Tell me about where you live

Damn MB...very well put LOL!! 

@Drea-so, so true!!  Die hard Coloradoans : )

I live in Chattanooga, TN

Yes.. its beautiful! If you love mountains, country cooking, hiking, driving with your top down, and outdoorsy stuff then you should definatly move here

Chattanooga is in the hear of everything. 1.5 hours away for THE VOLS NATION, 2 hours away from the Home of country (NASHVILLE). Its such a great place.

Chattanooga has majority private schools.. mainly because we believe heavily on a good education. Believe it or not we are not all Country bumpkins.

typical starter home is $100-150k. We just bought our 1st home for 215.

Typical salary is probably 50-60k, with a college diploma. No college, your looking at 25-34k

  come visit :)

Austin, Texas

Is it diverse?In a big way yes, even though that's not the first thing you think about when you here "texas".

What do you think the average income is? The average income varies greatly amongst us AND depending on where you want to live.

Average housing price? depends on the area.

What kind of industry/jobs are there? University of Texas, medical, Dell, etc... there's a pretty good range of industry here.

Why do you love/hate it?I love Austin. I always say if I didn't live in Austin, I'd love to live in NYC. It's eclectic, you can find live music almost every night of the week (and most of the time above decent), shopping is fantastic, outdoorsy things to do everywhere, everyone is pretty down to earth, and there's really too much to list that I love. Oh and South by Southwest and ACL festival. The downsides are definitely traffic... If I didn't have to own a car I wouldn't but I do and you want to avoid driving anywhere around 5:30. It gets HOT in the summer, and there's virtually no winter. Hobos are abundant, but they are inventive I'll admit. No beach.

Would you recommend moving there?Absolutely. Apparently everyone from Cali is... (lol, jk ... mostly. We have had a flooding of Californian transplants recently.)

I live in Tucson, and while I don't have the time right now to look up any stats and demographics for you, I can say that I really like living in Tucson!

Just to give you a point of reference, I grew up in San Jose, CA, went to college in Los Angeles, and then moved to Tucson after starting at my company in San Jose after college.

Los Angeles was too crazy -- it was fun for college, but I don't know if I'd want to raise a family there unless it was in a suburb (I have family in Torrance and Redondo Beach down in SoCal).

San Jose is awesome, and I would go back, but it's expensive and getting really trafficky. =)

After living in Tucson and buying my own house 6 years ago, and spending so much less on cost-of-living, it would be hard to go back and live in San Jose in like a 30 year old 2 bedroom condo, which is probably what I could get for the same price as my house that I had built when I moved here in 2004.

Just my two cents! My sister lives in Denver, though, and it's so beautiful up there!

LOS ANGELES

Is it diverse? Definitely

What do you think the average income is? Varies depending on the area. Probably around 20k - 70k

Average housing price? Again, varies on the area. From 200k - 10M

What kind of industry/jobs are there? Big industries: Healthcare, Fashion, Music/Entertainment, Food & Hospitality

Why do you love/hate it? I LOVE Los Angeles. The weather, the beach, the diversity, and the nightlife are some of my favorite things. On top of the culture, food, arts, etc. I dont know a lot of cities where I can enjoy the city for its food, culture and art, but also be able to go hiking and be transported to a completely different world. I love it, I would never move!

Would you recommend moving there? Sure, if you like the city life and can deal w traffic. The suburbs and beach cities are awesome too, but you def need to be prepared to spend a pretty penny :)

I'm in Des Moines, Iowa

Is it diverse? Not really :(

What do you think the average income is? It varies, but usually right in the 30,000 mark.

Average housing price? Depends where at...I live in a suburb of the capital and for a 3 (could be 4) bedroom, 2 full bath home, I paid 122,700...so cost of living is very low.

What kind of industry/jobs are there? Insurance is HUGE here.

Why do you love/hate it? I love it because it's cheap and unemployment is really low and if you love having four diverse seasons then it's great. But I hate it because I hate snow and we have a LOT of it!

Would you recommend moving there? I would if you're just simple people...there's not a whole lot to do here, but if you just like to hang out and get to know your neighbors and BBQ it's great.

San Antonio, TX

Is it diverse? Somewhat, but not as much as some bigger cities

What do you think the average income is? It varies throughout the city. There are some very high income areas. But in general, it is a poorer city -- the average income is probably <$40,000.

