The native population absolutely hates white folk (with good reason) so most of them view you as the bad guy. Food is expensive, and the selection in grocery stores sucks. It’s ultra-touristy and the areas that aren’t are not really friendly and welcoming places. It’s difficult to meet people and make friends. The weather is nice, the views are nice, but if you’re not going there for a couple’s vacation, it’s pretty lonely and boring.
Any place that is a desirable tourist destination probably sucks to live in honestly. If for no other reason than tourist treat your home like an amusement park instead of a place people live.
Vancouver, if you don’t have lots of money. Beautiful city, I’d never want to live anywhere else, but rent and real estate prices are ridiculous. I’m lucky, I bought my house almost 25 years ago, but I don’t think my kids will ever be able to own a place here, at least until they inherit my house.
Puerto Rico. I’m Puerto Rican and the people are amazing, the food is amazing, the overall island is beautiful. BUT the economy, the lifestyle issues (no secure electricity or water) and the horrible HORRIBLE job market makes living there not even worth it unless you’re filthy rich… and the filthy rich are ruining the island further.
Hawaii is a beautiful place and NOT horrible to live in, but if you don’t like mountains or the beach, then it is extremely expensive and many non-rich people have two jobs (mostly a regular job and then Lyft/Uber) to survive there.
But aside from the cost of living, it is in fact pretty paradise like. It’s like reverse Australia … NOTHING is trying to kill you there (Well, aside from lava on Hawaii itself) it’s so safe that chickens roam free, and you see baby chicks just hanging around not being eaten.
Finland. Americans rave about how wonderful it is, with great K-12 schools and social safety nets and family-friendly laws and low crime.
Except all those reasons also apply to Massachusetts, plus some more (better colleges, spoken English, no land border with Russia, no 3-month night) and you don’t see Americans moving there: because there’s also a fun-hating Protestant work ethic and snoopy nanny-state stupid laws. Plus there’s a downside to a low crime rate: it’s safe to be rude to strangers.
Utah. I’m a local but the cost of living is now super difficult due to wages vs housing. Skiing is no longer a a fun hobby due to parking restrictions and cost. National parks are clogged and traffic just gets worse around the state. I don’t plan on staying when I have kids.
City of San Antonio…as soon as anyone hears I’m from there, it’s usually followed by “OMG, I love San Antonio, it’s beautiful, and the river…etc.”
Reality of living there is that the job market is crap, if you have an advanced degree, you’ll be stuck in an entry level position or making way less than your peers.
It’s freaking hot like 10 months out of the year, with no beach…enough said!
Getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time takes 30-45 minutes due to the city being spread out so far, highway dependent, and only bus lines as their main mode of transportation.
How many different Mexican restaurants does a city actually need, like cmon!?
The “cheap” parts of Mexico. I’ve known two couples who moved down there had a supposedly great life. Lived in a nice, fully-serviced town surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by hired security, had money for the good hospital, had food sent in from somewhat far away, and had enough money to regularly travel elsewhere. They went three years without ever exploring the area around them, the only locals they talked to were ones hired to work in the town.
Very nice looking community. It would be alright to visit for camping, hiking, or fishing. ATV riding is fantastic, hundreds of km of trails and untamed wilderness, you could drive all day and not come close to an another community.
Living on the other hand has its difficulties. You can’t even buy underwear in town. The hospital is awful, anything over a basic ER visit needs to be shipped to Sudbury (2 hrs away). A total lack of jobs unless you’re willing to be a PSW.
That community’s target demographic is 55+ with very little offered or to support those who are younger.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Japan here yet 😅 It usually tends to make these kinds of lists.
I’ve been there 4 times, speak the language, have worked there for almost 3 months, and have plenty of friends (both Japanese and foreigners) there- but even so, I’m not sure I’d want to settle there long term. Japan is definitely great in many ways, but it’s also very much not for everyone. It takes a certain kind of person.
Lived there for many years and it’s a beautiful area but brutal to live in. Between the highway constantly falling in the ocean and the fires and the tourists, it can be hell.
Brazil. From England and used to live there growing up for a time due to my parents’ job assignment. My British school peers were jealous of my move because Brazil is portrayed as a tropical paradise, but when I arrived there it was quite bad.
