Grass is always greener elsewhere

Many people wonder what it would be like to live elsewhere. As the need to be mobile increases, largely because of having to go where the jobs are in this recession, folks are confronted with the possibility of living in a new town, city or state they've never even visited.

There are also people who simply don't like where they live or want to try living in another region.

For anyone considering a move, there is a web site called Sperling's BestPlaces (www.bestplaces.net/) that rates towns based on various data like unemployment levels, crime rates, education stats, etc.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this site is the comments from people who either live or have moved from the town you're searching on. The vast majority of comments are negative, which leads me to wonder about a couple of things.

Are people really that unhappy with where they live or have lived? Does familiarity truly breed contempt? So many remarks from folks refer to the grass being greener elsewhere. Yet, when you search on the "better" towns that they are praising, you will find people there who aren't that happy with those municipalities.

People make harsh judgments on places and the residents who live there -- even places that most folks seem to like, such as Raleigh, N.C. Here's a typical comment from a hater:

"They are the most ignorant drivers, I've ever come across? Hello, did anyone ever teach you how to use your indicator? I believe it too about the "illegals" People from Raleigh can't resist a good deal when it comes to someone working for them. They lost their slaves, but now they have found replacements."

Driving skills, traffic, crime, lack of culture, cost of living and too much or too little of whatever are common complaints. Everyone seems to complain that strip malls stink, but I wonder how many of those people ever went to a planning and zoning meet to fight against a strip mall proposal?

I have looked at this site a lot over the years and truly haven't found too many places that everyone likes. I also haven't found too many larger towns and cities where the crime rate isn't very high compared to where I live in Loudoun County, Va. Spending on education also seems fairly low in many parts of the country. Most of the places where people do have relatively favorable opinions also have an extremely high cost of living.

If you're thinking of a move, the site is worth a look. But I would focus more on the actual data and statistics than the rants from residents, visitors and former townees. If you pay too much attention to the comments, you'll never want to move anywhere.