# Share some facts on where you live - country, state, or county.....



## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

My adopted country of Scotland:

People, geography, culture, history

http://www.scotland.org/about-scotland/


The county I live in - Argyll and Bute (formerly Argyllshire):

http://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/argyll-isles/

Argyll has 3,175 miles of coastline, 60 castles, 25 inhabited islands, 14 distilleries.  And a population of just under 90,000.

http://www.exploreargyll.co.uk/


Tell us about where you live.


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## Laurie (Aug 2, 2015)

In my county, Fife, there are more CCTV cameras per head than anywhere else in Europe!

I don't have a problem with this, I feel it gives me freedom of movement, but I know many will disagree.


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## Bee (Aug 2, 2015)

The link takes you to the history of my town, there are other sections on the left hand side you can click on, to find out more.

I am very proud of my town and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

http://www.harwichanddovercourt.co.uk/harwich-history/


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

Bee, nice location and lots of history where you live!  

Laurie, I don't mind CCTV and don't feel it's an invasion of privacy.  After all, you are in a public place.  I have an American friend who lives in Lochgelly.


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## Debby (Aug 2, 2015)

All you folks have a good knowledge of your areas where you live.  I find that interesting because I'm just the opposite.  I guess it's because we move so often that I have very limited knowledge of my community.  Never set down roots anywhere. Until my dad left, I'm not sure how many places we lived in.  He wasn't a good provider and I think we moved a few times because the landlord was expecting rent that never came if you know what I mean.  So we moved a lot then including a move to a different province and when my mom was 'single' we lived in 5 different places in the space of 9 years.  Once I was out on my own, I couched surfed for a year (yes I left home with NO plans), and since my husband and I have been together we've lived in 15 different communities and likely we'll be moving again in a year or two.  I'm also foreseeing one more move after that when my husband passes on and I move back to the province of my birth where my youngest may be living by then.  

So no roots unlike you folks.  I often wonder what that must be like.  I think we must have have been gypsies in a past life


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

Debby said:


> All you folks have a good knowledge of your areas where you live.  I find that interesting because I'm just the opposite.  I guess it's because we move so often that I have very limited knowledge of my community.  Never set down roots anywhere. Until my dad left, I'm not sure how many places we lived in.  He wasn't a good provider and I think we moved a few times because the landlord was expecting rent that never came if you know what I mean.  So we moved a lot then including a move to a different province and when my mom was 'single' we lived in 5 different places in the space of 9 years.  Once I was out on my own, I couched surfed for a year (yes I left home with NO plans), and since my husband and I have been together we've lived in 15 different communities and likely we'll be moving again in a year or two.  I'm also foreseeing one more move after that when my husband passes on and I move back to the province of my birth where my youngest may be living by then.
> 
> So no roots unlike you folks.  I often wonder what that must be like.  I think we must have have been gypsies in a past life



This is the longest I've lived in one place - 15 years.  But I've lived in 4 states in one country, and then two other countries.


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## QuickSilver (Aug 2, 2015)

*1.* The name Chicago comes from the Algonquin word “Chicagou” or “Shikaakwa,” which translates to “onion field” or “wild garlic

*2.* Planning a road trip? Route 66 starts in Chicago.*3.* The Field Museum owns the world’s most complete _Tyrannosaurus Rex_ skeleton. Its name is Sue.

*4.* The Chicago River flows backwards.

*5.* In the late 19th century, the river was reversed to empty into the Mississippi River instead of Lake Michigan.

*6.* Chicagoans can’t resist messing around with their river. On St. Patrick’s Day, the Plumbers Union dyes it a bright shade of Irish green and every summer the Special Olympics holds a fundraiser where tens of thousands of rubber ducks race down the waterway.

*7.* In 1917, writers Ben Hecht and Maxwell Bodenheim hosted the shortest known debate in history. The topic? “Resolved: That People Who Attend Literary Debates are Imbeciles.”

*8.* Seeing a room full of people, Hecht argued, “The affirmative rests.” Bodenheim took to the podium and nodded. “You win,” he said.

