for everyone

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

would you rather...

  • live in a place you don't like if you could have more money

    Votes: 2 5.3%
  • live in a place you love even if it means having less money

    Votes: 22 57.9%
  • I already do live in a place I love and have enough money

    Votes: 11 28.9%
  • never think about stuff like that, it makes life too depressing

    Votes: 3 7.9%

  • Total voters
    38

U2Kitten

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
Jul 28, 2001
Messages
17,927
I was thinking about this and I wonder how everyone else feels about it. I live in a place I HATE- my neighborhood, my city, the cities nearby. When I'm here, most of the time I don't even feel I'm living, just going through the motions. But when I go out the the mountains, I'm so happy, I feel so alive, I feel like I want to live to be 100!

People say where I live has more opportunity and in the mountains there are 'no jobs.' But the catch is, if you live in an area where a lot of people have money and you don't, the cost of living is beyond your reach anyway. Most of these 'jobs' everyone brags about are low paying service industry, (which pay very little) military, or specialized tech jobs, (which I do not qualify for) and stuff like that. My husband works for the military, he's not in the military but he is held here because of it. I HATE this place and want to leave. My family always goes 'but there's no jobs out there!' I say, because there are more poor people in the mountains, things are cheaper for everyone, so you don't need as much money. I sure don't have enough to live here, and I can't stand this place!! Even if I did have more money I would not be happy here. It's like being held prisoner!!

So here's the question for all of you:

Would you rather:

have less money and live in a place you love,

or

have more money and live in a place you hate?

Does having more money make it worth it to you to stay in an area you dislike, or do you even think about it?

If you live in a place you like and have enough money, you are very lucky indeed!!
 
I pick living in a place I love, but having less money. I already live in a place I don't care too much for. I live in a sort of upscale area right outside of Washington DC, and fiancially, I just don't fit. So I can see what you mean about having the cost of living beyond your reach.

My big dream is to live in another country for atleast a little while. I could never figure out how to go about it, though. Being more realistic, I would love to live out west, in a place like Montana or Colorado, even if it meant being poor. Somewhere with mountains, trees and cleaner air (I can't even go outside in the summer here because the air quality so poor and my allergies can't take it).
 
I lived in Raleigh, NC for 10 years and hated it. I had money but I was bored out of my mind.. and since I wasso bored I would just work.
Now I'm living in San Francisco, CA... with not much money.. but I am so happy. The beach, the city, the festivals, the roadtrips , the climate , the people all keep me here.
So I would go for a place you would really like to live for less money!

Besides, we only have one life to live right? Might as well live somewhere we are happy!
 
At the beginning of this year I moved to my own house here in the Netherlands (Utrecht). I love this place. For the Dutch, this is a big city (~270,000 people), so there's plenty of stuff going on. I also like my house. Granted, it's not that big, but it's big enough for me. Same with money. I don't earn that much, but enough to have a decent living. So in that way, I'm perfectly happy where I live and how to pay for all of it. I don't need a bigger house nor really more money. (Of course, when it comes to negotiations about my salary I'll of course ask for a raise, but it isn't a necessity to continue living this way)
Thus, I chose the third option.

C ya!

Marty
 
Option #2, which is why I'm packing up and moving to NYC next year. I love Tampa, and can afford to live here, it's just that it's not enough for me and I really feel that I'm at a time in my life where I want to do what is best for me even if that means taking a tremendous hit to my level of income and comfort.
 
I would rather live in a place that I love.
I really want to live next to beach, but that is very expensive. I would be willing to do it as long as I can make enough to get by (i'm still in college and living with my parents). Not having a lot of money doesn't bother me, but maybe that's cause I've never had much money and because of that I don't miss it.
 
it depends how much I love/hate the place and how much more/less money I'd have

in general I would prefer to live somewhere I like to live and have less money
 
If I had a lot of money, there's nothing I'd rather use it for than to move away!;) I'm glad to see I'm not the only one!

ylime, Northern VA is terrible! It's awful here in the SE part too, but your area is smothering! All those cars! High prices! Get on I-66 and head west;)
 
I pick living in the place I love with less money b/c it's what I'll do. I don't "HATE" it here, but I really REALLY don't like it (the location and climate, not people) and my feelings of dislike have only intensified over time. Anywhere I live, I won't have money since I've already racked up over $50,000 in loans (I've missed interest payments on one and they're starting to come after me) and have only completed 2 of 4 years, minimum, of college. But I'm moving south first chance I get. Hopefully somewhere on the west coast of Florida, but I'd settle even for Georgia.

U2K, would you ever take your kids and leave your husband? Not for good, I mean, but lots of families have to split temporarily b/c of job situations and if your neighborhood is as bad as it sounds, your kids might be safer somewhere else even without dad. I grew up in the ghetto between crack houses and gang fights. My dad wasn't around much since he worked full time every day and then plowed snow all night during the winter or painted during the summer so that eventually we could afford to leave. I didn't get to do a lot of extracuricular activies or go on any family vacations b/c of my parents work schedules and money issues; I spent my afternoons taking care of my siblings, but I'm grateful my parents made that sacrifice so we could go to a better, safer home and get the best education available.
 
