top ten things you miss about the last place you lived (before you lived where you live now)

1. bird sounds

2. ocean winds

3. aunt bette's sunday dinner

4. autumn on marthas vineyard

5. beth parker

6. bbq at the fair

7. mike and his record store

8. my kids in/near the ocean

9. the people i liked at my job at the hospital

10. pretty scenery

1-10: the cute cat belonging to the co-tenants of the house i was renting

greenfield can't be more than a few hours from a nice beach! and no birds?? that's surprising.
i heard the most amazing insect noises at dusk in knoxville this weekend. xpost.

By place do you mean suburb/town, or just house? Cos that changes my answer quite a bit :D

that yogurt, the subway, being a few hours from one of the most interesting cities in the world, living above a sushi restaraunt, cheap persimmons, having a job with decent pay, cheap maker's mark ($18 a bottle), the 2nd hand electronics shop being called HARD OFF!, private room karaoke, the river trail.

"and no birds??"

um, there are BIRDS in western mass, ian! but on mvi? dude, you have no idea. like living in a wilderness sanctuary.

trayce, yeah, i kinda meant different town/state/city/country.

1. Drivers who drove 15 mph under the speed limit in areas where the limit was 55+, and 15 over in areas where it was 30 mph or less
2. People who idled in the parking lot of supermarkets so you had to go around them and risk hitting someone head on.
3. Driving thirty minutes to get anywhere.
4. Having to pay $100 of tolls per month.
5. The flooding.
6. The pedestrians who avoided crosswalks and crossed in the middle of the road at night where there were few streetlights.
7. The fact that there were few streetlights.
8. The fact that the average age of our neighbors was 85.
9. My roommate whose neglect to pay bills on occasion led to internet loss and on one occasion, loss of electricity.
10.The cats that knocked everything over.

1. chick-fil-a
2. bluegrass street buskers
3. walkability - to work in 20 minutes, to farmer's market (3x/week) in 15
4. rent $200 cheaper
5. car never got broken into
6. ambient bird and cicada noises all summer long
7. landlord wasn't a dishonest asscock
8. college students always up to their charmingly ridiculous college student shenanigans, oh college students don't ever change
9. razorback paraphernalia anywhere it'll fit
10. DEERS IN MY FRONT YARD http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/2604855454_6253a34593.jpg

1. Commute to work was 10 minutes instead of 20 minutes
2. Awesome BBQ shack just up the street

That's all I've got. It wasn't much of a move, only two or three miles as the crow flies.

What's weird is I never even dream about the last place, and I lived there for 16 years. It's kind of like our previous house morphed into an older, bigger version of itself.

1. Mt. Shasta
1a. hippies and crystals
1b. lots of used bookstores
1c. relief from the heat in the summer
2. Mt. Lassen
2a. sledding on Snowman Hill in the winter
2b. Bumpass Hell and other hot springs and fumaroles on Lassen
2c. see 1c.
3. Better restaurants
4. Bay Area a half-day's drive away
5. the pastrami at SF Deli right by the river
6. the river
7. Sierra Nevada brewery
8. Burney Falls
9. Palo Cedro's beekeeping culture
10. Buz's Crab Shack

Hmm I havent moved cities in 18 years, and thats the only time I have. Its hard to miss things about my hometown but:

1. The national gallery (especially the sculpture garden)
2. Gus's Cafe
3. Happy hour at Tilleys with my housemates
4. Clean air
5. Impact Record store

... I'm already struggling to come up with anything else. Canberra really is crappy.

i have mixed feelings about nyc (my hometown) these days, but here goes, in no order:

1) people are quicker on the uptake (even the dumb douchebags) and the pace of life is faster
2) people dress better, like a LOT better
3) actual seasons (i'm a fan of cold weather)
4) better bars/clubs
5) i sometimes hear a thick tri-state area accent out here and it makes me nostalgic
6) tall buildings = shade in summertime
7) cheaper cab rides when i'm out by myself late at night
8) you can take the subway to the beach, and it's not a great beach but there's water and sand
9) nathan's hot dogs >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> pink's
10) janette sadik-khan is a babe

in no order
1, bars
2, restaurants/take-away
3, 10min bike ride into work
4, job
5, people
6, flat (not the sharing of it though)
7, snooker hall
8, public transport
9, friends
10, the sun shining in my room in the morning all year round

none of the above decided to move with me 14months ago :(

janette sadik-khan for president

1. ocean and beaches just right there right there
2. mountains just right there but a little further
3. my bros, my mom, the aliveness of certain cats
4. mood-altering, life-affirming japanese food, mostly sushi
5. little wooden houses with little unfenced front yards all close together
6. stanley park, queen elizabeth park, robson square, granville island water park
7. vancouver international film festival
8. fast cab rides over bridges
9. mid-late-20s freedom to be pressure-free melancholy / pressure-free undecided about anything
10. early-morning sun through low fog, riding home