*9.* Wrigley Field was originally named Weeghman Park. Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

*10.* In 1927, Chicago bootlegger Al Capone made nearly $60 million selling illegal hooch.

*11.* Even before Capone’s activities, the city had a reputation for crime. In 1918, over 100 waiters were arrested for poisoning stingy tippers.

*12.* In the 1850s, the entire city was hydraulically raised several feet to fix a drainage problem.

*13.* Speaking of the underground, Enrico Fermi conducted the first sustained atomic fission reaction under the University of Chicago’s football field.

*14.* In 1930, the Twinkie was  invented in Chicago.

*15.* Rebuilding after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was swift and legendary—rubble and ash were pushed into the lake to make new neighborhoods.

*16.* Chicago banned pay toilets in 1973
.
*17.* The World’s Fair (or Columbian Exposition) in 1893 saw its share of impressive feats and small oddities: A U.S. map made of pickles, a suspension bridge made of soap, and the first Ferris Wheel were just a few.

*18.* It’s also where Pabst won its famous blue ribbon.

*19.* When Bavarian Anton Feuchtwanger couldn’t convince fairgoers to eat his sausages, he served them in a bun. The hot dog was born.

*20.* A massive city of 200 buildings was created from the ground up for the World's Fair. It was meant to be temporary, however, and only two of the original structures remain.

*21.* You don’t take the subway in Chicago, you take the ‘L’—this is the name for the city’s rapid-transit rail system and is an abbreviated form of “el,” for “elevated.”

*22.* Tall-building construction was invented in Chicago and the city is known as the “Home of the Skyscraper.” It currently has four of the country’s ten tallest buildings.

*23.* Be careful parking in the Windy City. Leaving her car at O'Hare International Airport for a few years, Jennifer Fitzgerald received 678 tickets and was whacked with a $105,000 fine.

*24.* In 1902, an elephant named Alice at the Lincoln Park Zoo fell ill. The zookeepers gave her whiskey as a pick-me up. Unfortunately, it turned her into an alcoholic.

*25.* Chicago has 26 miles of public beaches that offer a refreshing respite from the summer heat.



















​


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## Warrigal (Aug 2, 2015)

I live in a suburb of the City of Bankstown. Bankstown was named after Sir Joseph Banks who sailed with Cook on the Endeavour (1770). He was the naturalist who collected specimens of Australia's unique flora and fauna and who remained interested in the colony of NSW throughout the rest of his life.

Bankstown is located in the Sydney basin, SW of the Sydney CBD. It is a very multicultural city. Bankstown has two railway lines running through it, a busy airport for small aircraft, a university, many schools  and shopping centres, is well endowed with sporting facilities and parks and gardens. It has a lots of restaurants serving different cuisines and a goodly number of licenced clubs and pubs where you can avail yourself of affordable entertainment and gamble on poker machines, lotto and sporting events. 

For the boring description, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankstown

For photo galleries see here

Bankstown Sports Club - Click a thumbnail then hover to see an arrow to advance gallery - http://www.paynterdixon.com.au/page/bankstown_sports.html

Lunar New Year in Bankstown http://www.bankstown.nsw.gov.au/SlideShow.aspx?AID=23&AN=09-02-2013 Lunar New Year

Australia Bites food festival http://www.bankstown.nsw.gov.au/SlideShow.aspx?AID=29&AN=2013 Bankstown Bites Festival

My Place photo competition - scenes captured in and around the city of Bankstown. The River is The Georges River which runs down into Botany Bay, named by Sir Joseph Banks. http://www.bankstown.nsw.gov.au/SlideShow.aspx?AID=42&AN=My Place Photography Competition 2013


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## RadishRose (Aug 2, 2015)

http://www.ctvisit.com/


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## Bullie76 (Aug 2, 2015)

