travel, living locations

[wispfox]

I often wonder what it is that other people look for when traveling, beyond visiting specific people. Same as far as where people choose to live. So! I ask y'all what you think.

When you are traveling, especially if it involves returning to a place you've visited before, what makes your decision on where to go? I'd rather avoid answers which are specific to people instead of location, because people is already why I travel most of the time. I want other answers. I want to know where to go, why to go, and what to do when there. Outdoors and indoors, places to eat and places to visit, places to feed my mind, my ears, or my eyes. Sell your favorite places to visit to me!

Similarly, if you like where you live, or somewhere that you have lived in the past, why? If the answer is specific people, that's fine, but I want to know more than that. Is it access to specific social groups? Activities like museums or parks or forests? Safe neighborhoods? What?

Comments

[danodea.livejournal.com]

I almost always travel to see people. Occasionally I travel with people to Do something - for example, later this month a group of us is going down to Schlitterbahn water park on Padre Island.
Along the way I've seen several places, from CA to NYC, but the places weren't the reason.

Next Summer I'm planning to go to Ireland for the O'Dea clan gather, and spend a week or so in addition to that exploring. Part of that is to see the place, but the reason to see the place is... people. Roots. Going back to where my family (both sides) came from when they emigrated to the states. Then the rest will be exploring Ireland with the possible idea of either relocating there, or retiring there. I'll be with a group of friends, of course - about 5 or 6 of us will be going.

I do love where I live. Austin is a wonderful mix of city and country, of city amenities built on seven wooded hills surrounded by lakes. The land here is scrub forest, mostly red oak, live oak, and juniper. The air quality is good. The presence of the state legislature and a handful of universities combine to create the most liberal city culture in Texas. There is a very strong environmental/ecological movement here, with various non-profits interacting to slow development and help keep Austin green. Barton Springs pool is a natural spring fed swimming pool, easily larger than an olympic size pool. The spring itself was a native american holy place, and the presence there is unmistakable to those who are sensitive to such things. The Arboretum shopping center up in NW Austin has several cool stores, including both a large 2 story Barnes & Noble, a Sharper Image, a local sub shop and a local 'homemade' ice cream place, and a walkway leading down a wooded hill to a pond that is home to ducks, geese, and occasionally a couple of swans - one of my favorite places to go sit and eat lunch while talking with friends.
For those who like music clubs, Austin is called 'the capitol of live music' because of the club scene down near Sixth Street downtown, and venues like City Limits, Zona Rosa, and Stubbs Barbeque.
Downtown Austin is rather old for Texas, with several building that date back into the late 1800's, including a couple of theatres - the State and the Paramount - that show a variety of unusual movies and host a couple of performing troups. Regional and national troups also come through - we recently went to see Cats! at Bass Hall on the UT campus. The Frank Erwin center on the UT campus routinely hosts national bands.
For a bit of odd local culture, Austin has more bookstores than almost any other city, ranking second highest per capita the last time I looked.
Also, because it is the state capitol, it has an even better road and highway system than most of Texas - and Texas in general has one of the better road and highway systems in the nation. The downside of that is that there is always construction going on somewhere. :/

[jirikido.livejournal.com]

totally agree, Austin is the only livable city in Texas, the rest scares the living hell out of me. i used to work for a business unit of my current company based in Austin, so i lived there for six months and thoroughly enjoyed it. the live music scene, large IT community, the hippie remenants, alternative medicine and the U of T mix to produce a blur of creatives and fun.