1. burrito options
2. jogging across golden gate park and the awesome feeling I'd get when I reached the ocean
3. the absurdist but basically harmless weather
4. way fewer awful people, way fewer aggressive drivers
5. the cafes on divisadero
6. good produce is omnipresent and cheap
7. being within a 10 min walk from 3 different A+++ parks
8. the general vibrancy/colors
9. the weird people there are always weirder than the weird people anywhere else
10. did I say burrito options?

1. Walking distance from grocery store/Trader Joes/Farmers Market/movie theaters/vintage shops
2. North facing apartment = no sun heating things up in the afternoon
3. Friendly cats at the house on the corner
4. Neighborhood Chinese, Indian, and Italian places all above average

That's it. The apartment itself was terrible and I don't miss it at all, but the neighborhood was great.

1. Mars milk
2. Purple walls
3. Sunday pub lunches
4. My brilliant friends
5. My job, or at least, feeling productive and earning money
6. Views of a landmark from my own back window
7. The British sense of humour
8. Ease of banking, getting prescriptions, general day-to-day stuff that mainly only seems easier because it's familiar
9. A million other food-related things

Kind of nice that, although friends, food, flat and job are pretttty major, I'm struggling to come up with 10 real proper things. Don't miss the weather, expensive bills (I'm choosing to ignore the rent we pay here), and crap public transport for starters.

maid, downtown view, dry cleaning, turndown service, marble bathroom, pool/spa, concierge, lounge

1. My parents/family being a 2 hour drive away
2. Cherry Ripes
3. Salad sandwiches
4. Sausage rolls
5. Cheap yummy Indian food
6. Coopers on tap
7. Not being the only person with an Australian accent
8. Tram bells
9. Australian Rules footy
10. Summer thunderstorms

I could never live anywhere but Melbourne ;_;

1. friends
2. central a/c
3. (slightly) cheaper things
4. free museums
5. (slightly) more pleasant driving
6. manageable size
7. having a bike that worked
8. pickup basketball
9. utter lack of preparation for snowfall
10. friends

1. snow! winter!
2. decrepit old Victorian mansions.
3. lots of great places to go for walks.
4. wandering through the fields by the train tracks like a goddamn hippy.
5. approximately one week of stunningly beautiful spring weather per annum.
6. quiet (except for the occasional train, but you stopped hearing those after a few weeks).
7. ready access to monk-like solitude if you wanted it.
8. the people, esp. the sweet, unworldly townie guys. and one person in particular. (awwww...)
9. lively bars within walking distance.
10. everything was so much cheaper.

9. mid-late-20s freedom to be pressure-free melancholy / pressure-free undecided about anything

haha, this, very much this

1) beehive pub
2) turkish shop
3) star video rental (every vhs/dvd released in this country. defunct now anyway tho)
4) friends living across the street
5) stairs
6) massive house parties
7) private outdoors space even though it was tiny and rubbish
8) er that's it. my new place is only 20mins walk away anyway!

1. the sound of trains at night
2. Mt. Baker
3. my awesome jobs and coworkers
4. quiz night
5. low tide, Boundary Bay
6. an hour of Frasier on TV every night
7. lots of well-stocked grocery stores/co-ops
8. cheap airfare
9. Mexican food
10. late nights with friends

cold weather
indian food
middle eastern food
family/friends
my cat

but mostly i like my new place more

but now im moving again

also awesome movie store
fireplaces
camping

9. mid-late-20s freedom to be pressure-free melancholy / pressure-free undecided about anything

I don't think I have ever taken advantage of this freedom.

I also don't think I can name 10 things about the last place I lived that I miss. Bridges, I guess. And working on the beach.

1. pulled pork barbecue
2. hush puppies
3. Chik-fil-a (although they are opening a few of these in Chicago in 2011)
4. The longer growing season that comes with a warmer climate (note: I do NOT miss the warmer climate) resulting in seasonal vegetables, especially tomatoes, being ready earlier and available longer.

Um...