I live in a smallish town in east central Mississippi. See below website. It's considered a 'family' town, but young people are ready to leave for the lack of entertainment. Pretty normal I guess. I have also posted a MS site that covers the state as a whole. Everyone knows of our checkered past with racial problems, but for the most part MS has come a long way in that respect. MS is the still fattest state and leads the nation in poverty, so nothing to be proud of there. Doubt I will see that changing in my lifetime. MS is certainly not for everyone, but its not all bad. I enjoy living here.

http://www.meridianms.org/default/

http://www.visitmississippi.org/

I have a vacation condo on the Alabama coast. Below is a little info on the area. Actually its more than a vacation spot as I'm there 30-40% of the time. Of course when you are retired.......you're always on vacation. 

http://alabama.travel/places-to-go/orange-beach


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## Josiah (Aug 2, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> *1.* The name Chicago comes from the Algonquin word “Chicagou” or “Shikaakwa,” which translates to “onion field” or “wild garlic
> 
> *2.* Planning a road trip? Route 66 starts in Chicago.*3.* The Field Museum owns the world’s most complete _Tyrannosaurus Rex_ skeleton. Its name is Sue.
> 
> ...



26. Chicago use to be a great town for used book stores, now not so much.


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## jujube (Aug 2, 2015)

I live 7 or 8 months of the year in the Orlando, Florida area.  

In the summer, we have humidity that you have to swim through to get to your car. We have mosquitos that can carry off small children and palmetto bugs the size of Chihuahuas.  Just when you get your roof fixed, another hurricane or tornado comes along and rips it back off.  

On the other hand, we wear shorts and flip-flops in January and we don't have earthquakes.  Sort of balances out.  

The other 4 or 5 months, I move around the country enjoying the (mostly) good and (very little) bad of the other 49 states.


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## Capt Lightning (Aug 2, 2015)

The county I live in - Aberdeenshire on the N.E of Scotland.
Regarded as having the best quality of rural living in Scotland.
Population : 462,900  (City of Aberdeen  217,120,  3rd largest in Scotland)  and total area : 631,259 hectares (1 Hectare = 2.5 acres)

Average salary in Aberdeen is approx 1.5 times the national UK average and the Gross Domestic product of the city & shire is
over £12 billion ($20 billion).  Unemployment is less than 1%.   Gross added value per head is second only to inner London.

Over 40% of the barley used for the Scotch whisky industry is grown in Aberdeenshire.
It has the largest white & pelagic fishing port in the UK at Peterhead

It has the highest number of castles / hectare in the UK.
Craigievar Castle, near  Alford, is one of the models for  Walt Disney's fairytale castle.
Dunnottar Castle at Stonehaven was used as inspiration for Disney Pixar’s animated movie Brave, and
was  the  setting  for  Zeffirelli’s  Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. 
It also  features in the new bestselling  video game Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Slains castle at Cruden Bay was the inspiration for Dracula's castle in Bram Stoker's story.  This was
written while Stoker was holidaying at Cruden Bay.

Famous people from Aberdeenshire include the percussionist,  Dame Evelyn Glennie (from the village of Methlick)
and singer Annie Lennox.  

Captain  George Duff, born in Banff, was one of Admiral Lord Nelson’s most trusted commanders and a hero 
of the Battle of Trafalgar. A monument to him stands at St Pauls cathedral in London.

Actor and directorPeter Mullan, whose  films  include Trainspotting and Braveheart, was born in Peterhead.

There are lots more.  The worst thing is that tourists often think that Scotland only has a west coast and ignore the east.
Well, that's their misfortune.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

Capt, so many tourists go to Edinburgh and Inverness and think they've really seen Scotland.  They missed a lot.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

We have started spending winters in Thailand so I guess you could say that's our second home.  We stay in a quieter and less touristy area of Koh Samui close to a beach.  

http://www.kosamui.com/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/ko-samui


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## Josiah (Aug 2, 2015)

Hillsboro Ohio a county seat in rural area of SW Ohio, notable for the number of state highways that converge on the town form all directions causing a more or less constant traffic jam. Except for the business of county government, the downtown is devoid of consequential businesses, several second hand stores, a tattoo parlor, a martial arts academy, a lot of empty store fronts. All the real commerce takes place a couple of miles north of town in a commercial strip that includes Walmart, Lowes, Kroger, countless auto parts stores and most of the not upscale franchise restaurants you can name. All very convenient actually. Outside of town it's all soybeans and corn as far as the eye can see and this year is on tract to be a bumper crop. A lot of Amish live in the vicinity and it's not at all unusual to see several horse and carriages tied to  lamp posts in Walmart's parking lot. My wife and I moved here because it was centrally located for all our business trips. The cost of living is very reasonable.


