Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with towns

I can't think of any famous hellholes.

Jason Land — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:58:13 -0800

A friend of mine is writing a memoir about traveling to every country in Europe at the age of 23. He wants to compare being stuck in a crappy part of Romania to a well known literary or film hellhole. We can't think of any. In the book he's talking about being stuck in a crappy part of Romania for 20 hours, instead of the short layover he expected. He used the placeholder of Amity Island (Jaws). This obviously doesn't fit as it's a pleasant place with the exception of the killer shark in the water.

We can't seem to think of anything that most everyone (of the US literary audience) would be able to recognize. We're thinking of things like Silent Hill, Sleepy Hollow (in the story, not the real life place). I feel like we're both missing something super obvious. It can be from any pop culture reference, as long as most people will get it.

Would a suitable solution be something like "East Germany, circa 1960"?

Beautiful towns within driving distance of Washington, DC (and that are not overrun with tourists)

actionPetential — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:55:27 -0800

EastCoastFilter: Is your lovely town a best-kept secret? Looking for a magical sort of place to visit in or near DC, Virginia, or Maryland, something with the sort of historic downtown/art scene/subtle eccentricity vibe of Savannah, Ga. or Charlottesville, Va. I live near DC and have a car this weekend and my spur-of-the-moment notion was to find a special sort of place to which to have a leaves-changing-colors drive that is near the Mid-Atlantic. The last time I felt I was walking around in a "magical" town or city was New Orleans (of course), but I would gladly and gratefully "settle" for a place like Charlottesville, Va. or Savannah, Ga., where there's a lot of things to see and do without having to drive around. I think these sorts of places align very closely with college towns rather than places where people retire which is the impression I got from places like, say, Middleburg, Va. Thanks so much!

What great town Web sites are there? Or what should be on one?

wackybrit — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:44:19 -0800

I have an opportunity to produce a kickass community Web site for my town. What cities already have wonderfully interactive, community Web sites I can look at for inspiration, or what do you think a killer town Web site should have or be like? I recently bought my town's domain name (in its .co.uk variant) but despite having 15,000 residents, my town is not very well represented online, although the residents are heavy Internet users (on Facebook especially).

I have plentiful spare time and resources and I'd like to do it for a challenge, for something to do, and as a way of engaging in local life. In my previous life I sold a couple of tech businesses I developed, so I can do almost any sort of custom development for this.

I am at the very earliest stage. I have the domain and.. that's it. I'm figuring out what to offer. I have not yet done any local market research (although I'm sure that would be interesting, I think the local populace will need to be led by the nose..)

So I want to get some initial ideas by seeing other kickass community/town Web sites. Can you recommend any? Further, if you can't or if you were in my position, what would you put on or develop for a kickass local community/town Web site? What do you think I should be doing?

Just so you have a rough idea where my imagination is flying, I sorta want to get people posting and interacting.. so something like Craigslist mixed with a no-sign-in-necessary Twitter.. vague, I know.

Where to take a 30th birthday long weekend near NYC?

toomuchkatherine — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:47:39 -0800

I'm turning 30 in two weeks. Help me find a great ~4-day trip not too far from New York to celebrate it. My 30th birthday is June 26. I'm hoping to get out of town (NYC) for it; I don't have *too* much angst about turning 30, but I hope not to be sung "Happy Birthday" to in a local dive. And I've been meaning to explore the great Northeast more anyway.

I prefer the mountains to the beach, and am looking for someplace fun to go within a reasonable (6 hour?) train or car ride from New York City. I'd like to stay in a fun funky town, small city, or rural area. Hudson Valley? Vermont? Adirondacks? Lake Placid? Maine (too far?)? I don't have a tent of my own, so no utter backpacking, but I do like to hike etc.

I've been all over Western Massachusetts, because I have family there; it's nice, but I want to try something new. I will probably be on my own for one or two nights, and joined by the bf for the next part.

Would love any suggestions for towns or specific accommodations. I'm not super flush but am willing to spend a bit to make this a nice getaway.

Do you know of any funky, progressive towns or cities?

letahl — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:36:23 -0800

Help me identify progressive, funky towns and small cities in this Good Ol' U S of A. I'm thinking in a range of 5,000 to 100,000 for population, but can be more if the city is really cool and there is substantial space outside of it.

My ideal town/city...

IS PROGRESSIVE. That means some yogis, artists, and liberty-seekers. Hopefully racially diverse but not mandatory.

HAS PLENTIFUL FRESH FOOD AVAILABLE. Farmers markets and local butchers are our friends.

HAS GOOD SCENERY. Maybe mountains, maybe greenery, maybe cool desert views. Places to hike and get outdoors, road cycling is great too.

HAS A DECENT CULTURAL SCENE. With small galleries or museums, and probably will have good bars and music. Definitely has to have a few decent ethnic restaurants (Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, etc.).

HAS A COOL HISTORIC ELEMENT. Old buildings rock, and I like the vibe of some history.

ISN'T TOO DAMN CROWDED. I like to be able to move around, and drive without worrying about The Man and The Multitudes. Yeah, I don't know what that means exactly, but know when I'm in a big city I'm always glad to get out.

