Like Diane, right where I am....................Suffield Township, just south of Kent State University in northeast Ohio.
The good.......................ALL 4 seasons with all of their nuances.........................many state parks, a National park, many county and metropolitan parks......................almost all of which are dog-friendly......................lots of places to hike, bike, swim, ski (water & snow).....................all types of amateur sports leagues..................professional sports entertainment..........................LOTS of cultural "stuff" (museums, live theatre, concerts, film, etc.)..........................veterinary and human medical care facilities that are among the best in the nation............................good food and good shopping; and NOT at "malls"; but a local specialty shops featuring local artisans, chefs and farmers..................................
The bad...........................only one tiny NADAC club in northwestern Ohio (3 hrs.), some NADAC in western NY (4 hrs.) and some in northwestern MD (5 hrs.)..........................
The ugly...........................our township government is as corrupt as any in the country......................most jobs are service jobs; but the IT industry is recovering...................very little manufacturing; but the demand for machinists is slowly increasing as manufacturing recovers. The health care industry is, for the most part, strong. Once you get away from most of the universities and 5-10 miles away from the bigger, aging cities (Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown)........................it's still mostly rural, which around here, is a polite way of saying "pretty red under the collar" and seemingly too many extreme right-wing conservatives, many of them, down-right racist..................................which is REALLY UGLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The fact that my wife and I tend to be "lone wolves" help us survive, since we are liberals. <G> The GOOD in the area far outweighs the bad and the ugly. The vast majority of folks are decent enough...............as long as politics and religion isn't a subject of discussion.
IF we had the financial where-with-all, we would move to Cape Cod in less-than-a-heartbeat......................somewhere on the "outer arm" between Orleans and Provincetown.............................we'd LOVE to live in a lighthouse, if one ever was sold by the government, which they do once-in-a-while.................................and soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for the dogs to do between the beaches and hiking trails.................................and there is NADAC agility on the MA "mainland".............................
Truth be known, we could be happy "wherever".........................like our dogs, we too, are adaptable. It doesn't take a lot to make us happy...........................true, we LOVE the changes each season brings, so "up nort'" would be much preferred to anywhere in the south.............................a little plot of land for a very small vegetable garden and a few agility obstacles for "play time" for our dogs and a little home............................................where we could pursue our varied interests...........................
No area is all good...........................they all have their bad and ugly parts, too........................some are easily visible, some are the not-so-easily seen "underbellies"........................
The grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence...............................until you're on the other side! <G>
Al, Barb, Pelli & Katie
Suffield Township, Ohio