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## Cookie (Aug 2, 2015)

I have lived and worked in the huge sprawling Toronto, Ontario, the largest city in Canada, on the shores of Lake Ontario, since 1986, transplanted from Ottawa and originally from Vancouver. This is a great place to live, everything is here.... gorgeous parks, recreational areas and lakefront beaches, shopping, the Skydome sports arena, the business and financial district, theatre and entertainment district, culture, arts and fashion district, Harbourfront lakeshore events area, the famous University of Toronto and a great subway system. In September we will be hosting the yearly Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).  

The city core is divided into small enclaves, little 'village like' neighborhoods, many of which are ethnic, which are like little towns unto themselves, while the suburban outskirts spread north, east and west.  I live in a small village like neighborhood that is quiet yet has all the amenities within easy reach.  North is Muskoka cottage country, and more south is rural and wine country in the Niagara Valley and of course, the Falls. 

http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=8e79f9be8db1c310VgnVCM1000006cd60f89RCRD


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## Lon (Aug 2, 2015)

Fresno ---I live in the 5th largest city in California with a 500,000 population situated in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. 60 minutes to Yosemite National Park,90 minutes to Monterey/Carmel /Pacific Ocean. It is a agricultural based community. The Valley produces a huge variety of fruits, nuts, grapes, veggies, dairy. The area also enjoys a much lower cost of living than Southern California or the San Francisco Bay Area and in the past few years has had a big influx of people seeking more affordable housing and cost of living. The Valley is noted for it's hot summers (currently 102F at 12 noon).


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## Linda (Aug 2, 2015)

I live in the California mts.  We have been here about 21 years.  It's a pretty central location to the beach, desert, Las Vegas, San Francisco, LA and an hour to what some say is the largest living thing on the planet (I'm not so sure that is true though) General Sherman.  And I think General Grant is suppose to be the tallest tree.  I know, I should look it up but I'm not going to right now.  My favorite thing here is looking at the stars at night.  We are always watching for falling stars and other interesting things in the sky.  If I posted a photo of my front yard no one would believe its where I say it is.  The drought has hit us hard.  Even some of the trees in the beautiful National Forest are dying.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

Quite a diversity here!


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## AZ Jim (Aug 2, 2015)

I live in one of the nicest cities in Arizona.  We have anything you want or need here.  Community Parks, Great libraries, hospitals....I love it.

Check it out:    http://surpriseaz.gov/index.aspx?NID=1900


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## QuickSilver (Aug 2, 2015)

IMO Chicago is the most beautiful city in the world..  I certainly will never leave her...   But that's because she is home..


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

QS, I've only been to Chicago once and it was bitter cold.  But I could see what a great place it would be in nice weather!


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## Linda (Aug 2, 2015)

The only time I was in Chicago was at the airport and I got to see the beautiful city at night from the sky as we took off.  My daughter used to go there to visit her friend and my husband and one of our sons has worked there and they both tell me it's beautiful with a lot of good restaurants.


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## QuickSilver (Aug 2, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> QS, I've only been to Chicago once and it was bitter cold.  But I could see what a great place it would be in nice weather!



lol!!  sometimes we have all four seasons in one day..  hahahahahaha....

Oh Chicago has a ton of warts....  but those of us born and raised here forgive those imperfections and focus on the positive aspects.. It's a great city


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## Laurie (Aug 2, 2015)

"This is the longest I've lived in one place - 15 years."

Me too at 19 years.  We'd moved eight times before I was 11 years old, and my wife had to pack up  and organize everything 17 times in our married life (I'd usually gone on ahead)!


