From: dons@is.ussprint.com (Don Stadler)
Subject: Re: what's a nice place? Places in the US
Organization: US Sprint-IS
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 13:39:18 GMT

There are a *lot* of nice places to live in this country. I've been
around a bit, both visiting and to work. Here is my list of desireable
places:

1) Research Triangle, NC - My current permanent base is in Durham,
home of Duke University and the *greatest* college basketball team 
*ever*. I can't say enough good things about this town! It runs
about 100,000 people but *feels* more cosmopolitan because of the
universities. It's about 25 miles to Raleigh, the state capital, 
8 miles from Chapel Hill. About 10 minutes drive to the beautiful
central Carolina countryside. Traffic is negligible, except in parts
of Raleigh and during football games. 

2) Austin, Texas - Just a visit, but it seemed like a nice place. Near San
Antonio and the Pedernales mountains. Cosmopolitan city of about 500,000
people. State Capital and flagship campus of the University of Texas system.
Som traffic problems.

3) Milwaukee, WI - Old home town. Milwaukee got some free publicity from 
Mr. Daumer last year. :-}
This masks the fact that it is a clean, well-run, prosperous city that is
working through it's problems. 

4) Kansas City, Mo. - I'm doing a contract here now. Between 70 hour weeks
I've gotten some impressions. Good blue collar twon now making the transition.
Politics seem clean. Well-run airport. A lot of nice neighborhoods. One of the
most lovely cities I've seen. "More boulevards than Paris", and "City of Fountains"
they boast. It's true. Some of the boulevards run through neighborhoods I wouldn't
want to live in, mind you.... But things seem well kept up most everywhere.
Serious barbeque fans nedd to come here. That and Fried chicken are the local
specialties!

5) Atlanta, GA - Did a short contract here. Reminded me a lot of Dallas, but I liked
it better. It's hillier and greener, with perhaps more of an intellectual bent. 
Excellent light rail system, good airport. Heavy traffic, but perhaps not as bad
as Dallas. Both Atlanta and Dallas have *very* small core cities surrounded by
miles of suburban looking neighborhoods. The difference is that Dallas streets are
mostly laid out in straight lines. No such restriction for Atlanta. You WILL need an
street atlas, and will USE it frequently! Don't miss the Martin Luther King, Jr.
historical site and the Carter Library.

6) Dallas, Texas - I've got mixed feelings here. I moved to Dallas from New Brunswick,
New Jersey. It's heaven compared to New Brunswick! Big, cosmopolitan city, with
heavy traffic. Offers lots of things. I recommend North Dallas, the Park Cities,
Irving, Turtle Creek, or lower Greenville districts (depends upon your pocketbook).
The major drawback is the lack of a major university of a quality suited to its
increasing international stature. Public transport sucks alot. No mass transit of much
worth.

The cost of living in all of these places is reasonable. No income tax in Texas, but 
high sales tax. Some others:

1) San Francisco - Money no object, I'd live here. Wonderful! Yes, bad traffic and
all that. Hard to park. But cable cars, BART, great views, lovely city, good weather,
Fisherman's Wharf, Haight-Ashbury, great Museums, Berkeley, etc.

2) Los Angeles - Painted worse than it is. You don't want to be a commuter here! But
it is one LOVELY city in the winter and spring. Excighting. There IS a reason why so
many people moved there, after all!

3) New York - Perhaps the intellectual capital of the country. If you want to learn
about the world, come here. World experts about just about anything live here,
and several of the colleges use this resource to staff continueing education programs,
lectures, or anything else you can imagine.

4) Chicago - Perhaps my favorite BIG city. I'm not certain why. It's got parts of
New York and San Fransisco in it, but with its own flavor. Perhaps the smell of the
breeze off the stockyards :-} :-}.

5) Washington, DC. Bummer. Very expensive, without most of the advantages of New York,
SF, Boston, or even Philadelphia.

6) Boston, Mass  - Many of the same comments as San Francisco.

7) Philadelphia  - Philly has problems. I love Fairmont Park and the Main
Line. Also parts of South Philly, downtown, and the Colonial sections of town. 
Great Seafood.
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