Find Your Spot
I don’t know about you, but I’ve often wondered where the best place in the country for me to live would be. I’m more suburb than city, prefer the fall weather over summer or winter, with conservative culture and moderate cost of living, among other things.
I stumbled across a site the other day that helps out with my wondering. Check out FindYourSpot.com. Answer a series of question about climate, education, religion, geography, etc and you get a list of 24 cities that match that your selections.
Here’s my list:
- Anacortes, Washington
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Walla Walla, Washington
- Berea, Kentucky
- Columbus, Indiana
- Peterborough, New Hampshire
- Mount Vernon, Washington
- Port Townsend, Washington
- Culpeper, Virginia
- Ketchikan, Alaska
- Lanesboro, Minnesota
- Brevard, North Carolina
- Whidbey Island/Oak Harbor/Coupeville, Washington
- Sequim, Washington
- Camden, Maine
- Palmer, Alaska
- Waynesville, North Carolina
- Branson, Missouri
- Bremerton, Washington
- Mount Airy, North Carolina
- Maryville, Tennessee
- Homer-Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- San Juan Islands, Washington
- Paris, Tennessee
Seems that I’m mainly clustered in three areas of the country - northwest Washington state, the Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee) and Alaska.
Alaska?!? Never would have imagined living there, but maybe I should check it out sometime. (I say that like it’s a quick weekend trip…) I’ve been to the other regions, though, and actually thought about them as potential places to live. Glad to see that my initial impressions of the areas match what I’m looking for. If only I had enough savings to pack up and live in these places for a few months to see what it’s really like. Takin’ road trips with Smokey, blogging about my travels, seeing the sights, meeting new people… What a life that would be!
I need to get a job… 
Anyone know of a mapping service on the web where I can plot all these places on one map? Can’t seem to do it with Google’s new mapping service, or some of the others that I’ve tried.
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Feb 9th, 2005 at 07:35:05
Cincinnati was my #3 city…guess I’m in a good spot
Feb 9th, 2005 at 08:08:30
Bowling Green would fit you well.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 11:04:57
I find it interesting that Berea, KY is in the mix.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 11:21:51
I’ve been to Paris, TN many times when I was at Murray State. Nice little town.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 12:02:40
I got
cincinnati (live currently)
Hampton VA (grandmother lives there)
Seattle, WA (twin brother lives here)
Tacoma, WA (twin brother lives near there)
Norfolk, VA (right near Hampton)
And some other places in TN and VA. Interesting site.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 12:37:54
That’s interesting, Paul and Emily, that Cincinnati was on your list. Looks like you’re in the right spot.
I’m actually surprised that I didn’t get more results from the northeast. I guess it’s more liberal/democratic up there, though.
Anyone else care to share their results?
Feb 9th, 2005 at 13:00:03
I’ve got mine at home, I’ll share them when I get home.
Some of us have to work, or at least sit at a desk and pretend.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 13:47:55
I had Louisville and Bowling Green, KY, which is comforting. I think Bowling Green was my number one city. Chattanooga, Memphis, and Nashville, Tennessee. Then a few places in Georgia and Oklahoma, and one in Florida. I guess the South is the place to be for me.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 13:52:28
Mine are: Norfolk, Virginia - Louisville, Kentucky - Chattanooga, Tennessee - Hampton, Virginia - Clarksville, Tennessee - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Tulsa, Oklahoma - Knoxville, Tennessee - Springfield, Missouri - Nashville, Tennessee - Hickory, North Carolina - Evansville, Indiana - Johnson City-Kingsport, Tennessee - Richmond, Virginia - Charlotte, North Carolina - Bowling Green, Kentucky
Carlisle, Pennsylvania - Cincinnati, Ohio
Greenville, South Carolina - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - Columbia, Missouri - Roanoke, Virginia - St. Louis, Missouri - Paris, Tennessee
Feb 9th, 2005 at 14:17:45
It’s interesting that many of you that live close to Cincinnati actually have Cincy, or somewhere close, on your list.
Anyone really shocked by their results so far, like I was with Alaska, or are they about what you suspected?
Feb 9th, 2005 at 15:05:44
I was surprised that i got so many in the midwest..but then again my mix was pretty well balanced between east coast, midwest, and northwest.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 21:18:35
I thought mine fit me pretty well. They are all close to a lot of outdoor recreation, such as lakes and mountains. They were:
Maryvill, Tennessee
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Deland, Florida
Paris, Tennessee
San Marcos, Texas
Gainesville, Georgia
Oxford, Mississippi
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Guntersville, Alabama
Crystal River, Florida
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Clayton, Georgia
Alexander City, Alabama
Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi
Johnson City-Kingsport, Tennessee
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Kerrville, Texas
Gainesville, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Murray, Kentucky
Mount Dora, Florida
Clarksville, Tennessee
Conroe, Texas
Feb 9th, 2005 at 23:08:16
Hmm, Scott, Jeremy and I all have Paris, TN in our list. Let’s take a road trip and check it out. Paul says it’s a nice place, so it could be a fun trip.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 23:17:59
I had Paris as well. Murray and Paris are pretty close to LBL (Land Between the Lakes), which is an AWESOME park for camping and mountian biking.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 23:52:00
Paris and Murray were on my list too. Not real familiar with Paris, TN, but I’ve been to Murray several times. I wasn’t impressed.
