Whats it like where YOU live ????

I live in metro Atlanta, which is where I was born and raised (one of the few natives here). I've lived elsewhere, but keep coming back home. Atlanta, like SoCal, has the advantage of a mild climate and being within reasonable driving distance of snow skiing/mountains and beaches (2 coasts), but also has the advantage of being reasonably close to lots of varied-crop farmland and the Okeefenokee Swamp as well.

The economy here hasn't had as rough a time as much of the country has since 9/11, but we're certainly not at our peak right now. Depending on where in metro Atlanta you choose to live, a 1-bedroom apartment could run you anywhere from $500 a month to thousands a month, but most will be in the $700-$1000 a month range right now. City of Atlanta property taxes are quite high and the water infrastructure is falling apart, but outside the city limits it's fine. Houses can run you anywhere from $30k for a shack in cracktown to $140k for an average suburban home to several million for a home like Whitney Houston or Deion Sanders or Martina Navratilova or other wealthy residents have.

The big problem for Atlanta residents is the traffic. According to surveys, we have one of the worst average commutes in the country. It's nothing that would throw your average NJ to NYC commuter, but would floor the average person from Topeka or Tacoma.

The big disadvantage for herpers in Georgia is that no native species (to the state) may be kept without a DNR permit. That means no Eastern Kings, no green anoles, no garters, etc., though you can have all the anacondas you want.

Little Rock, Arkansas...SOOOOOOOOO HUMID..it feels like 120 degree's out when it's only 90. and people here (a majority..rednecks) think all snakes are the devil..i hate it here and hope to move asap :)

lol...nuff said

I live in San Antonio, Texas and love it. Our summer high temps have been around 95 and around 75-80 at night. Our winters are mild and have maybe one freeze during that with lows usually around 40-50 and typical highs around 65-70 unless we get a really strong cold front. Our population is 1,144,646 that was in 2000 so now maybe around 1.6 million people.

My wife and i live in a 1 bedroom apartment on the north side of town and we pay $455 a month. You can buy an older 3-4 bedroom house anywhere from $60,000 on the south side of town to about $200,000 on the north side.

There is always some type of party or public function going on somwhere in San Antonio where you can hear music and eat some good food. Speaking of food San Antonio has the best mexican food in the whole U.S. As far as trafic goes it takes around 15-30 minutes to get from one side of the city to the other. There is alot of freeway construction going on so traffic gets worse in those areas especially during rush hour where it could double the time it takes to get anywhere via freeway. But in San Antonio you can take surface streets and get everywhere. For those who never been to Texas its HUGE it takes at least 7 hours just to get out of the state and thats with a speed limit of 70 (usually do around 85). It takes 2.5 hours to get to the gulf coast.

In Texas you can keep any herp you want just as long as you have the appropriate permits. And permits only apply to Native and Non-Native venemous species.

Ever seen the the movie Deliverance? lol

Im an implant here in South Central Illinois (originally from Merritt Island Florida) so it was a cultural shock at first. Now I wouldnt trade it for anything. The biggest crime you are going to see around here is child hood pranks. We have had 2 murders in this are in the 30 years that I have been here.

Right now the weather is very mild for this time of year but usually very hot and humid with severe storms. We see several tornado's a year in this area. Winter time is usually very cold with several days in the minus collumn and snow. Usually only get a mild amount of snow but occasionally get a good blizzard here and there.

It's farming country here, everywhere you look it's corn, soy beans, milo and wheat. Cow's, pig's, horses, turkeys, chickens.....you get the picture. If it's not farm ground, it's hunting woods.

I am purchacing my nice little 3 bedroom house for less than $200.00 a month. An exspensive house around here runs just under $100,000.00 but if you moved that same house a couple hours north it would be worth $500,000.00.

If you want quiet and clean air, then this is the place to be. I do have to admit though that I do miss being able to do anything after 9pm. SO much more to do in the big citys, we just dont have the bull s**t to put up with.

It hasn't snowed here in San Antonio since 1985. It was like 3" LOL

I live in Richmond, VA. I grew up here, and I must say that overall it is a pretty cool area. The overall theme of the city itself it just old, but in a way it gives it character. I live in a historic district of downtown that has been renovated recently, but they still kept that old look. I live about 2 blocks from Virginia Commonwealth University, where I go to school, and that area of Richmond is called the Fan, which is like a college town in itself, but within a city. Not the traditional college town, where theres the college and thats it, but that plus all the other things the city has to offer.

People say theres a lot of crime in the city, and some of it does occur randomly. However, the vast majority of crime is drug related, so if you aren't all caught up in that, just use common sense and you'll be fine.

Richmond has a vast surrounding area of suburbs. I grew up in a planned development about 20 mins south of the city. Upper-middle class, nice houses, small neighborhoods which were all situated around a huge lake. Lots of park areas around the lake to fish and canoe. There were bike paths that go all throughout the community through the woods so you never had to go on a main road, my friends and I would just ride our bikes around all day. Great place to grow up.

Overall, theres a lot to do for all age groups. Theres so many curbside bars and restaurants in my area, along with live music somewhere almost every night of the week and the weekends are usually crazy. All of the bars are within walking distance from where everyone lives, so being a student, you basically just bar hop or find house parties, everyone is just out walking around.

To contrast, I lived up in Fairfax, in Northern VA right outside of Washington, DC. I lived there for about a year and a half while I went to George Mason University. I must say I never liked that area. You must take a highway of some sort to go ANYWHERE. It is crowded and everything is spread so far apart. Fairfax is turning into just one huge strip mall with million-dollar houses spaced about 3 feet apart side to side. Everyone there works either for the government or some telecommunications mogul. So you've got all these drones doing the same routine every day. Its so crowded up there and for a supposedly wealthy county (one of the top income per capita in the nation), there is A LOT of crime and gang activity. My car was actually stolen and chopped while I lived up there.

Overall, (IMHO) Northern VA a crappy area with crappy people, everyone there is very arrogant and lacks the southern hospitality that Richmond has. I'm sure there's *******s in Richmond, but they'll still say hi or give you a nod when you walk past them on the street.

LaVale MD ... take your cross of a nice 85-90 degree summer and throw in an average of 250 inches of snow a winter :shock: . We pretty much get all the weather patterns. As far as night life goes ... we have more bars than churches ( unless you count your bar as a church, which some do ;) ). Other than that .. there's not a whole heck of alot to get into here. As far as herpin goes ... we've got Northern Copperheads, Timber Rattlesnakes, Black Snakes, Black Racers, Corn Snakes, Garter Snakes .. and a bunch of smaller lizards ( salamanders and the such ).

Whelp.... i live in Commerce, Michigan, and it sucks. we have about.... ooooh... lets say... 400 seasons a year? It snowed in June. JUNE. it's not supposed to do that...

besides the weather being terrible, i live in a nice area. i have a lake every few miles or so, and i live right by one, across the street from it. its oober cool :)

No cool critters here... garter snakes and thats about it. theres toads.. i guess that counts?? hmmm.. we have skunks. haha in my trash, all the time.

So i think i'll move to Hawaii now.