5. lower sales tax

That's all I got.

oh wait i forgot one

8) no shitty noisy upstairs neighbours

I used to live in London and I miss:

1. easy frequent transport, like, everywhere. Cheap too. You complain about it all the time, but what a pain to live without it.
2. walking pt i. So many interesting nooks to explore and little bits of history and culture to pick up. This should be #1 actually
3. walking pt ii. You can basically go places in a straight line. Where I live now has been so cleverly planned (culs-de-sac; underpasses and barriers so you don't need to cross roads; pavements on one side only, or none at all because why would anyone ever want to walk there?!) that it's a complete pain-in-the-arse)
4. that it was a treat for people to come & visit me
5. people mostly not complacent. Nearly everything's so much more informal. No-one looks at you like you're stupid because you don't know something they do, or because you've asked a question that nobody usually asks
6. loads of entertainment options
7. nice parks
8. interesting people to look at
9. every journey had brilliant views if you could remember where to look or what side of the train to sit on
10. bachelor life I suppose, but only a teeny bit

1. bird sounds

2. ocean winds

3. aunt bette's sunday dinner

4. autumn on marthas vineyard

5. beth parker

6. bbq at the fair

7. mike and his record store

8. my kids in/near the ocean

9. the people i liked at my job at the hospital

10. pretty scenery

― scott seward, Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
1-10: the cute cat belonging to the co-tenants of the house i was renting

― DâM-EdnA-FunK (get bent), Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
greenfield can't be more than a few hours from a nice beach! and no birds?? that's surprising.
i heard the most amazing insect noises at dusk in knoxville this weekend. xpost.

― not everything is a campfire (ian), Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
By place do you mean suburb/town, or just house? Cos that changes my answer quite a bit :D

― Gumbercules (Trayce), Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:28 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
that yogurt, the subway, being a few hours from one of the most interesting cities in the world, living above a sushi restaraunt, cheap persimmons, having a job with decent pay, cheap maker's mark ($18 a bottle), the 2nd hand electronics shop being called HARD OFF!, private room karaoke, the river trail.

― 156, Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
"and no birds??"

um, there are BIRDS in western mass, ian! but on mvi? dude, you have no idea. like living in a wilderness sanctuary.

trayce, yeah, i kinda meant different town/state/city/country.

― scott seward, Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:32 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
1. Drivers who drove 15 mph under the speed limit in areas where the limit was 55+, and 15 over in areas where it was 30 mph or less
2. People who idled in the parking lot of supermarkets so you had to go around them and risk hitting someone head on.
3. Driving thirty minutes to get anywhere.
4. Having to pay $100 of tolls per month.
5. The flooding.
6. The pedestrians who avoided crosswalks and crossed in the middle of the road at night where there were few streetlights.
7. The fact that there were few streetlights.
8. The fact that the average age of our neighbors was 85.
9. My roommate whose neglect to pay bills on occasion led to internet loss and on one occasion, loss of electricity.
10.The cats that knocked everything over.

― San Te, Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
1. chick-fil-a
2. bluegrass street buskers
3. walkability - to work in 20 minutes, to farmer's market (3x/week) in 15
4. rent $200 cheaper
5. car never got broken into
6. ambient bird and cicada noises all summer long
7. landlord wasn't a dishonest asscock
8. college students always up to their charmingly ridiculous college student shenanigans, oh college students don't ever change
9. razorback paraphernalia anywhere it'll fit
10. DEERS IN MY FRONT YARD

― del griffith, Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
1. Commute to work was 10 minutes instead of 20 minutes
2. Awesome BBQ shack just up the street

That's all I've got. It wasn't much of a move, only two or three miles as the crow flies.

What's weird is I never even dream about the last place, and I lived there for 16 years. It's kind of like our previous house morphed into an older, bigger version of itself.

― Brad C., Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:52 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
1. Mt. Shasta
1a. hippies and crystals
1b. lots of used bookstores
1c. relief from the heat in the summer
2. Mt. Lassen
2a. sledding on Snowman Hill in the winter
2b. Bumpass Hell and other hot springs and fumaroles on Lassen
2c. see 1c.
3. Better restaurants
4. Bay Area a half-day's drive away
5. the pastrami at SF Deli right by the river
6. the river
7. Sierra Nevada brewery
8. Burney Falls
9. Palo Cedro's beekeeping culture
10. Buz's Crab Shack

― Grisly Addams (WmC), Thursday, July 15, 2010 10:04 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Hmm I havent moved cities in 18 years, and thats the only time I have. Its hard to miss things about my hometown but:

1. The national gallery (especially the sculpture garden)
2. Gus's Cafe
3. Happy hour at Tilleys with my housemates
4. Clean air
5. Impact Record store

... I'm already struggling to come up with anything else. Canberra really is crappy.

