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Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

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Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#101

Post by gnulinux »

notacoward wrote: post #96
gnulinux wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's the cyclists who are terrors, but that's a whole different topic. No, it is not a different topic. Please explain. I biked in Berkeley and SF for ~5 years and never had a single problem. I bike Central Square to Kendall Square every day now and can't bike without feeling I'm actively being attempted to get killed. Nobody respects bike lanes here, and if I ever have to use normal car lane (because there is an a…

Central to Kendall is a tiny slice even of Cambridge. I was talking about a place twenty miles away. So yes, it's a different topic. I'm sorry that you feel you're a victim where you are, but generalizing to the entire Boston area is utterly ridiculous.

I bike Central to Kendall every day, not exclusively. In weekends I bike all around Boston area pretty frequently. In particular I bike around Fenway very often since my friends live there.

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#102

Post by everythingswan »

JeffDClark wrote: post #82
everythingswan wrote: post #62

My only gripe with Tampa is the length & intensity of summer. It's incredibly humid the entire year. Close to 100% humidity and 100 degrees F quite often in the middle of the day. April through November is just hot as heck. You are hot and sweaty...and stay hot and sweaty until you take a shower and dry off. I see people walking around in suits downtown and I can't understand how they manage it. Getting into your car…

Having grown up in Bradenton, which is even warmer than Tampa, I understand the heat. However, your statement about 100% humidity and 100 degrees is not possible. If it were everyone would be dead after being outside for even a short amount of time. Further 100 degree days are rare in that part of Florida, in fact I believe that TPA has never measured 100 or above. The key to happiness is that area of the country, IM…

Yea, being a little dramatic about the temp, I apologize. It's 90F during the day on average: https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/tampa/florida/united-s... The humidity makes it a different heat.

I'm talking relative humidity with the percentage, which is typically what weather reports. It averages over 90% for most summer months: https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/products-services/data/other-n...

Totally agree on the happiness part!

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#103

Post by AnimalMuppet »

DamnInteresting wrote: post #35

Salt Lake City, UT: 1) Very poor air quality in winter due to inversions. 2) The local popular religion (Mormonism) has an outsized influence on legislation, so there are weird laws surrounding alcohol, business on Sundays, use of downtown property, etc. Outside of SLC proper people assume everyone is Mormon, and one's religion (or lack of it) can affect job opportunities, etc. 3) The city is extremely car-centric, w…

Re 2: I worked down in Utah County for a while. Down there, the coffeepot in the lunch room didn't feel like just a coffeepot. It was religious tolerance.

Don't get me wrong, the Mormons were very nice, and tried to be inclusive (there would be a conversation, and some Mormon thing would come up, and someone would ask me "did you understand that", not in condescension but just to make sure I was included). But you're in a strong minority, and it can feel uncomfortable at times.

Note, however, that Salt Lake County isn't nearly as bad. It's "only" 50% Mormon.

My corollary to #3: Traffic can be pretty bad - not LA bad, but much worse than I'd like. (Nobody on their deathbed ever said "I wish I'd spent more time in traffic.)

And my #7: Air pollution. Salt Lake City sits in a valley. That valley traps pollution and, in winter, sometimes fog. (One horrible winter - I think 1981-82 - we had fog get trapped in the valley in winter, and for 59 days, the sun shone for a total of 15 minutes. It was very depressing. Still, that only happened one year; most years are not anything like that bad.)

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#104

Post by Balgair »

nulladdr wrote: post #87
AlwaysRock wrote: post #29

Chicago (specifically Printers Row/South Loop): 1. Homes - Many apartment buildings are 75-100 years old which comes with a whole slew of issues - Buying a condo or apartment in the city is difficult due to Illinois taxes and the states shit financial situation 2. Outdoors - Chicago has a fantastic lake front and some public parks that are nice but there is little to no, "outdoory" things to do in the city or even ne…

I've lived in the Denver metro (suburbs) for 7 years now and still love it. I moved here from a small city in the south. - Large and growing tech community. Every year, I see job postings from new companies in the area. Google, FB, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft all have sattelite offices. Plenty of options to choose from if you're in development, IT, finance, etc. Lots of non-profit organizations as well. Good universitie…

I'll echo some points:

- I-25 traffic is crazy bad, even compared to the 405 in West LA. Really, it's no joke.

- Politics isn't really purple in Co, per se. It's a western state, so it's more libertarian than republican, sorta. People are independent as a rule. I think it's something about the long drives and the mountains that keeps up a love of open spaces and a comfortableness with being alone and out of range of emergency responders. That said, as a western state, all the noise in politics really comes down to one thing: Water. Red v Blue is quaint when it comes to the mountain and the eastern ranchers over water rights. There are no fights in Co politics, just squabbles. But with water there is only war.

- If you want to go skiing anymore you need to wake up at 4. The drives are too long now to sleep in.

- Broncos tickets are crazy hard to get and expensive. Rockies tix can go for $4 often.