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

Laurie said:


> "This is the longest I've lived in one place - 15 years."
> 
> Me too at 19 years.  We'd moved eight times before I was 11 years old, and my wife had to pack up  and organize everything 17 times in our married life (I'd usually gone on ahead)!



As a navy brat we lived in 8 homes by the time I was 13.  As an adult I have lived in 17 places. 

During these past 15 years I did live in Uganda for 2 years, but my permanent home stayed the same.


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## Lon (Aug 2, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> lol!!  sometimes we have all four seasons in one day..  hahahahahaha....
> 
> Oh Chicago has a ton of warts....  but those of us born and raised here forgive those imperfections and focus on the positive aspects.. It's a great city



I spent 18 months in Rantoul in the early 50's & made a number of trips up to Chi and spent the day seeing movies. My father lived in Chicago as a young man and worked as a bell boy in a hotel that Al Capone lived in.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

Jim, nice photos!  Are you planning on this being your last home?


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## QuickSilver (Aug 2, 2015)

Lon said:


> I spent 18 months in Rantoul in the early 50's & made a number of trips up to Chi and spent the day seeing movies. My father lived in Chicago as a young man and worked as a bell boy in a hotel that Al Capone lived in.



How interesting... My grandfather was a bellboy in the 20's in the Palmer House..    I believe that capone lived in the Lexington.

As an interesting side note..  I have been to Al Capone's grave at Mt.Carmel cemetary many times...as we have relatives there.   People still leave him a shot of whiskey and a cigar at the base of his grave..


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## AZ Jim (Aug 2, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> Jim, nice photos!  Are you planning on this being your last home?



If I can help it, yes.  I've moved around plenty.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 2, 2015)

Home sweet home in Scotland



Home sweet home in Thailand


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## Debby (Aug 2, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> IMO Chicago is the most beautiful city in the world..  I certainly will never leave her...   But that's because she is home..





What a pretty photo!  Did you take that one?


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## QuickSilver (Aug 2, 2015)

Debby said:


> What a pretty photo!  Did you take that one?



No... but it is a famous one.


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## AZ Jim (Aug 2, 2015)

Debby said:


> What a pretty photo!  Did you take that one?



This reminds me of my native San Diego.


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## Grumpy Ol' Man (Aug 2, 2015)

Central Kansas, about 125 miles west of Kansas City.  Dynamic community with a major State University and a large military installation.  Wife was born and raised here.  I was born and raised about 40 miles south.  I came here in '64 to college.  Met her and we were married in '66.  Left for about 10 years, less than an hour away.  Back for a few years and, then, to the KC area for 10 years.  Back "home" in '99.  We'll be here the rest of our days, already have our burial plots purchased in a local cemetery.
The Flint Hills are pretty.  We have all 4 seasons, most years.  Just no other place would seem like home.

One daughter and her family live in our community, about 1 mile from us.  The other daughter and hers are about 1 hour away.  The son is military, so how close he is depends on where he's stationed.  Currently, it's only a 9 hour drive and we've made that trip a few times.

I'll try to get the moderators to ban the first person who makes a crack about Dorothy and the Yellow Brick Road!!!!


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## AZ Jim (Aug 2, 2015)

[h=1]Lon, make you feel cooler?

Surprise, AZ 		 		 		 		[/h] 	 	 		 		 		Kingswood Parke 		 	 	 		| 		Report 	 	| 	Change Station 	 		[h=4]Report Station[/h] 		 		 		 		You are about to report this weather station for bad data. Please select the information that is incorrect.
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       	 		 		 		[h=2]Elev 		1227 		ft 		 		 		33.64 		°N, 		 		 		112.37 		°W 		 		| 		Updated 		49 sec ago[/h] 		




 		Clear

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Gusts 	 		5.8 		mph 	  		



Tomorrow is forecast to be nearly the same temperature as today.