My husband used to work out of town and he made better money. But they never send him off anymore:( He doesn't make that bad of money, like $20 an hour but it doesn't go far here. I want to move to the mountains where everything is nicer and cheaper, but I need a stash of money to get started. I won't just start off with nothing but the clothes on my back. I hope to get there someday even as an old lady! Good luck with your move south:up:

It's not only the people here, a lot of them suck but not all of them, but there are just TOO MANY of them and too many cars in too small a space, and everything is so boring and not worth it! I know I won't have money no matter where I go so might as well be happy!
 
I'd rather live someplace I love and have less money, too. Money doesn't make you happy, but your surroundings can. I'm not miserable where I am; in fact, I'd settle for just somewhere else in Rhode Island besides my town. South County is really nice, but it can be expensive to live there along the beach. So I'm working my butt off this summer to see if maybe I can change things in the not-too-distant future.

I'd really like to live in another country for a little while, too...part of my saving up is so I can run away and be poor but happy to be somewhere really, really different for a few months without really needing a job.
 
U2Kitten said:


ylime, Northern VA is terrible!

I don't like Northern VA either, except to visit. I like Maryland better, and even DC. Though Silver Spring has lost its coolness factor since jkayet and I left and it's gotten less gheto appeal. ;)
 
I think this depends on your definition of "enough money." If you are the sort of person who wants a huge loft downtown and a Beemer to go with it, you better get yourself an MBA or MD or something of the sort.

I love the city I live in, and I make enough money so I can live comfortably and still travel. I would rather make slightly less and stay here than make more and have to move to some dump out in the boonies. I'm a city girl, and a city has to have personality.
 
Anyway, I would much rather live somewhere where I felt safe and comfortable and where I liked to spend time than somewhere I didn't like, even if I had more money. When I don't like where I live, I find I spend more money to get away, or spend money on stuff I don't need to make myself happier. :shrug:
 
They say money doesn't buy happiness, but really I dunno about that. Nothing makes me smile more than a giant pile of crisp notes :drool:

No really, I think you first need to work out what you can live on, then find the nicest possible place to meet that without digging yourself a huge financial hole. I like where I live, even though housing is ridiculously inflated. It is safe too. Very safe. I'd move back up into the mountains but there's just too many stinking hippies there. There's more to life than working for the Dole and smoking pot.
;)
 
option 1 without question.

I have made good money in the past and been miserable. Money alone has never made me happy or been a focus for me. I know that many things have been put in perspective for me in the last year. If you do what makes you happy you can't lose. If you stay somewhere or take some job just to make some cash you might be miserable.

I also agree with what Megan said, when you are not happy you can try to buy yourself crap that you think will make you happy and its not a way to true happiness.

I also think that with the right attitude one can be happy in many situations.
 
Last edited:
DiGi, I see you live in Arlington :uhoh: Can you please advise a way to get south out of DC without using the hell trap that is I-95 or I-395? My car and I both overheat in 30 miles of nearly motionless traffic :sigh:

Would it be better to take I-66 a little west and then go south on 234 or 17? If you head east on US 50, how far before you can hit the eastern shore (where I can take 13 back down to the bay bridge tunnel and back over?) I am totally serious. If you have any advice please tell me! :scream:
 
Angela Harlem said:
:lol: That's not really the name of your town is it?
:der:

ROFL... No...
not technically anyway...
Warwick MA, pop. 750 (give or take...)

(The next town over is worse... the locals are forever putting an R on the beginning and an E on the end of the township signs welcoming one to ATHOL MASSACHUSETTS....)

Warwick was endlessly, affectionately referred to by my Bostonian friends and family as The Sticks, The Boonies, Outer Siberia, West Bumblefuck, etc... We lived in a little cabin on a pond, on a dirt road that doesn't exist on maps.... We lived there when I was finishing my degree and after we got married in 1997, until after our little one was born in '99.


These days I live north of Boston, in a slightly bigger town of 11,000 or so, still "rural" to the Boston folk but not rural ENOUGH for me!!!
 
I would rather live somewhere I love an be happier with my surroundings. Where I am now is ok and I guess I am content here but at the same time it's not the envioronment or setting that I've had myself pictured living in. I'm working toward my goal to make that happen since I've always wanted to move on from the typical Midwest America.
 
I would rather live in a place I love and not have the extra money. I would hope the other things such as my surroundings would make up for the lack of money that I would not have.

I am actually moving back with my parents this fall so I can save up my $$$ to buy a home soon. *crosses fingers* I would have to move north of Atlanta to find a place that I could afford, but if I am going to spend the money for a home, I would want it to be worth every penny I invest in it.
 
