your favorite cities and why?
i wanted to title this thread "3 favorites cities..." but there's too many too chose from.
#1 - Nashville. There's just something about the charm in Nashville. It makes no sense from a vegan/vegetarian perspective. While i never went hungry there, for sure - it's certainly not a "veggie" friendly city. But Nashville is beautiful, rolling green hills, bright blue skies - when it rains though - it's awesome...Nashville gets killer thunder storms (sometimes literally :() and it rains there like i've not seen rain anywhere before (it can get almost torrential).
Nashville has a beautiful parks system with a vibrant downtown area - albeit a bit sketchy at times.
This city has lots of nature - you can go to Radnor Lake or Warner Park and get lost in hiking while you're still within the city limits of Nashville. You can go to Percy Priest Lake, on a weekend afternoon - and still grab a quiet spot and watch the ducks on the water.
Another great facet to Nashville is it's centrally located to many other big cities so that you could visit Atlanta one day, the Smokey Mountains another day, Chattanooga another day, Memphis..., St. Louis...etc.
It's like i told my gf, Nashville is the "bad for me city that I can't help but love". She's jealous :P because i love Nashville more then Seattle. I told her that i do love Seattle, but i'm not in love with it - we don't have that kind of relationship whereas Nashville and I are ummm intimate bwah ha haha
#2 - Baltimore. A lot of people might scoff at this because Baltimore doesn't have the best reputation. In all fairness - the only part that I've seen is the Inner Harbour and i can't get enough. I love the tranquility of Chesapeake Bay while at the same time enjoying the hustle and bustle. They have museums, shops, major sporting events - all in that area.
#3 - Chicago - walking along Lake Michigan (where the "Married W/Children" Fountain is) is so majestic and vibrant at the same time. To see that expansive body of water while having the excitement of the city only moments away. Navy Pier is awesome. I love just walking around downtown and crossing the varied bridges that traverse the various rivers that run through downtown Chicago (who knew!).
#4 - Brooklyn - seeing as how this is my hometown, i have to give it some love. There's endless activities, history, beauty - all to be found in Brooklyn and of course, NYC. I would never choose to move back there but i'm proud to say that i'm from there.
#5 - Seattle - it has everything and although i'm not "crushing" on it like i should - i can appreciate Seattle for what she is. It's like the vegan mecca of the U.S. Within an hour or so drive there's everything you can imagine, mountains, lakes, rivers, rainforest. Seattle is a very intriguing blend of small city mentality but wanting to be a big city. A further blend of urban mixed in with nature.
I really appreciate Seattle for it's liberal leanings - people really don't trouble anyhow out here - it's so much of a live and let live type of city.
I've got more cities even, but i'll curb my list for now :)
I'll play, but only if I don't have to rank.
Brugge, Belgium: I don't care what you thought of the movie This place has amazing public parks, with gorgeous lakes and fountains, it has a fantastically relaxed vibe, it has some stunning medieval architecture, the cutest narrow cobbled streets, and the beer, oh my god, the beer. I'd live here in a heartbeat.
Napoli, Italy: It's hectic, it's crazy, it's violent, it's frightening, it's fast-paced, it's steep, it's winding, it's confusing, it's exhilarating, but most of all, it's fun and it's real.
Stockholm, Sweden: Stockholm is a beautiful city, and, in my opinion, made even more so for the fact that it is a capital city. Capitals tend to be overrun with bureaucracy, important people in suits, and ugly buildings where important people do important things. But Stockholm, while obviously managing to keep the Swedish society and economy running pretty smoothly, retains a massive portion of natural beauty, it's green and lush and soothing. The fact that it's built on an archipelago of islands, of course helps this, but being so close to water all the time also reminded me of home. Oh, and it's also spectacular both when it's green in summer and when it's white in winter.
I could also go on. But I won't, for now anyway.
I must say, I'm pretty partial to nashville. It's not too big, not too small, lots of beautiful parks, hiking trails, good shopping, whole foods, trader joes, great live music(not just country!). the down side is there aren't many veggie friendly restaurants, but that is changing. Tons of great ethnic restaurants, several asian and international markets.
I love most of the other big cities in the US that were mentioned.