 		 	 	 		Today 		High *110* | Low *83* °F
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  Yesterday 		High *90.5* | Low *90.5* °F
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Sun & Moon 
 		 		5:42 AM 		7:28 PM 		
*Waning Gibbous,* *91*% visible 		


More Conditions


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## Kadee (Aug 2, 2015)

I live in an area known as the copper coast on Yorke Peninsula ..also known as the copper triangle.. Copper was mined in our area from the the early 1861 ,s and ceased in 1923.   The area was mined by men and male children as young as 9 years old who immigrated from Cornwall to work in the Mines for 2 Shillings a day ( 1 shilling for children who worked all day and was not paid unless they attended school after work at night ) , there was no fresh water in the area therefore they had to pump water from the sea to a operate the mines/  processing plants ....The Cornish who worked the mines have not been forgotten,we have the large museum I have mentioned , I volunteer at , miners cottages all furnished churches etc all owned and run by the national trust...who are working to have the whole area included on the world heritage list .( Many of the remains of the old pump houses, and mines buildings are still standing) The area consists of three towns which are all about 16 - 20 km apart.. the whole areas  population I believe to be approx 14.000 people ......
.This part of the beach is about a 20 min walk from home .....Next photo is 4 mins walk . That's my youngest grandaughter


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## Capt Lightning (Aug 3, 2015)

Ameriscot, you're right that often tourists visit one place and think they've seen the country.  Plenty of Brits visit Disneyland and think they've seen America!  Linda, like you I've only seen Chicago _en route_ to Minneapolis, but it's the favourite American city that my daughter has visited.

And this is the little village where I live..


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## Warrigal (Aug 3, 2015)

Very interesting topic.

This is my favourite photo of Sydney Harbour - taken from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Always best in bright sunlight.


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## Ralphy1 (Aug 3, 2015)

I live under a rock,  but you probably figured that out...


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## hollydolly (Aug 3, 2015)

Me too...I'm under the next rock along on the East side..  I prefer the sunny side..


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## Ameriscot (Aug 3, 2015)

DW, I love Sydney.  Favourite city after London.  DH's cousins live there so we've been there twice.


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## Linda (Aug 3, 2015)

Capt Lightning said:


> Ameriscot, you're right that often tourists visit one place and think they've seen the country.  Plenty of Brits visit Disneyland and think they've seen America!  Linda, like you I've only seen Chicago _en route_ to Minneapolis, but it's the favourite American city that my daughter has visited.
> 
> And this is the little village where I live..
> View attachment 20052



What a beautiful little village.  It reminds me of a photo one of my daughter's friends sent her from Scotland of a little town with my last name.  I've really enjoyed seeing ALL the photos people have put on this thread.


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## drifter (Aug 4, 2015)

I live on a street of small, older houses in the center of my town which is located in what was once Indian Territory. It was the destination that ended the Trail of Tears, when our government forced Indians to walk and carry their meager belonging, from the Southeastern states. It was begat at the time of the Land Run, in I believe 1879. I moved here four years ago after living In a town called Lubbock, named after a Confederate Colonel in far west Texas. There I lived in a 2800 sq./Ft brick trimmed house for forty-four years, surrounded by Japanese Black Pine, a large well kept yard, with a large S-shaped hill running, diagonally across one side of the front yard. Parents who had played in that yard, run up and down that hill, and climbed those trees with my kids, brought their own children back to see where they had grown up and to run up and down the hill and climb those same trees. That's all gone. I left it to come here to go with the flow. I've been In Norman Oklahoma four years now. I know my neighbors on one side of me now and last month I learned my other neighbor's name when the postman delivered their letter to my house, a young couple who have bought a new suburban, a new pickup, and a new harley Davidson. Since then we have spoken over the fence once when he was mowing his yard. My son and daughter inn law live a couple of miles from me in a large home but they are very busy. He calls once in a while to see if we need anything. This is my last town, the last car I will own, where I hope to die  in my sleep. But in the meantime, I'm online looking at all the fun others are having. Cheers.