To be clear, Brazil does have some of the most beautiful and cool nature, wildlife and beaches you’ll ever see. So it is paradise in that respect. Its people are also extraordinarily warm, friendly and with such a chill attitude to life compared to the semi-Victorian vibes I sometimes get in England.
But I’m talking about regular daily urban life in Brazil – it’s just so humid and hot for so much of the year. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the air properly.
Also, there were far too many social and economic problems (drugs, trash everywhere, teenage pregnancy, violence and organised crime, inequality, power cuts, unemployment, low education, bad food quality, dirty water, low public sanitation, smelly waterways, dangerous roads, air pollution).
All of those above things create a very uncomfortable living situation, and even if you’re rich you won’t be able to escape some of these aspects.
The Galápagos Islands. Visitors, tourists see the hotels and the tour guides. They also see fellow tourists. The locals working can make enough money to scrape by, but it’s not a ton.
But get five blocks off the main drag on Isabela or Santa Cruz or San Cristobal and the locals are living terribly. Shantys, terrible housing, no cars, expensive food that mostly has to be shipped in from Ecuador.
Rent a bike and just ride around and where there is tourist stuff, it’s ok. But wow, it can get poor in a hurry.
Whenever I mention I’m from the UK, “OH I’D LOVE TO GO TO LONDON.” I *sigh* think to myself do they know how expensive that shit hole is for how crazy it is.
You have beautiful sights up and down the country, lovely beaches down Cornwall ways and lovely picturesque forests and mountains in the north and yet “LANDONN”.
Almost any large city. I’m looking out my 1st floor window right now and I see a national forest, snow capped mountains, and a huge blue sky. I’ll never understand how looking out the window of a high rise building at ac units, concrete, and steel equates to a beautiful view.
Sydney Australia, I personally live in Australia but just can’t stand Sydney it’s extremely congested and everything costs way way too much money. Average wage is 93k but the average house costs 1.7 million. Absolutely bonkers
People love to vacation there, big spring break, summer fun town.
It sucks to live in. It’s blisteringly hot in the summer, and when you live there you generally aren’t on the lake all day unless you’re retired. trying to run a restaurant in town is ridiculous because you have a bunch of out of towners who don’t know where to go, or you have the local snowbirds that want discounts on everything.
There is nothing to do if you’re under 21, so everyone that grows up there either has a DUI, Drug Habbit or a Baby by the time they turn 21.
Las Vegas. I won’t say it’s horrible, exactly, but people always told me I was lucky to grow up there and like… yeah, it’s fun to visit, I suppose, but it’s not really that fun to live in. It’s hot, the healthcare is the worst in the country, you don’t get holidays off because you have to cater to other people who visit on their holidays (I never got a family Christmas or Thanksgiving growing up thanks to them), there’s nothing to do unless you’re an adult for the most part, etc.
Fiji—beautiful country, beautiful ocean, the people suck—if you go into one of the tourist trap shops, you WILL buy something, or else—I never found out what “or else” meant, I just bought some overpriced touristy junk, and left—
Salem MA. Everyone thinks it’s so cool to visit Salem, and it’s a great city sometimes. We have about 45000 residents, but between August and October have about a million visitors. The City officials play up ‘Haunted Happenings’ to the point where they’ve started doing construction just to accommodate the tourists.
Seattle was the most disgusting POS city I’ve ever lived in. You can’t do anything without being accosted by homeless people, can’t get a package delivered because it will get stolen, can’t drive down the street without seeeing rows and rows of tent communities
Seattle and it’s only because of instagram calling everything in Washington state Seattle. We have tons of beautiful places but all that lush green and beautiful scenery is more than an hour out from proper Seattle. In terms of Seattle it’s just another formerly great city over run by tech bros and gentrification.
A lot of people really like Utah and salt
Lake city. Lived there for about a decade. I hated it. Yes it’s close a lot of outdoor recreation that I love and is on the lower end of COL when compared to similar places with similar geography. But it’s just a flat shithole in the dessert. It gets so hot for a few weeks in the summer that you can’t go outside in the day time. The social scene is pretty weak and very cliquey.
