least once in their lives. Whether it’s for half a year or more, I think it’s something to try. After all, it is the city of dreams! : )
Hi Jules,
Couldn’t agree with you more about NYC. If the stars align, it’s definitely where I would like to try living next. I love Toronto, but it often feels pretty small seeing a lot of the same people at events.
Hope you are having a wonderful holiday!
Best wishes,
Marta
Hey Marta…what are your thoughts on montreal? You never mentioned it but dont you currently live there now? How do you find it? I’ve only visited but really like this city.
Cher
Hi Cher,
I enjoy Montreal, but it’s sooo cold… and it’s only December! Scary to think how cold February will be
I am surprised the temperature difference makes that big of a deal as it does, because I really like Montreal also.
Hope you are having a wonderful holiday!
Allo Marta!
I was born and raised in Québec City, and then I moved to Ontario, Alberta, and Pennsylvania for work. I am in my late twenties now and my boyfriend recently signed year-contract to work in Zagreb, Croatia. To be honest, after visiting a couple times.. I would LOVE to be able to live there; it’s perfect location and the weather is wonderful! Now if only I spoke Croatian, or German, or anything more than French and English?! (0:
Hi Ianne,
German is quite interesting to learn and not as difficult as French is.
New places are definitely not easy especially with language and cultural differences. I might be fun to learn a new language