― Gumbercules (Trayce), Thursday, July 15, 2010 11:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

no overhead wires??

oh crap i just meant to copy trayces there

1. The shorter commute
2. Good transit (kind of feels bizzaro to type that about the TTC - I guess I mean "better transit" in that there was a subway system)
3. Interesting/crazy city folk
4. Huge, well-stocked library system
5. Friends closeby
6. The Danforth
7. The ROM

I actually can't come up with more than that. I didn't take advantage of city living and I wasn't sad to leave.

11. loads of cinemas. Showing new, and old, interesting stuff of all types - rather than one cinema showing Avatar on four screens and Eclipse on the other three.

Memphis:
1. The Mississippi River, seeing it every day
2. Running along the riverwalk
3. The iron railroad bridge at the end of Rivermont Park. I would climb down to the riverbank after a long run and just stare at it as the sun went down.
4. Good vegan barbecue, the best of all served in a dilipdated yellow building next to a scrap metal yard on the outskirts of town.
5. private liquor stores
6. art students everywhere, doing their art student things
7. great breakfast places within walking distance
8. all of the amazing abandoned buildings
9. ridiculously fancy downtown condo I could never afford anywhere else
10. the general seediness

You mean like powerlines K? Huh. I never really thought about that!

yeah. also: close to snow

i lived in canberra when i was in kindergarten and for half of 1st grade. all i remember from that time is no power lines, frost, sun shining through the orange glass everyone seemed to have on their houses and paddle boating in that big lake with my brother and the big freaking geyser in the middle suddenly turning on and drenching us.

Lake Shore Drive at night
Close friendships all over the city
Poetry Slam at the Green Mill
Best dive bars in the world
100 little tiny theater companies (not all of which were all that great but still)
Complaining about tourists
R. Kelly "inside story" rumor mill (ZOMG)
The Chicago Attitude -- not always "great" but always entertaining
At least one kind of every restaurant in the world
The last place on earth that radio still matters

I miss a lot of those things about Chicago, too.

I've been thinking about this for a while and have realized: not a goddamn thing. New Jersey sucks on toast, but compared to Alabama it's no contest.

I google image-searched a landmark near where I used to live and accidentally arrived at my current boss's flickr, which I didn't know existed.

At least there are no nudy pics or anything.

1 - 5. The girls who lived on the first floor. Wowee zowee.
6. The Indian guy who ran the corner shop a minute away who was such a big Arsenal fan he made me look like I don't regularly make a fool of myself w/ opinions.
7. Eve being around the corner w/ wine on hand.
8. Pak's xbox360 and days playing pro evo. Also his mum who used to make him Indian food he would never eat so I would instead.
9. Bitching w/ Steven about nothing.
10. It was huage and cold (I like cold.)

1. Several pubs 5 minutes' walk away, some of which were not crap (here there are only 2 within a mile and neither are my kind of place - there are loads more just beyond that, but it's a bit too far to get drunk and walk home)
2. My street and the next street were full of cats, man I miss seeing cats just wandering around and occasionally demanding patting, hardly see any round here
3. Not much happened, but just turning up and appreciating the few things which did happen felt like some kind of ~community~ (admittedly I didn't really feel like this at the time)
4. I am glad not to be commuting any more, but I read a hell of a lot more books on the bus home and that made me feel smart
5. one abstract horse shape carved into a chalk hill
6. and one 13th century tithe barn
7. much cheaper
8. this is bad but I miss the shop's tinned ratatouille (no really)
9. and rum'n'raisin choc-ices (lol fattey)
10. and cheap own-brand orange alco-pop (uhh)

oh dear.

The Indian guy who ran the corner shop a minute away who was such a big Arsenal fan he made me look like I don't regularly make a fool of myself w/ opinions.

"did you see that ludicrous display last night?"

1. Walkable neighborhoods with interesting shops and cafes
2. Train service
3. Fall and winter
4. More energy, excitement, possibilities
5. Family-in-law
6. Listening to music more
7. Looking out the train window while listening to music on nice headphones
8. Convenience stores
9. Fewer responsibilities
10. The scale of things being smaller