As far as a city outside the US, When I was in Ireland, we stayed a few days in Kinsale(not really a city, but anyway), and I remember thinking, "oh, I want to live here". So beautiful, right on the water, picture perfect town with the nicest people in the world. Of course, I had to teach the bartender how to make a margarita, but thats ok......
i totally was under the impression that nasheville WAS veggie friendly (i mean, at least for the south?)... no? i know it is at least more veggie friendly than anywhere else in TN, yes?
i totally was under the impression that nasheville WAS veggie friendly (i mean, at least for the south?)... no? i know it is at least more veggie friendly than anywhere else in TN, yes?
there are no vegan restaurants, 1 vegetarian indian restaurant and a few places with veggie options, but there are good grocery stores and a big farmers market
i totally was under the impression that nasheville WAS veggie friendly (i mean, at least for the south?)... no? i know it is at least more veggie friendly than anywhere else in TN, yes?
there's only one strictly vegetarian restaurant that i know of (if it's still open?), called "Grins" - and that's on the campus of Vanderbilt University (i've never had the chance to stop by though). There's quite a few places i can think of that are veggie "friendly" though, even if not vegetarian:
Tin Angel
Calaypso Cafe
Baja Burrito
The Yellow Porch
Cafe Coco
tons of ethnic (mexican/indian/thai, sushi, etc)
So Nashville is similar to many mid-sized cities in that one can find ample vegan/vegetarian options. I'm pretty sure that Memphis has many places too but...i've been to Memphis once...ONCE - not sure you could pay me to go back there :P. Knoxville, of all places - has a sizeable vegetarian community from what i remember. How that translates into restaurants though - i couldn't exactly say.
gosh - i miss Nashville :)>>>
even though it was super scary compared to oklahoma and had tons of crime, i absolutely loved philadelphia. the big city feel is just amazing.
and i also really love seattle. in fact i love seattle the best. it's art friendly, queer friendly, vegan friendly, minority friendly, health friendly, green friendly, and just keri friendly all together. and it is no where near as scary as philly, and with much better weather. i love that seattle is pretty much mild all year. never too hot, never too cold. barely snows (i hate snow!). it rains a lot (which i love) but it isn't usually hard rain. it's usually sprinkle showers. it's so green and pretty. i love it here.
my family wants me to move back to oklahoma. i mentioned this to my friend (who still lives there) and he was like, "why do you hate yourself?!! don't move here! seattle is way better!"
i don't miss oklahoma, but i miss my friends and family hardcore.
Stockholm, Sweden: Stockholm is a beautiful city, and, in my opinion, made even more so for the fact that it is a capital city. Capitals tend to be overrun with bureaucracy, important people in suits, and ugly buildings where important people do important things. But Stockholm, while obviously managing to keep the Swedish society and economy running pretty smoothly, retains a massive portion of natural beauty, it's green and lush and soothing. The fact that it's built on an archipelago of islands, of course helps this, but being so close to water all the time also reminded me of home. Oh, and it's also spectacular both when it's green in summer and when it's white in winter.
I just recently saw Stockholm on some travel special on tv (as close as i've been to Sweden, i'm afraid!). I will say, it looked so incredibly inviting and beautiful - i could see myself wanting to go there and never wanting to leave :)
Montreal! because it's amazing. Good people, beautiful place.
i'm going to jazz up this thread with some pictures - really bring these cities alive:
Nashville Skyline
http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://jayosmond.com/jasonosmond-blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/nashville-skyline-11.jpg&usg=AFQjCNGwtP_DEDt44qe21sj-XN97UGui7w
http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://web.utk.edu/~ihouse/blog/uploaded_images/nashville-748704.jpg&usg=AFQjCNGn4hNwyBrabkwV30cqnfM4jPQ46A
Radnor Lake (Nashville)
http://www.newtonashville.net/images/uploads/radnor-lake_(3).jpg
Inner Harbour (Baltimore)
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/13/db/a9/inner-harbor.jpg
Lake Michigan (Chicago)
http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://millenniallyspeaking.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/chicago_skyline_and_lake_michigan.jpg&usg=AFQjCNH_HHkHIpagSyGEMshKkLhg2bxYsg
Chicago River
http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pbiswas/North%2520America/Chicago/Downtown/RiverChicago1.JPG&usg=AFQjCNEeOjRteLbG1qi6V5B-ltboJwCHGA
MY favorite cities would be, Brisbane and Cairns in Australia.