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## oakapple (Aug 4, 2015)

I live just a few miles from Oxford (England) famed for it's university , not a single building  but a great many Colleges all around the small city, most of them very old indeed, from the 12 th century onwards.Christ Church College  was where Lewis Carroll was a maths Don, and from where he wrote the Alice In Wonderland/ through The looking Glass books.The great dining hall there was used in the Harry Potter films, for the hall in Harry's school.Also famed for the  Bodleian Library  and the Ashmolean museum. the Inspector Morse TV programmes also filmed there.My village is bustling and with a mix of thatched cottages, Cotswold Stone houses along with more modern ones.Two shops, small ones, a village hall, an old church and two pubs.A good regular bus service to Oxford and to Witney ( Witney and Oxford both about 20 mins away.) Witney is a nice old market town famous ( no longer though) for Witney blankets. the duvet put an end to that!It's quite rural here, but near enough the towns not to feel too rural, though there are fields in all directions and quite a few small( by U.S. Standards) farms.
it feels very safe here, we know all the neighbours and everyone is friendly in a kind of not-in-your-face English way.Our children/grandchildren all live nearby.


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## ndynt (Aug 4, 2015)

Enjoyed all your beautiful areas...and their interesting histories. Since the late 70's I have lived in avery  insignificant area.  A unincorporated census-designated place/area (CDP) in Clay County located  in NE Fl,  26 miles  southwest of downtown Jacksonville. The population  of 13,008 is spread over 19.6 sq. mi. 
It was just a rural farm area  until the the early 1800's when Fort Heilman was built... and  ferry  started transporting lumber, citrus and farm products to Jacksonville. 
After a deep freeze in the late 1800's the ferry stopped running.  About this time the area was named Middleburg.  
Many  of my elderly patients would share stories about life in rural  Middleburg...especially about moonshiners, revenuers, stills, bribes  ect. Some of the patients still lived in log houses that had holes for  rifles in them.  One of the most interesting  I heard was from a 100  year old man, about his childhood.  He told me once a year after the  crops were harvested, before school, fall slaughtering started,  a wagon  train would start in Middleburg... picking up wagons as they progressed  to the ocean.  They then spent two weeks at the beach.  I innocently  told him that it was wonderful that they had that vacation time.  He  then told me, actually it was to boil sea water down...to obtain  salt...to cure the pork they would slaughter and provide salt to the  families for that year.   I so loved listening to my country patients  reminisce about their rural lives. 
When I first moved here there  were mostly dirt roads, one store, a post office and a Kentucky Fried  Chicken. Though I still live on a dirt road...many roads have now been  paved.  In the last three years we have acquired a Walmart, Home Depot,  Lowes and a recent addition... Aldi's.  Along with a hospital being  built in the last year.  And of course, pulp wood forests being cut  down...and being replaced with sub-divisions.  Think I liked it better  when Middleburg was referred to as the World's mobile home capitol where  everyone's dna was the same.  
The only notable residents from this rural area were:

Gary Barnidge, NFL tight end   	
Roy Geiger, USMC WWII general 
Ashley Greene, actress in the Twilight series 
Richard Owens, NFL tight end 
Donnie Van Zant,  musician for 38 SPecial, Van Zant 
 Slim Whitman, country singer and song write...lived up the road from me
Randall Hall, guitarist for World Classic Rockers and Lynyrd Skynyrd


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## NancyNGA (Aug 4, 2015)

ndynt said:


> ....Slim Whitman, country singer and song write...lived up the road from me



Did you ever talk to Slim Whitman?  From reading a short biography he seemed like a very nice person.

I also read he arranged for his house to be bulldozed down after his death.  True?


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 4, 2015)

http://www.history.com/topics/us-states/colorado


Colorado, which joined the union as the 38th state in 1876, is America’s eighth largest state in terms of land mass. Located in the Rocky Mountain region of the western United States, the state’s abundant and varied natural resources attracted the ancient Pueblo peoples and, later, the Plains Indians.

 First explored by Europeans in the late 1500s (the Spanish referred to the region as “Colorado” for its red-colored earth), the area was ceded to the United States in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War (1846-48). In 1858, the discovery of gold in Colorado attracted new settlers.