Southern California. Psychotic drivers, everyone is in a bad mood due to psychotically high prices, and freeway traffic is horrendous at all hours of the day.
Hawaii. Expensive. Tiny. The locals are lovely but reasonably want to keep to themselves and their communities. The white people who call themselves locals are rednecks and assholes and hate newcomers. I’ve never dealt with so many bugs anywhere- not India, not Uganda, not australia.
Comments
Türkiye
Florida
California, unless you earn several hundred thousands of Dollars or more in a year.
According to a friend of mine, it’s Hawaii.
The native population absolutely hates white folk (with good reason) so most of them view you as the bad guy. Food is expensive, and the selection in grocery stores sucks. It’s ultra-touristy and the areas that aren’t are not really friendly and welcoming places. It’s difficult to meet people and make friends. The weather is nice, the views are nice, but if you’re not going there for a couple’s vacation, it’s pretty lonely and boring.
Disneyland. There’s a big fucking rodent running around and no one wants to do anything about it.
Los Angeles. It’s like if a traffic jam became complex enough to achieve consciousness.
Hawaii
Any place that is a desirable tourist destination probably sucks to live in honestly. If for no other reason than tourist treat your home like an amusement park instead of a place people live.
North Carolina it’s terrible!
Vancouver, if you don’t have lots of money. Beautiful city, I’d never want to live anywhere else, but rent and real estate prices are ridiculous. I’m lucky, I bought my house almost 25 years ago, but I don’t think my kids will ever be able to own a place here, at least until they inherit my house.
Hawaii.
Jamaica
Puerto Rico. I’m Puerto Rican and the people are amazing, the food is amazing, the overall island is beautiful. BUT the economy, the lifestyle issues (no secure electricity or water) and the horrible HORRIBLE job market makes living there not even worth it unless you’re filthy rich… and the filthy rich are ruining the island further.
Hawaii is a beautiful place and NOT horrible to live in, but if you don’t like mountains or the beach, then it is extremely expensive and many non-rich people have two jobs (mostly a regular job and then Lyft/Uber) to survive there.
But aside from the cost of living, it is in fact pretty paradise like. It’s like reverse Australia … NOTHING is trying to kill you there (Well, aside from lava on Hawaii itself) it’s so safe that chickens roam free, and you see baby chicks just hanging around not being eaten.
The state of Louisiana
Finland. Americans rave about how wonderful it is, with great K-12 schools and social safety nets and family-friendly laws and low crime.
Except all those reasons also apply to Massachusetts, plus some more (better colleges, spoken English, no land border with Russia, no 3-month night) and you don’t see Americans moving there: because there’s also a fun-hating Protestant work ethic and snoopy nanny-state stupid laws. Plus there’s a downside to a low crime rate: it’s safe to be rude to strangers.
Southern California.
Hawaii. A vacation spot does not necessarily mean it’s a great place to live.
The locals take bets on when a white suburban mainlander moves in, how long before they move back.
Just because it’s technically the US doesn’t mean it’s not a culture shock. It can be very slow, isolating, and boring.
Utah. I’m a local but the cost of living is now super difficult due to wages vs housing. Skiing is no longer a a fun hobby due to parking restrictions and cost. National parks are clogged and traffic just gets worse around the state. I don’t plan on staying when I have kids.
Bahamas… If you are not a tourist, there really isn´t much to do. And everything is waaaaay expensive!
Trump’s USA
City of San Antonio…as soon as anyone hears I’m from there, it’s usually followed by “OMG, I love San Antonio, it’s beautiful, and the river…etc.”
Reality of living there is that the job market is crap, if you have an advanced degree, you’ll be stuck in an entry level position or making way less than your peers.
It’s freaking hot like 10 months out of the year, with no beach…enough said!
Getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time takes 30-45 minutes due to the city being spread out so far, highway dependent, and only bus lines as their main mode of transportation.
How many different Mexican restaurants does a city actually need, like cmon!?
Left 10 years ago, never going back!
Did I mention it’s freaking hot!
