Reviews & Comments
Bismarck, ND
Bismarck is a comfortable small city -
6/4/2008Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota. US Census estimates the 2007 Bismarck MSA population at 103,242 (up from 94,839 in 2000), making it the second largest in the state. The core of the metro, where you'll find the majority of the population, is made of the cities of Bismarck, Mandan, and Lincoln, among other smaller communities. A quickly growing city, you'll be surprised to find names common in larger cities, such as Kohl’s, Best Buy, Target, 2 Wal Marts Supercenters, Sam’s Club, Lowe’s, Old Navy, Starbucks, Olive Garden, Hooters and numerous others. I grew up in the Los Angeles area. My family moved to Bismarck in the mid 90's. I moved to Minneapolis a few years later, but found myself moving back because of the great quality of life enjoyed there. There are few night spots, so at times a trip to the "twin cities" is needed. Otherwise this is a great community. Local retail growth has been record breaking for the state of North Dakota, with over 2 million square feet of retail being built during 2005 & 2006. You'll also be surprised to find Bismarck isn't flat! It has beautiful rolling hills and valleys formed by the Missouri River, which separates the cities. The river also creates plentiful recreation from late spring through early fall. Shopping isn't Rodeo Drive by any means, but with the usual retail you would expect to find in most American cities this size (Sears, JC Penny’s, Herbergers, TJ Maxx, American Eagle, Aeropostale, Wet Seal, Coldwater Creek, Hot Topic, etc) you'll find what you need. A warning, Bismarck is an extreme city when it comes to weather. During the winter it's cold and harsh. Seasonal snow amounts can easily top 100 inches, with wind chills around the -30 mark. However during the summer it's a complete 180, with temperatures steadily in the upper 80's and 90's with a week or two in the 100's. Not to mention the humidity, causing some pretty spectacular storms producing hail, tornadoes and winds topping 80 mph. But these two extreme seasons leave you with some beautiful, colorful springs and falls.
Los Angeles, CA
I love this town! -
6/3/2008LA isn't the little city of only a few million surrounded by orange groves and olive trees it was in the 1950's. It hasn't been for years. So I don't know why people still expect that. Los Angeles is a world class city with a regional population of over 17,750,000 (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties). Numerous ethnicity's call it home, you can travel the world and never leave the city. Los Angeles has a high Latino population. So what? Chicago and Atlanta have a high African American population. New York has a high Italian and Jewish American population. Like previously mentioned the US was built by immigrants. Many, many, many people come to this country illegally, pegging it solely on the Latino population is absolutely ludicrous. I am white as white gets, and I will never understand what some peoples issues with immigrants are. It seems the white population of this country has to have someone to dehumanize, whether it be African Americans, Italians, Armenians, Irish, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc etc etc. If you don't like the rich variety of people we have in Los Angeles PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave so those of us that do can enjoy them without hearing your snide, immature, culture-lacking comments. Traffic is bad at times, but in the past two years I have been stuck in truly horrible traffic only twice while going from Orange County to West Hollywood on a Saturday evening. It's really not that bad. It's what you would expect of such an immense metropolis. The shopping is incredible, the variety of restaurants amazing, and the access to beaches, desert, mountain resorts (to name a few) can't be beat. There are definitely days with poor air quality, but decade after decade the air quality continues to improve despite the constantly growing population. Crime in the city proper is at the same level as it was in the 1950's, it has definitely come down. It is a great place to visit/live. Not for everybody of course, but what city is?