U2Kitten said:
DiGi, I see you live in Arlington :uhoh: Can you please advise a way to get south out of DC without using the hell trap that is I-95 or I-395? My car and I both overheat in 30 miles of nearly motionless traffic :sigh:

Would it be better to take I-66 a little west and then go south on 234 or 17? If you head east on US 50, how far before you can hit the eastern shore (where I can take 13 back down to the bay bridge tunnel and back over?) I am totally serious. If you have any advice please tell me! :scream:

U2Kitten where do you live and where do you need to go?
 
I definitely prefer to have less money, but living in a place I love. My husband & I both gave up good paying jobs to move from Houston to Connecticut and it was worth it. We just could'nt deal with the Texas heat, and the traffic, and the overpopulation any longer. Now we're in a smaller town, making less money, but the benefits of being someplace that's nice makes it well worth it.
 
Definitely no money, but a place I love. I've never really had a situation other than that, actually... ;) London has to be the prime example. I've never been so poor (err...except now), yet never had so much fun. I"m really liking my housing situation now, and while I'm near-broke, it's worth it.

megan, silver spring is TOTALLY different now! :eek: Well, parts of it...I went this past weekend. Some parts are good - a new coffee shop that's still not trendy or too bethesda-y...still have the exchange shop. :)
 
DiGi said:


U2Kitten where do you live and where do you need to go?

I live in the unfortunate southeastern corner of VA, so I need to head south. I usually take 95 south, but it's so crowded! I have heard if you go up the eastern shore over the bay bridge tunnel from Norfolk you can cross over on US 50 but how far is that? Once I get out of the DC area I can find a way back. I HATE I-64 from Richmond to the I-664 turnoff in Hampton- parts of that near Busch Gardens are backed up for miles too :banghead:

But anyway, back to NO-VA. These are the ideas I had:

Take I-66 a little west to US 17 (I actually live off of US 17 many many miles to the southeast!) But I would take 17 to 95 coming out of Fredricksburg and that should avoid the NO-VA traffic.

or

Take I-66 to VA 234 down through the Manassas area where I can hit US 1 or even 95 at a less crowded place

or

take 50 out of DC to hit US 13 on the eastern shore down to the bay bridge tunnel over to Norfolk.

I've also heard 301 will get you out but you have to get to MD first?

Which of these, or another alternative, sounds best to you? I only want to get out of the DC area, I can work my way home fine the rest of the way. Thanks.
 
wolfeden said:


ROFL... No...
not technically anyway...
Warwick MA, pop. 750 (give or take...)

(The next town over is worse... the locals are forever putting an R on the beginning and an E on the end of the township signs welcoming one to ATHOL MASSACHUSETTS....)

Warwick was endlessly, affectionately referred to by my Bostonian friends and family as The Sticks, The Boonies, Outer Siberia, West Bumblefuck, etc... We lived in a little cabin on a pond, on a dirt road that doesn't exist on maps.... We lived there when I was finishing my degree and after we got married in 1997, until after our little one was born in '99.


These days I live north of Boston, in a slightly bigger town of 11,000 or so, still "rural" to the Boston folk but not rural ENOUGH for me!!!

:lmao:
Sounds like the little town I grew up in. When the family moved there when I was about 3, the population was around 1,500, but 19 years later when I moved out, progress and development had absolutely exploded and it was up to about 3,000 people. We called it The Boondocks or The Sticks too. And it literally was. Smack in the middle of thick bush. We lived on the end of the only tarred 100 or so metres of road which was my street, and the council would kindly come along once a year and 'grade' the dirt section. Naturally as soon as they'd finish this it would piss down raining for about 3 weeks and our street would flood. Thankfully our house was built into the side of a massive rock so only the garage and all it's contents would be destroyed.

My mum would often stamp around the house grumbliing irreverently that she hoped one day to go to hell as "at least it will be bloody warm down there!"

I lived, I swear, in SUCH a shithole of a town :D

Your post made me laugh.
:up:
 
Less money in a place I love, NO question.

There was a point in our lives where we were having trouble making ends meet and despite the fact that were living in our dream house, we decided to sell it and move to something smaller to save money.

We put our house up for sale and moved into a rental house, thinking it would be fine because we were saving more than $1000 per month, but I was SO miserable in that house, we broke the lease and moved back to our old house...we weren't even in the new house for 2 months but at that point, having more money wasn't worth how unhappy I was. Our family thought we were insane but the second we started planning to move back, my depression lifted and I felt happy again for the first time in months!

Money doesn't mean much if you hate where you live.
 
I'd say less money more happiness. Though happiness and money would be better... ;)

I live in a particularly lifeless part of suburbia (I despise suburbia)and have absolutely no money, my dear father having contributed it all to the alcoholic beverages industry before he moved on to pastures new...I'd love to live in Japan though even if it meant I would have nothing, I love everything about the place (except the americanisation...bloody mcdonalds ):madspit:
 
Back
Top Bottom