 During the Plains Indian Wars (1860s-80s), Colorado’s wild frontier was the scene of intense fighting between Native Americans and white settlers. In the 21st century, Colorado continues to rely on its natural resources as well as agriculture and tourism to sustain its economy.



*Date of Statehood:* August 1, 1876
*Did You Know?*

_In 1972, Colorado rejected the International Olympic Committee's invitation to serve as host for the 1976 Winter Olympic Games because its voters opposed the use of state tax revenue to finance the games. It is the only state ever to reject an Olympic invitation to host the event._
*Capital:* Denver
*Population:* 5,029,196 (2010)
*Size:* 104,094 square miles

*Nickname(s):* Centennial State; Colorful Colorado
*Motto:* Nil sine Numine (“Nothing without the Deity”)
*Tree:* Colorado Blue Spruce

*Flower:* White and Lavender Columbine

*Bird:* Lark Bunting


*INTERESTING FACTS*



Mesa Verde National Park contains more than 4,000 archaeological sites—including around 600 cliff dwellings—from the Ancestral Puebloans who inhabited the area from about AD 550 to 1300. By the late 13th century, they began to migrate south to New Mexico and Arizona, where their descendants continue to live today.


Discovered by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike in 1806 during an expedition to determine the southwestern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, Pikes Peak became a landmark to the thousands of fortune hunters who traveled west with the slogan “Pikes Peak or Bust” on their wagons after gold was found in the area in 1858.


On November 29, 1864, more than 150 peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians—believing themselves to be under the protection of the U.S. government—were slaughtered by close to 700 Colorado volunteer soldiers under the command of Colonel John Chivington. The atrocity devastated the tribes and served as a catalyst for years of subsequent warfare between Native American Indians and the U.S. Army.


The lyrics to “America the Beautiful” were written by Katharine Lee Bates after an awe-inspiring trip to the top of Pikes Peak in 1893. Although it is now commonly sung to the tune “Materna,” composed by Samuel Ward in 1882, the patriotic poem was often sung to “Auld Lang Syne” in the early 20th century.


The Colorado Rockies are part of the North American Cordillera, which sweeps the western part of the continent all the way from Alaska into northern Mexico. With 58 named peaks over 14,000 feet and an average altitude of 6,800 feet, Colorado has the highest elevation of all the states.


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## ndynt (Aug 4, 2015)

Yes I had, Nancy....he was a very humble and quiet man.  Dressed in old work clothes around town.  On his property was a large house and the house he lived in before he became famous. No one lived in the small house.  Perhaps just a reminder?  Within a few days of his death both were bull dozed.  I was told that he did not want them to be bought and put on display.  He wanted to be remember only for his music.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 5, 2015)

Very interesting learning about where you all live!    I've been to Oxford, lived in Jacksonville, haven't been to Aberdeenshire yet or Colorado.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 6, 2015)

Wanted to share this about my adopted country:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hilarywardle/scotland-is-the-worst-aplm#.jsmXvJRR5


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## fishfulthinking (Aug 7, 2015)

if you follow the mighty Rockies near Sea Breeze straight north you will come to very similar terrain in Alberta, Canada.  The city is vibrant, multi cultural and friendly.  We embrace a small town attitude but are home to many a corporate head office.  In our very short summer I believe we have the most festivals per capita in Canada.  From local street fests to full weekend in the park folk fests and week long Fringe Fest.  Our summers are short (this year has been a doozy, we have had it all heat waves, crushing hail, torrential heat waves and then back to our normal warm temps of between 20-20 Celsius).  But we usually have loads of sunshine.  We have 2 rivers that intersect our fair city and along them are kilometers upon kilometers of beautiful paved pathways for walking and biking.  Winters are long and fluctuate, we have winds that warm us up throughout the season, and winds that take us to bone chilling cold temperatures.  I have lived and worked here all my life.  I love this city and all it has to offer.  Welcome to my home town, Calgary.


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