January 9, 2000    
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Why do you live where you do?

I live in Lowell because my job brought me to northeast Massachusetts. We chose Lowell because it was just about the only place we could afford to buy a house. But it's been a great choice. I love the city, there's a lot to do,the city is growing and improving all the time. The opulation is the most diverse of any other place I've lived. I could go on and on. The city should hire me to be a profession booster.…

Laura, 34
Lowell
, MA

If economic opportunities and interesting cultural experiences could be had everywhere and in as much abundance as they are in urban areas, I would still be living in my hometown of Malone, NY. I really am a country girl at heart. But that just ain't the way the world works.

I live in Somerville, because it is pretty affordable rent-wise and close enough to friends and cultural experiences that I don't have to drive to get to. I like Somerville's diversity and mix of neighborhoods. The only down side is the fear that it is heading quickly in to chicness and that it is a good 1/2 hour from my place of work in Lowell which is another community which has a good mix of people w/o chicness.

Felicia, 33
Somerville,
MA

After my marriage to a nomad collapsed, I wound up in northeastern Pennsylvania where I met my second husband. When he retired we wanted a house in the country. Land shopping gave us a choice between wooded lots and corn fields. We chose a wooded lot, hacked out a clearing and built a house ourselves, to our plans.

Jill, 59
Saylorsburg
, PA

I live in the Acre Neighborhood of Lowell. I have always lived here since I was 2. I love the culture and diversity of the neighborhood. I still live in Lowell because I love the city. There is no other city like Lowell. It is a city where there is a little bit of everything, from sports, art, the Theater, and history. Lowell has so much and is gaining more.

Chris, 25
Lowell,
MA

My dad wrote me a letter about four months before his suicide, asking me strenuously if I would move down here to Florida to take care of his wife, my mother. It felt like the right thing to do. I want to move but for some reason I'm finding it difficult to save the money.

mothmc, 35
Pensacola
, FL

I live in Lowell because my wife was given a job supporting after New England and New York affiliates of Habitat for Humanity. Lowell was an affordable and safe place relatively near her office.

Dan
Lowell, MA

I was brought up in New Jersey, married a man from NJ, found employment in NJ, my children were born in NJ and just wound up staying put.

Janet, 42
E. Brunswick,
NJ

I live in Flagstaff, AZ because my wife and I could not stand to be in Americus, GA for another minute. We like snow, 4 seasons, cross-country skiing and gardening. We love the cool weather here.  We are also closer to our families.

Tom, 32
Flagstaff,
AZ

I was invited. I was originally invited to live with friends while i went to school for my BA. This required a move from CA to MA. Then I moved into my own place and was again invited to live with friends that I met here in MA.

Cindy, 41
Lowell, MA

My husband got out of the Army in Killeen, Texas and after a year hunting for a decent job and being on welfare, he decided to go Civil Service, filed out an SF171, and landed a job in Washington DC as a security guard. If we'd known how expensive the cost of living is here, we'd  never have come.

Reba, 50
Rockville
, MD

Quite simply, because I don't have the money to move right now.

Kristin, 20
IA  USA

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