Brisbane ---
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/25.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/100_6364.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/100_6383.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/DSC00638.jpg
Cairns ---
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/100_6744.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/100_6717.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/100_6802.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/coriblack/DSC00721.jpg
(I had to toss in the American/Japanese family picture)
edit --- the pictures show you why I love it. And the people there are awesome :)
I will second the beauty of Radnor lake, beautiful lake and trails
Taos, New Mexico
Taos Pueblo
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/Scenic/Taos4.jpg
The Old Church
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/Scenic/Taos1.jpg
Pow Wow
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/Scenic/Taos2.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/Scenic/Taos5.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/Scenic/Taos3.jpg
FTR, these are not my pictures, I was still using a 35 mm last time I went so I stole these off the net.
I don't have any photos but I love, love love Avila in Spain. It looks like something out of a fairy tale with the mideval wall and towers around it. And it has a lovely cool mountainous climate and nice people and good food. I wish I lived there instead of baking away down south. Toledo (Spain, not OH) is a close second. Or Burgos, which is the first Spanish city I lived in. They're all a nice size to live in, public transport and yet amenable to walking in, without being a huge city. I don't like big, big cities like say Barcelona or Madrid, but that's just because I get lost so easily, even in the town I've inhabited for almost 30 years.
Ok, pictures help : )
Here's some of mine:
Brugge:
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt44/oncewerewesties/brugge2.jpg
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt44/oncewerewesties/brugge1.jpg
Napoli:
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt44/oncewerewesties/napoli2.jpg
see: chaos. not for those who don't do well with crowds, noise and narrow spaces, because you're going to get all three, all the time.
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt44/oncewerewesties/napoli1.jpg
Stockholm:
View of the city from above, midsummer:
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt44/oncewerewesties/stockholm1.jpg
Sunset over the old town, winter:
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt44/oncewerewesties/stockholm2.jpg
Oh, and Cardiff. Because a) it's in Wales and b) because of the bridge. There's a long bridge with gargolyes on it, but they're all smiling, friendly, Disney-type gargoyles. And that makes me laugh because it's at least like 18th century if not older.
Portland.
Mr. Blackrabbit is going to start hearing back from medical schools soon, and I dread living anywhere else.
Athens, Georgia - Maybe it's too small to qualify as a city, but I'm not much of a fan of big cities. I lived in Athens throughout my twenties. It's small enough to be comfortable but big enough to have a lot going on. A great variety of people seem to coexist there comfortably and they all seem to really care about the place. It's a college town, so it retains youthful exuberance. There's always something going on: tons of bars and restaurants, live music, sports (if you're into that), art, etc. It's very hip and very veg friendly (and friendly in general). And it's very easy to get out into the countryside. It's also a lovely old (by American standards) town:
These are somebody else's pictures.
City Hall
Broad Street
Clayton Street
The 'Twilight Criterion' passes in front of the Georgia Theatre, which recently suffered a fire :'(
http://modelindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/stpete.jpg
Saint Petersburg, Florida....because it's been home for the last 17 years. It's part of a metro area of 2 million people so all that a big city has to offer, but with nice quiet neighborhoods and great beaches.
http://www.topworld.com/traveler/news/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/view-of-bangkok-city.jpg
Bangkok is intoxicating to me...the sites, the smells, the good natured people, the markets, the food, the temples. I adore Bangkok.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2177/2092105665_3a7e63d5ce.jpg
Atlanta...modern and southern, a gay mecca. Love it. Lived there in the early 80's as a young adult. Crashed and burned, but fond memories remain.
http://www.lazyenvironmentalist.com/asheville.jpg
Nice place to visit, but much to small for me to live in. Great vegetarian options and wonderful scenery. Love shopping downtown, lots of weirdos there and I fit right in.
San Fransisco :)>>>
miami!! my hometown!! i love it!! i wanna live here forever!!!
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