Chicago.

Pretty much, you're also only about 40 minutes from the Cape (where I live) which is just littered with beaches and like two hours from a ton of mountains for the winter.

Foxboro, Massachusetts

Boston

Yup. I live right by the Cape, too. Having Boston right there is awesome, and it's such a great walking city. You can't beat the North End for amazing Italian food.

Capes damn nice, sandwichs is a fine town.



WURDDD

the last free city


and if that's no longer free then it has to be Kaanapali, Hawaii.

right here where I am in L.A. (Hollywood), where my future (hopefully) lies.

Edinburgh, Scotland. Tons of history, beautiful streets, and a muthafuckin' castle in the middle of the city. Doesn't get much better than that.

Since you're an urban planning major, I must ask, what's the prevailing attitude towards separation of uses and urban sprawl right now?

My biggest concern is the pattern of development in China. They're about 30 years behind in planning and architectural philosophy. Urban spaces are being designed according to 1970's American principles -- wide streets, separation of uses, bleak modern architecture with ludicrous setbacks and desolate street fronts and gratuitous plazas. Given high population densities, residential development usually takes the form of developments similar to 1960's US public housing, towers-in-a-park with solid fencing/walls along the entire street front.

An example would be the district the new CCTV building resides in:

Batmanda, I find your response interesting because I find that the majority of people I know that were born in Chicago have no desire to live anywhere but the Chicago metro (ignore me if you didn't actually grow up in Chicago).

If I had unlimited funds, I'd probably choose to live in Boulder, CO.

Naturally, there's a popular belief amongst students that mixed-use planning is the only direction to go in - that separation of uses and urban sprawl are tied to a great many sociological issues within the country. At the very least, every professor I've had has been an advocate of higher density, mixed use, post-modernist design. But I guess that's to be expected. I mean, I'm taking a class right now that basically deconstructs modernist planning (your China) and tears it apart. Of course, there's a critique of post-modernist planning, but for the most part.... it's what sticks. And at Berkeley, you have to factor in the ecological aspects - that is, sustainability (a slight cliche - tossed around a bit too much, but what they hey?) and ecological literacy in design. Seems to be a popular movement abroad and what the school leads the pack in.


...Did I come close to answering your question? I'm not sure

Thanks, sounds like my kind of place.

I remember as a kid seeing a doco on Boston as it became a sister city of Melbourne in the 80s. Both are university towns too.

I'll definitely put it on my list of places to visit.

Yes, and thank you. I came to abhor modernist planning through practical experience. Those Chinese planners should steal a page from Haussmann in designing practical streetwalls.

Toronto, Vancouver or Chicago


NY is to busy for my liking.

As much as I love Paris, I can't quite subscribe to Haussmannization - it's far from perfect, too. Modernist planning is so impersonal though, yea. In same cases, in any event. In the case of China, it's definitely an aesthetic of power and status, not practicality.

Oh well, what happens will happen. North Chicago happens to be one of the most livable places I ever lived in. It's especially charming with a moped to get around with.

I was there a few summers ago and fell in love with it! Great city, great castle, lots of artists, musicians and culture!

Rome or Paris.

European capitals are unaffordable on American salaries these days. $40,000 a year is comfortable here, and would barely cover rent in London.

In what universe is $40,000 comfortable? You can survive, yes, but I wouldn't call it comfortable.

Several of European capitals are unaffordable on any normal person's salary, hehe. Especially London and, by now, Moscow, heh.

Depends on number of kids, its above the poverty line.

Also depends on your definition of comfortable. I grew up with 4 people living on 20K a year, so could I as one person live on 40K, sure (I mean I live on less then that as a grad student). Would I have a wii, an xbox, a new macbook, and iphone and mini cooper, no.

And as Korrgan said location matters, 40K is not alot in LA, NYC, Boston, etc. but in bumbofuck I am sure it will do.