Italy
southern california
The “cheap” parts of Mexico. I’ve known two couples who moved down there had a supposedly great life. Lived in a nice, fully-serviced town surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by hired security, had money for the good hospital, had food sent in from somewhat far away, and had enough money to regularly travel elsewhere. They went three years without ever exploring the area around them, the only locals they talked to were ones hired to work in the town.
I wonder why they didn’t dare go around the area.
Dillingham, Alaska is the most trash place with the most trash people.
That’s how I feel about anything tropical. To fucking humid for a long term stay
Cape Cod. It’s like the goddamned walking dead with all the heroin addicts
Cape Breton. Yes, the people are kind and it’s beautiful, but it’s difficult to find a job, and housing opportunities are crappy.
South Florida. Everyone moves here thinking paradise and I’ve seen so many of these transplants lives just go to shit after moving here.
Elliot Lake, Ontario.
Very nice looking community. It would be alright to visit for camping, hiking, or fishing. ATV riding is fantastic, hundreds of km of trails and untamed wilderness, you could drive all day and not come close to an another community.
Living on the other hand has its difficulties. You can’t even buy underwear in town. The hospital is awful, anything over a basic ER visit needs to be shipped to Sudbury (2 hrs away). A total lack of jobs unless you’re willing to be a PSW.
That community’s target demographic is 55+ with very little offered or to support those who are younger.
They don’t necessarily say “beautiful” and “paradise,” but I think people grossly overestimate how “fun” it is to live in New Orleans.
Anywhere on the “Lower Alabama” coast (Panama City, Destin, Okaloosa Island, Navarre, Pensacola, “Guff” Shores, etc).
Dubai
The Great Barrier Reef
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Japan here yet 😅 It usually tends to make these kinds of lists.
I’ve been there 4 times, speak the language, have worked there for almost 3 months, and have plenty of friends (both Japanese and foreigners) there- but even so, I’m not sure I’d want to settle there long term. Japan is definitely great in many ways, but it’s also very much not for everyone. It takes a certain kind of person.
Big Sur.
Lived there for many years and it’s a beautiful area but brutal to live in. Between the highway constantly falling in the ocean and the fires and the tourists, it can be hell.
New York City
West Palm Beach
Brazil. From England and used to live there growing up for a time due to my parents’ job assignment. My British school peers were jealous of my move because Brazil is portrayed as a tropical paradise, but when I arrived there it was quite bad.
To be clear, Brazil does have some of the most beautiful and cool nature, wildlife and beaches you’ll ever see. So it is paradise in that respect. Its people are also extraordinarily warm, friendly and with such a chill attitude to life compared to the semi-Victorian vibes I sometimes get in England.
But I’m talking about regular daily urban life in Brazil – it’s just so humid and hot for so much of the year. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the air properly.
Also, there were far too many social and economic problems (drugs, trash everywhere, teenage pregnancy, violence and organised crime, inequality, power cuts, unemployment, low education, bad food quality, dirty water, low public sanitation, smelly waterways, dangerous roads, air pollution).
All of those above things create a very uncomfortable living situation, and even if you’re rich you won’t be able to escape some of these aspects.
Hawaii.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina, or at least parts of it.
Virginia
The Galápagos Islands. Visitors, tourists see the hotels and the tour guides. They also see fellow tourists. The locals working can make enough money to scrape by, but it’s not a ton.
But get five blocks off the main drag on Isabela or Santa Cruz or San Cristobal and the locals are living terribly. Shantys, terrible housing, no cars, expensive food that mostly has to be shipped in from Ecuador.
Rent a bike and just ride around and where there is tourist stuff, it’s ok. But wow, it can get poor in a hurry.
BELIZE
Florida and SoCal are two places that are great for about a week, then I’m thankful to fly back home from.
London.
Whenever I mention I’m from the UK, “OH I’D LOVE TO GO TO LONDON.” I *sigh* think to myself do they know how expensive that shit hole is for how crazy it is.
You have beautiful sights up and down the country, lovely beaches down Cornwall ways and lovely picturesque forests and mountains in the north and yet “LANDONN”.
Japan. Even how the people were stereotyped as polite, kind, name it. It’s all facade.
South Lake Tahoe
It’s beautiful, but absolutely overrun with tourists.