- You also have to watch out for tornadoes here too. Not so much close to the mountains, but you will get them in Aurora and at DIA. Wildfires and that death-sweet smell are a part of life now (asthmatics beware).

- DIA TSA is crazy long at times, usually, it seems, whenever I am there :(

- Food isn't bad for the middle of the continent. The Asain dishes (sushi, curries, thai, szechuan, etc) aren't bad, but I'm not singing about them. Mostly it's chilies, peaches, and buffalo steaks (in terms of unique foods).

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#105

Post by tucaz »

lbj wrote: post #24

Denmark: - 56% personal tax rate, 22.5% corporate, always increasing - Low/negative growth - Massive lack of talent/quality education - Free healthcare = Long waiting lists = Losing family members for totally curable diseases - Everything is overly regulated, lawyer bills piling up - Traffic in Copenhagen is a nightmare - The hightaxes means high wages = expensive products (+42% EU average) - Government fees on every…

Denmark (and Sweden) are often cited as countries with fairly successful "socialist" social policies such as healthcare.

Can you please elaborate more about that particular point?

From my own research, it seems that most (if not all countries) with socialized healthcare have it worse than the US or other countries that supposedly have the wors because healthcare is not affordable and/or provided by the government.

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#106

Post by ryanwaggoner »

uh_what wrote: post #46
0xbadcafebee wrote: post #17

Mr. Strawberry, you live in one of the most affluent cities in the world, with virtually every convenience mankind can imagine. Yes, having a car is expensive there. Yes, getting great produce for cheap may require you to transport yourself outside your block or neighborhood. Yes, housing there is incredibly expensive. Yes, traffic is bad. Nobody has an easy time looking for good healthcare in the US. Call your insur…

Your response is ridiculous. As a native New Yorker, his comments are spot-on. His post (and this thread) is a good resource for weighing the pros and cons of moving to any city. Many people move to NYC with ridiculous expectations of living their dream and become despondent when they realize the subways smell like urine and the people can be as cold as the weather.

His comments are not spot on. I’ve lived here for years (not native) and much of what he’s saying is overblown. Where are these $25 watermelons? I hauled them home all summer for like $8. Why can’t he find entrees for cheaper? My lunch today was $10. How jaded do you have to be to not recognize that NYC has a world class food scene if you want it? Chicago is cheaper but not 1/4 of the price. The list goes on.

NYC isn’t easy but it’s not anywhere close to as bad as OP is making it out to be.

This entire post is nothing more than a chance for OP to bitch about his frustrations with NYC. And I get it, I really, really do. But his complaints are overblown.

The very fact that his building has a garage and a doorman is a good indication that his experience is not representative of the entire NYC experience, and that he’s probably trying to live a lifestyle that just isn’t compatible with NYC and he’d probably be happier elsewhere. This city isn’t for everyone.

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#107

Post by vinni2 »

lbj wrote: post #24

Denmark: - 56% personal tax rate, 22.5% corporate, always increasing - Low/negative growth - Massive lack of talent/quality education - Free healthcare = Long waiting lists = Losing family members for totally curable diseases - Everything is overly regulated, lawyer bills piling up - Traffic in Copenhagen is a nightmare - The hightaxes means high wages = expensive products (+42% EU average) - Government fees on every…

It’s a similar story in Norway also add shitty weather crappy expensive food super expensive alcohol to the list.

Couldn’t agree more on health care long waiting list mostly due to limited health care professionals.

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#108

Post by poulsbohemian »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #98
poulsbohemian wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone I've ever spoken with about real life in Hawaii has said: 1) Schools are not good, IE for those with kids 2) Food, gas, etc are expensive 3) Tensions with native Hawaiians, ie: "this is a locals-only beach" 4) Island madness is a real thing (desire to be somewhere not surrounded by water, experience an actual change in weather, etc) Have you found that to not be the case?

1) Don't know didn't have a kid in Hawaii 2) Yes, these things are more expensive, but rent is cheaper for the same size apartment. In our case it was a lot cheaper. As a programmer though, you're in the top 5% anyway, it's all affordable. 3) You treat certain areas as native reservations, because that's what they essentially are. I did hear stories about obnoxious tourists getting a brick in their windshield. Person…

Which island(s) did you like? I've only spent time on Kauai and Maui. Each seems to have its own distinct culture such that it feels unfair to speak about them as a single entity.

Re: Ask HN: What sucks about where you live?

#110

Post by rlmflores »

Sao Paulo, Brazil

- Violence: it is not uncommon to hear a friend that was robbed and it is very common to see news of drug trafficking, murder and other crimes: who lives here is usually afraid of violence;

- Public Healthcare is far from being good, although it is free to use (it is maintained by taxes), waiting list to see a doctor or to do an exam usually takes months. Whoever can afford a health insurance usually does;

- Public Transportation: although expensive, metro is reliable most of the time but buses aren't.

- Housing prices: it is very expensive to live near where you work (if you work on the major business districts);

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