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City livin’

Auckland New Zealand, Skyline from Harbour

Image via Wikipedia

According to various Facebook apps, the cities I belong in are Beijing (wha???) and NYC (again…really? I’m a city girl, but I think the Big Apple would be too big for me).

Which got me thinking. I alternately love and loathe Auckland. I hate the temperamental weather, drivers, traffic, crappy public transport, high cost of living. But I heart the surroundings – beach, bush, etc, and you know, when summer’s good, it’s GOOD. I love the cultural diversity, and the fact that I can get any cuisine I want (although I hear Wellington is even better in this area?), be it restaurant food or ingredients at ethnic stores.

I know I’ll never return to live in Malaysia. And I will almost certainly settle here, because it’s where my heart is.

But maybe that’ll change in the future. I just don’t know, and I guess I can’t say until I’ve been to more cities and countries and continents and opened my eyes up more.

Readers, where do you think my ideal city would be? Bearing in mind I love the beach and the ocean (despite being unable to swim properly), hate the wet and cold (although I’m not fond of sweltering conditions either…somewhere mild?) don’t drive, love food of all kinds and enjoy greenery as much as concrete jungle. Based on that very limited information, I’m sure you’ll come up with some awesome places I’d never even thought of.

What city would you love to live in?

13 thoughts on “City livin’

  • Reply Sense November 8, 2010 at 14:38

    I’ve come to the conclusion that my ideal city DOES NOT EXIST. It would have weather like San Diego, with people with the same mindset as NZ (eg liberal, with common sense, frugal), have beaches like Hawaii, mountains nearby similar to Northern California/Oregon/Washington, a public transportation system like San Francisco or NYC, cultural options like Washington DC…I could go on and on. Basically, I’d be really happy in San Diego if the people weren’t so …typical southern Californian and there were better public transport and more mountains nearby. The weather there…oh the weather! It is so perfect year-round! Weather affects my mood and energy way more than I’d like. It made my heart absolutely break to move here from there in mid-July.

    I think you are a big-city girl! I’d like to see how you’d do in NYC or San Fran or DC. πŸ™‚ esp. as a journalist!

  • Reply Amber from Girl with the Red Hair November 8, 2010 at 17:12

    OK based on you loving the ocean/good food and hate wet/cold I’m going to vote Italy! The Italian coast is beautiful and you won’t find better food anywhere!!

    I got Victoria, B.C. as my ideal city on the Facebook quiz which I think suits me pretty well. I’ll never leave B.C. (love it too much!) and Victoria is a nice mix of being a big city but not massive! Plus it’s on the ocean which = LOVE for me πŸ™‚

    • Reply eemusings November 9, 2010 at 10:44

      BC sounds beautiful; I’d love to visit Vancouver!

  • Reply Tasha November 8, 2010 at 23:42

    I enjoy Auckland’s weather. If only we had the same in Wellington…there are definitely aspects about Akl that I like better than Wlg, such as more city feel to it and being the main airport hub which makes for cheaper airfare to the rest of the world. I’d say Akl πŸ™‚ You could move into the burbs for a change in perspective.

    • Reply eemusings November 9, 2010 at 10:45

      I do live in the suburbs; always have. I’ve never lived in the actual CBD, nor do I want to… Right now I’m about 10 mins out, which suits me perfectly. Used to live much further away, and got sick of the commute.

  • Reply Mo November 9, 2010 at 04:11

    Well, Seattle is lovely and would fit that description almost perfectly, except that it gets a lot of rain in the winter. No snow, but rain.
    I have the same thoughts about Chicago as you have of Auckland. I absolutely adore Chicago eight months of the year, but our horribly cold, snowy winters are about to do me in.

  • Reply Emily Jane November 9, 2010 at 07:10

    I should take one of these tests! I agree with Amber, I think Italy would be perfect for you. I’m pretty sure I’ll get London if I take that quiz… I know it’s the perfect city for me, just not my small wallet πŸ™

  • Reply Vera November 9, 2010 at 08:14

    We-ell… Barcelona is pretty large, has a beach, and both busy and… not so busy areas. Has both concrete and greenery… you don’t have to drive, the underground system’s great πŸ˜› It’s just the language which probably takes some getting used to (it’s a Spanish dialect called Catalan… which seems Spanish, until people actually start speaking it πŸ˜› ).

    I love the city I currently live in… but I also like to travel a lot. So far, my favorite place is London. Then again, I haven’t been to that many places.

  • Reply FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com November 10, 2010 at 04:53

    DALLAS.

    Okay so I’m a bit obsessed right now with the city, but I can’t wait to move.

    Beaches?.. Er…. Lisbon, Portugal?

  • Reply The Asian Pear November 10, 2010 at 12:28

    I think… I *could* be happy living with Bear in his hometown. The only problem is me no speaketh Finnish. o__o;

  • Reply Laura November 12, 2010 at 01:27

    New York, however Vancouver or Lisbon would be great too πŸ™‚

  • Reply Rina November 19, 2010 at 20:49

    You might like Vancouver, BC, Canada but it does get pretty rainy – it’s a mild wet but still.

  • Reply Livin’ The Good Life « It Just Dawned On Me January 23, 2011 at 07:16

    […] City livin’ (eemusings.wordpress.com) […]

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