A miserable place to live
Wigan, it promised so much, delivered so little
Almost any large city. I’m looking out my 1st floor window right now and I see a national forest, snow capped mountains, and a huge blue sky. I’ll never understand how looking out the window of a high rise building at ac units, concrete, and steel equates to a beautiful view.
I live on Martha’s Vineyard, “horrible” is a stretch, but it is difficult to enjoy summer with so many tourists.
I could go on and on lol. The housing crisis is brutal here.
Whenever the question of “if you could live anywhere…” pops up on Reddit, the number one answer is always New Zealand.
But then the top response to New Zealand is always something like “I live here and it’s expensive and the job market sucks”.
The Dominican Republic. Almost all of it outside the resorts and capital is a third world country.
Sydney Australia, I personally live in Australia but just can’t stand Sydney it’s extremely congested and everything costs way way too much money. Average wage is 93k but the average house costs 1.7 million. Absolutely bonkers
fish
Lake Havasu City Az
People love to vacation there, big spring break, summer fun town.
It sucks to live in. It’s blisteringly hot in the summer, and when you live there you generally aren’t on the lake all day unless you’re retired. trying to run a restaurant in town is ridiculous because you have a bunch of out of towners who don’t know where to go, or you have the local snowbirds that want discounts on everything.
There is nothing to do if you’re under 21, so everyone that grows up there either has a DUI, Drug Habbit or a Baby by the time they turn 21.
San Diego
Pro: Perfect weather all year long/Con:Cost of living
Las Vegas. I won’t say it’s horrible, exactly, but people always told me I was lucky to grow up there and like… yeah, it’s fun to visit, I suppose, but it’s not really that fun to live in. It’s hot, the healthcare is the worst in the country, you don’t get holidays off because you have to cater to other people who visit on their holidays (I never got a family Christmas or Thanksgiving growing up thanks to them), there’s nothing to do unless you’re an adult for the most part, etc.
Cities
Denver. It’s way too expensive and the coolest thing to do is go to the mountains on the weekend, which is even more expensive.
Austin
Fiji—beautiful country, beautiful ocean, the people suck—if you go into one of the tourist trap shops, you WILL buy something, or else—I never found out what “or else” meant, I just bought some overpriced touristy junk, and left—
Salem MA. Everyone thinks it’s so cool to visit Salem, and it’s a great city sometimes. We have about 45000 residents, but between August and October have about a million visitors. The City officials play up ‘Haunted Happenings’ to the point where they’ve started doing construction just to accommodate the tourists.
Mauritius
Seattle was the most disgusting POS city I’ve ever lived in. You can’t do anything without being accosted by homeless people, can’t get a package delivered because it will get stolen, can’t drive down the street without seeeing rows and rows of tent communities
Seattle and it’s only because of instagram calling everything in Washington state Seattle. We have tons of beautiful places but all that lush green and beautiful scenery is more than an hour out from proper Seattle. In terms of Seattle it’s just another formerly great city over run by tech bros and gentrification.
A lot of people really like Utah and salt
Lake city. Lived there for about a decade. I hated it. Yes it’s close a lot of outdoor recreation that I love and is on the lower end of COL when compared to similar places with similar geography. But it’s just a flat shithole in the dessert. It gets so hot for a few weeks in the summer that you can’t go outside in the day time. The social scene is pretty weak and very cliquey.
Park City Utah.
Don’t let the name fool you. There is no fucking parking. Anywhere.
Maldives
Southern California. Psychotic drivers, everyone is in a bad mood due to psychotically high prices, and freeway traffic is horrendous at all hours of the day.
No one has mentioned NYC I’m impressed
Florida
Hawaii. Expensive. Tiny. The locals are lovely but reasonably want to keep to themselves and their communities. The white people who call themselves locals are rednecks and assholes and hate newcomers. I’ve never dealt with so many bugs anywhere- not India, not Uganda, not australia.
West Virginia
Port Aransas, TX. Tourists year round. Was better when we were raising our kids, now 29 and 34. Moved 6 years ago.
California.
California is a good place to visit but not to live in.
Florida.
Florida. Can’t imagine even visiting anymore.
Florida.