Where to live?

[cjsmith]

Question stolen from aleeceh: If I could move anywhere, and the people I care about most (rfrench) would come with me, where would I live? I have the assets and skills I have today.

I have been thinking about this. I don't know the answer, but I have narrowed down some of my criteria.

1. Must allow general aviation and have a small airport nearby (for Rob to teach). Would be nice if it's uncrowded enough to have hangars available (for the nice aerobatic airplane I'd like to own).
2. Salary to cost-of-living ratio must be better than Silicon Valley.
3. Physically beautiful landscape. I will not be happy in an area that appears to me to be ugly. This probably implies uncrowded. Finland looks awfully lovely in the fall. So does New Hampshire.
4. Climate not beastly hot. Phoenix or Austin probably wouldn't agree with me. Winters are fine, though. I grew up with them and I miss them.
5. If outside the US, resident alien status must not suck or (Rob and?) I must qualify for citizenship. (I am willing to and would consider it my duty to learn the language. Rob might not enjoy it, though, so that effort would have to be taken into account.)
6. The laws of the state or country must not be personally abhorrent to me. I won't be happy in an area where what I perceive as the wrong things are supported and rewarded, while what I perceive as good and valuable things are penalized. Widespread and accepted corruption would bother me.
7. The local prejudices of the area must not be major limiting factors for me. I can't be in the closet about being an intelligent and capable woman. I probably can't be closeted about coming from the USA or having lived in California. I won't be happy any place I'm barred from driving a car because of my sex. I won't be happy living anywhere that's likely to be at war with the US, not only because that's a really bad situation to be in, but because there are many people here I care about.

I'm not sure I've caught them all here. It's a start.

Comments

[irascignavojo.livejournal.com]

http://www.bebenhausen.com :-)

1) Medium-sized international airport (STR) nearby (20mins). Several smaller airports for flying enthusiasts of new and even old machines in the (comfortable driving distance) area.

2) While Tuebingen is more expensive than most east-german towns (or most of Iowa or Poland), the ratio of the area is good, and with german headquarters of HP and IBM around there are job opportunities - and people are used to get something for good money.

3) We score quite high on No.3 - with one of the largest natural forest reserves right around us here (think Tetons), lots of small mountains and rolling green hills.

4) Climate is moderate, though I've been found to complain if it climbs over 30°C in the dog days of summer. Last winter was as snowy as they get, skying is possible in the "swabian alb" (also only 20 mins), in the Black Forest (starts 40 mins from here) and the Alps, which can be reached in 3 hours if you drive the right car in the right time of day (Munich is only 2h away for me).

5) With the german HQ of IBM, HP and DaimlerChrysler in less than 30mins from here, and some US barracks (plus EUCOM) in the area, people are used to (and friendly towards) Americans. (Plus: Immigration isn't to difficult for citizens of rich & friendly countries.)

6) The german laws are very liberal (think pro choice, gay legal partnership, data privacy protection) from 7 years of liberal government, even though the right wing backlash is around the corner with new elections due in autumn instead of next year and a wannabe-supporter of the Iraq war is the likely winner.
Nearly all german states are "black" (conservative) now, which makes our parliament (majority: social democrats and greens) less powerful because the second chamber (think Senate) can block a lot. Still, our conservatives are more like the right wing democrats and changes will not be as radical as some Bushes would make them. Taxes are relatively low compared with some neighbours and tax rates have been dropped over the last decade. Corruption is more or less restricted to the building sector and comparatively low.

7) Local prejudice is extremely low as Tuebingen in its history of 500 years of university town always had an influx of thinkers from everywhere. One third of the population is students of the University with a very mixed background. While africans (or african americans) are rare, they do not get raised eyebrowsß, neither do muslim women with or without scarves around their hair (the latter disallowed in public office, though).
7a) Intelligent women are cherished and elevated to good jobs (head of state, head of the country, supreme court or head of HP are nor out of the question for an intelligent women of the area (from all sides of the political spectrum). While "the pope formerly known as Ratzinger", who is not a liberal concerning women, has been teaching at our University we have to say two things in defence of our town: a) he was much more liberal back then and b) he left town long ago.
7b) War against the US is out of the question for a longstanding NATO member. War side by side with the US, sadly, is much more probable. I said that EUCOM is here, so US attacks against Libya, for example, have been directed from this area. Germany has been with the US in Bosnia and has the largest contingent in Afghanistan.

Maybe you come over for a short visit? Stuttgart International Airport is close and the airport shuttle brings you directly to my doorstep (or close enough even for your current tastes). It would be a start. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Tuebingen when I was there for a short visit many years ago. I wish I could have spent a bit more time there.

Travel for me is unlikely right now but in another handful of years I will be in northern Germany again -- I might come and ask if you want to chat in a coffee house or something!

[irascignavojo.livejournal.com]

> I wish I could have spent a bit more time there.

Feel invited to do so. While we do not sport great luxury, we have up to four guest beds - and a hotel with honorable mention in Guide Michelin and and a restaurant with 15 Gault Millau "toques" are just around the corner (literally).

I'm willing to meet you for a tea or coffee anywhere between Frankfurt and Munich (which is about the range I take customers from), and of course to welcome you to my town (which is Tuebingen, though it used to be Brunswick -Braunschweig- in Lower Saxony in the north).