Average housing price? Housing here is extremely affordable! Most housing is probably less than $200,000. My parents sold their 3,000 sf house in a much-desired area during the height of the recession (which didn't really come here), for $210,000.

What kind of industry/jobs are there? Education, health care, government, and tourism/hospitality. LOTS of call center jobs, too since a huge part of the labor pool is bilingual.

Why do you love/hate it? I love that it is a big city with a small town feel. People here are very nice, and there is a lot to do. Hiking, beaches, rivers, the hill/wine country, and all the other Texas cities are a short drive away. And, of course, the Mexican food is literally the best ANYWHERE! The city is "growing up" and starting to get some of the higher-end amenities that have bypassed it in the past. And it doesn't compete with any of the bigger Texas cities, so we just kind of do our own thing here. It's just kind of a quaint, big city. Which would also be my biggest gripe :-)

Would you recommend moving there? I would! The nightlife isn't the best for young, single people. But it is great for young couples and families! But if I had my choice, my first love is Austin (about an hour away). Even though it is smaller, it has everything that San Antonio does and more. My favorite city!

I live in Tucson, AZ…about 1.5 hours south of Phoenix.

Is it diverse? In my opinion…No.  I moved here from Atlanta a little less than two years ago.

What do you think the average income is? Varies….but I am making a lot less here than I did in Atlanta. 

Average housing price? depends on the area. In the news, they said the median house price was 150K, but we just bought ours last year for 300k (5 Bedroom, 3 Bathroom 2 Story)  ..There are lots of expensive areas to live where you can easily find houses in the 600K – Million dollar range.  I think you could get a decent house for around 250K.

What kind of industry/jobs are there? Lots of Airforce families live here due to the base….Apart from that, there are not a lot of jobs.

Why do you love/hate it? I don’t love the weather.  It is HOT.  I mean take for example today.  We are in the 100’s and it is fall.  Phoenix is even hotter.  I went to a concert in Phoenix at the beginning of July and even at 11 at night it was 110.  During the day it is just miserable.  I hate when people say “but you don’t have any humidity” Bull SH*T!!!!  My best example of how it feels is to turn on your hair dryer and have it blow in your face…that is what it feels like.  What I love about it??? I am still working on that part.

Would you recommend moving there? Honestly….No.  We wouldn’t live here by choice, but DH’s job keeps us here.  I miss Atlanta L

Coloradoans are taking over!!!!

Colorado Springs, CO

Before I give my answers, I want everyone to know that Colorado Springs is NOTHING LIKE DENVER!!  I love Denver with a serious passion and I would move there in a heart beat.  The Springs and Denver are like night and day.  I just don't want my answers to jade Denver, CO...it really is as great as the ladies above stated.  Plus, I'm from OC California...so my "expectations" (someone else's words) are "too high"...whatever that means.

Is it diverse?um...NO!  Even though The Springs is a huge military town (Carson, Petterson, Shriever) which has a rainbow of people, but most of them think the same, act the same and have similar views.  If you aren't with those views, you really are on your own.  :(

What do you think the average income is?  Household: 60-90k

Average housing price? 190-250k, but it depends on where you are looking.

What kind of industry/jobs are there?  military, construction, banking etc.  Not a lot of industrial or corporate

Why do you love/hate it? Likes: I love the scenery!  The Springs is beautiful!  Lots of outdoorsy things.  WE wake up to a post card of Pikes Peak in our back yard!  Manitou Springs is pretty awesome.  GORGEOUS!  Don't like:  small minded, small town mentality, TOO far from a Nordstroms or a descent mall for that matter(closest one is in DENVER!...min of 45 minutes away).  Lots of houses, but not much of a social atmosphere.

Would you recommend moving there?  Not to Colorado Springs, but Denver...HECK YES!!  Colorado is pretty amazing!  If you like to go out, socialize, hike, meet diverse people then Denver is the spot!!

hahahaha i was ready to post a big loooooong exposé on CO, but MountainBride did it for me!!!

DITTO CO GIRLS! :)

I LOVE it here. Love love love love love CO.

We are in Ft Collins (50 miles north of Denver) - it's a collage town (CSU) so it's a bit more expensive than surrounding areas, HOWEVER it's still not terrible.

I'd say houses can go for $150k-1M - bungalows are $150k... old run down places... nice new neighborhoods are around $200-400k for a house.

We've got bike trails, mtn trails... lakes, rivers, TONS of parks. We have 300+ days per year of total CO warm sunshine!