I love Landy Between the Lakes though. I’ve been camping there before.
Feb 9th, 2005 at 23:52:53
Actually my list was almost identical to Jeremy’s.
Feb 10th, 2005 at 00:03:20
I don’t think I’ve ever been to Land Between the Lakes before (if I have, it was when I was a little). Sounds like a worthwhile trip.
I wonder if Paris, TN helped sponsor this site, since it’s on all our lists
Feb 10th, 2005 at 09:28:22
I have never been to LBL but would love to go sometime. Is that where Dale Hollow is?
Here is my list:
Homer-Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Port Townsend, Washington
Whidbey Island/Oak Harbor/Coupeville, Washington
Salida, Colorado
Payson, Arizona
Palmer, Alaska
Sequim, Washington
Divide, Colorado
Anacortes, Washington
Bigfork, Montana
Heber, Utah
Livingston, Montana
Camden, Maine
Mount Vernon, Washington
Seward, Alaska
New York Mills, Minnesota
Bremerton, Washington
Dillon, Montana
Leavenworth, Washington
San Juan Islands, Washington
Kalispell, Montana
Whitefish, Montana
Page, Arizona
Hutchinson, Minnesota
Chris you and I could be neighbors.
Feb 10th, 2005 at 11:14:12
Looks like Sean prefers the cold weather, eh?
Murray in itself isn’t very impressive, but the surrounding area is nice. When I was there, (94-98), 1) it was a dry county 2) there were no big named restaraunts (except fast food and pizza places). The closest mall was 45 minutes away and it was small. Now the town is mostly wet (restaraunts only), the school has grown considerably in size. Its werid to go back there because it looks so different.
Feb 10th, 2005 at 12:58:36
How did Berea get on your list Chris if you are looking for a conservative place…..it’s definately a little liberal as much so as the northeast.
Feb 10th, 2005 at 13:14:13
You’re right Sean, we did have a lot of places in common. When you wanna move?
Feb 10th, 2005 at 15:20:51
Whahoo! I got Nashville, my previous home and also future home on my top four places to live…I also got Chattanooga, TN
Charleston, S.C
Jacksonville, FL
Louisville, KY
Greenville, S.C.
those top picks sound great to me!
Feb 10th, 2005 at 15:22:52
Actually, I got six hits alone for my favorite state of Tennessee! I think that’s a pretty strong sign….
Feb 10th, 2005 at 20:24:21
Wow…what I have missed out since initially reading this post shortly after it being posted the other night.
LBL is a wonderful place to go. All we need is a boat to ski/tube behind, lots and lots of sunscreen, skis, and a tube. I can probably score some skis, not sure on the boat. Oh definitely life jackets. I can show you a great skiing destination on Lake Barkley by the State Resort.
Did any of you go to Jonathon Creek as a kid? I think they have some Baptist Church camps down there, if so thats in the Land Between the Lakes area.
Paul…did you go to Paducah to the Kentucky Oaks Mall off of I-24? And no there isnt much in Murray though I have heard that it has grown up in the recent years because of going semi-wet in restaurants only.
Feb 10th, 2005 at 23:34:04
Yeah, Kentucky Oaks mall. You can practically see from Penny’s down to the other end
Emily and I plan on going back to Murray this summer so we can nail our shoes to the Shoe Tree on campus. (If you meet your wife/husband at the school, you have nail “the shoes you met in” to the shoe tree). I still have my birkenstocks from back then. They sure aren’t pretty.
Paul
Feb 10th, 2005 at 23:43:22
That sounds like an interesting tradition. Is it actually a real tree? Be sure to take pictures!
Oh, and thanks for finally getting rid of your birkenstocks
j/k!
Feb 11th, 2005 at 09:17:04
Yup, its a real tree.
Hah! I have 4 pairs of birkenstocks..but i have to keep these in the garage
Feb 11th, 2005 at 14:34:17
That tree thing sounds like a great tradition. I am with Chris, make sure you get a picture.
Maybe we should all plan a “community blog” trip to Land Between the Lakes.
Feb 11th, 2005 at 16:34:51
A road trip sure sounds liek a good idea to me! Should we check for paintball feilds in the area?
Feb 12th, 2005 at 09:48:26
J creek is pretty awesome camp. I know a lot folks that have worked there over the last couple of summers. Rumor has it, the camp in Bagdad Kentucky (Cedarmore) is heading that route in the next couple of years to be just like J Creek.
Feb 12th, 2005 at 13:34:42
Road trip!!! I can’t believe, with all this time I’ve had off, that I haven’t gone anywhere (other than to my grandparents in Western KY). Once I know that I have a job lined up, off I go! I don’t care where, just somewhere. It’ll be a while before I get vacation days, so I really need to use this free time while I can.
Feb 15th, 2005 at 13:48:00
when you have a job lined up, take a singles cruise!! a nice 4 or 5 day cruise somewhere warm!
Feb 16th, 2007 at 11:53:20
did you re-do the list? my RSS feed showed hopkinsville at the top of the list. i was going to ask about it, but i don’t see it there now.
Feb 16th, 2007 at 14:35:57
Lol, you gotta keep up Nick
I did retake the quiz and posted my new results as a different post: http://kyblogger.com/2007/02/13/finding-my-spot-revisted/.
Hop-town was at the top of the new list.