LOW-ISH CRIME RATE. I lived in an amazing place once but the crime rate was out of control. Couldn't hang. I like to be able to take a walk without worry about some crackhead pulling me into the bushes.

So far I've thought of Taos, Asheville, and Burlington. Are there others out there? Help me find them! Bonus points if they are roughly between Houston and D.C.

Simplicity: The big city - or the small town?

Gerard Sorme — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:16:00 -0800

Simplicity means different things to different people. In general, do you think it is easier to live a simple life in the city - or the country? An urban environment - or a small town? Does anyone know of any studies done on how stress is raised - or lowered - by simple living in the city versus small town life?

Searching for Paradise

Cranky Media Guy — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:51:54 -0800

How can I find out which states have towns or cities named Paradise? Also, it would be helpful if the database or whatever I was directed to had demographic information about the towns/cities, like population size, average income, local industries, etc. Thanks for your help.

More like St. Smellmo

Miko — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:39:17 -0800

Do you know a derogatory nickname for a town or city? I'm interested in renaming as a form of unofficial culture, folk culture. Sometimes the new name carries a weight of opinion - one type of renaming is to give a locality an insulting version of its real name. I've seen this most prevalently in teenagers and in service personnel stationed somewhere away from home. For instance, my hometown of Red Bank was called "Dead Bank" by its disaffected teens. It's been studied a little bit by folklorists, but I'd love to assemble some more recent name versions. I understand that some of these ("Jew York") might not always be PC and certainly can accept that in this context as I hope others can.

This Onion piece was not my inspiration, but turned up in a search - you get the idea. So please share your town's insulting nickname!

What town in Maine to buy property for sustainable homestead?

sully75 — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:41:21 -0800

What's a good town in Maine to buy land for a sustainable homestead? I'm interested in building a small energy efficient cabin/home. Probably a straw bale house with a massive concrete floor and passive solar windows, maybe around a masonary stove. Something for 1-2 people, maybe some outbuildings (a studio). It's important for me to have enough land to grow food, perhaps at some point to grow all my food. With the possibility of some small animals (goats/sheep/chickens). Maybe even a cow for meat.

I have a good bit of farming experience from the past. I'm somewhat well informed for doing this kind of thing.

Anyway, I'm looking to stay in Maine, where I am now, but probably move inland (because I'm thinking it's cheaper?). I'm on the coast at the moment.

Ideally I'd be less than 1.5 hours from Portland. But also I could deal with being close to Belfast. Other than that, I'm not picky. I'd rather be in Maine than New Hampshire and I'm interested in less touristy locations.

I'm interested in a place where the land is cheap or at least relatively cheap, somewhere that I might find a bargain. Somewhere that has good ground water and generally tillable land. I don't mind being somewhat remote from a town but it would be nice if I could walk there in 3 hours or something like that, if necessary. I don't need grid power, although I wouldn't mind having it. Some local culture would be nice, and some like minded people (not necessarily hippies but people who are into the homestead thing but aren't super religious types) would be cool too.

I have very limited funds but will be making this a priority in the next year.

Any thoughts or suggestions for areas? I'm really interested in staying in Maine but if you have a solution for me otherwise let me know.

Towns I've liked that I've seen so far (but that seem a little pricey for me ): Union, Washington, Appleton

Thanks
Paul

Where to move in Vermont?

cocoagirl — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:42:41 -0800

I'm thinking of moving to VT. Which towns would you recommend that have the following qualities: - A sustained sense of community
- An active, family-friendly town center, ideally with decent bookstore(s) and restaurant(s)
- Welcoming to strangers: I've heard the state is cold metaphorically as well as temperately. Is that generally true? I'd be willing to hear about towns that are welcoming relative to other VT towns, as opposed to, say, Savannah, GA. I'm a New Englander anyway, so my expectations may be low.
- On the youngish side (I suppose I'm not so young, but to be clear, I'm not looking for a place to retire to)
- World-aware: residents who are a mix of broad-minded, well-traveled, articulate
- Technically welcoming: a town that's planned or poised with all mod cons
- Eco-oriented: actively supportive of or leading in alternative energy applications
- And, because what's a question without bonus points: within biking distance of an excellent hardware store

I'm looking for smaller towns that I haven't heard of, but if Burlington and Middlebury are right on target, feel free to Nth them.

For reference, I've read these.

Info on Mass car insurance rates by town?

Grand Wahzoo — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 11:05:27 -0800

When I moved from one town in Mass to another 4 years ago the rate DOUBLED. I can't move back there (commuting) but I'm looking for a town by town comparison. Googled it, Groups too, maybe too deep down, maybe queries were weak. Where if anywhere can I find this info? More specifically, somewhere around the Pioneer Valley.

Pedestiran-Friendly Towns in US

smackfu — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:41:47 -0800

Europe has plenty of great towns where you can walk everywhere you need to go, and where cars are pushed to the margins. Are there any towns like this in the United States? (Towns, not cities.)

Multiracial Places to Live

jare2003 — Thu, 29 Apr 2004 18:09:11 -0800

AskMefi, what would you say are the best places to live, for those of multiracial descent? NYC, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area are all good, but where else have people found acceptance and feel comfortable?