Beautiful areas to live in (cities, regions, etc.)

[cbcb]

Inspired by the beautiful houses thread:
http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f81/beautiful-houses-36502.html

.. and that I just got back to L.A. from England, where the countryside is so gorgeous and settled. (I still prefer L.A. though.)

What cities or areas do you love that have grown up in a beautiful way, that are well-designed and seem to have caring, design-conscious inhabitants - areas that aren't adjacent to overcrowding, squalor or negativity? (Not many places may qualify any more, but which do, in your view?)

 

[tigerrouge]

For me, the most beautiful areas are where the people have created a caring community, irrespective of what type of houses they live in or what the scenery looks like.

I think you can have an aesthetically attractive living environment, but have very narrow-minded inhabitants, and design can only compensate so much for the ugliness of human nature. Conversely, you can live in a housing estate and have great neighbours who really make a difference in each other's lives.

And sometimes the most beautiful places come about by accident rather than deliberate architectural design, and can act like unexpected oases in the middle of otherwise humdrum or ugly areas - created by the human spirit rather than by concrete or steel. One person taking particular care with their tiny garden, or a well-preserved old part of a small town that's seen better days.

You can have a posh suburb, but no soul. You can have a castle, but no class.

 

[cbcb]

I agree... some of the colonial towns of Mexico illustrate that... (San Miguel de Allende etc.) modest homes but beautiful colors chosen and flowers and a sense of life. I'd say there are also places tucked into the wilds of Vietnam that seem like they might have an analogous quality but have never been there, only know them from travelogues.

 

[*Jibrielle*]

San Juan, where I live It's divided in two: The classical part (Old San Juan)

And the more modern part which has a lot of areas I live in Hato Rey, the most urban part of San Juan where my home is.

what about I find so beautiful about it is the fact that it has a mixture of old buildings that the spaniards built and the more modern buildings
Pictures from:
billchott.wordpress.com
memorialweekpr.com
travelblog.org
skyscrapercity.com

 

[cbcb]

Jibrielle... love! I'm from South Florida so yeah, all the Spanish and modern together is gorgeous!!! Must visit.

 

[cbcb]

Here are some pics of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico:

Colonia San Antonio from vrbo.com

virtualtourist.com

Wikipedia.com (entry on San Miguel de Allende)

livingboondockingmexico.blogspot.com

 

[gius]

cbcb did you take photos of the countryside when you were there? i'd love to see !

 

[Katie123]

i absolutely love where i live in rio.
it's in the bottom of this mountain

and you get this view from certain parts of the mountain (not mine because someone decided to block my view with massive buildings )

 

[cbcb]

cbcb did you take photos of the countryside when you were there? i'd love to see !

No. But it's really a heck of a lot like the "shire" in Lord of the Rings, for real.


(Wow, the Rio pics... sigh.)

 

[BerlinRocks]

Katie123 you live in an AMAZING area !

 

[Katie123]

thank you, i'm in rainy london 70% of the time though

i only truly appreciate it when someone comes to visit and i get to show them around the sights and i'm like 'wow this city is amazing'

 

[heavenonearth24]

I live in Lisbon, Portugal.
I think It's a very good place to live. It has a lot of history and it's very classic but you can also see some modern spots.

euroresidentes.com

viajenaviagem.wordpress.com

mjfs.wordpress.com

istoeespectaculo.blogspot.com

 

[gius]

i posted these in Beautiful Houses

studentsoftheworld.info

it's a very beautiful place.. Andorra, between Spain and France. the second picture is a village, Llorts. very quiet and winding roads, towering walls all around. it's like a place where time stops.

 

[mmBop]

my #1 ideal place to live is Monaco

kara.allthingsd.com

 

[Katie123]

monaco is beautiful but i've been and thought everything was a bit too cluttered and the city is SO SMALL i went for half a day while staying in nice and thought that was more than enough. i would love to live around the area but not sure about monaco itself, it's so expensive!

 

[Geostud]

^^^I went to Andorra a couple years ago. It truly was magical!

Here are my own pics of Chicago:

 

[ediewho]

^^awww if doesn't win Madrid i hope Chicago gets the Olympic Games. I also got friends there... and its kind of ...awww watch these...
(by the way... do you have any pic from the NorthEast coast?)

 

[ediewho]

Valencia

quite of interesting guide I found od the tourism place ...i gotta find my own pictures from the city but this is a nice sample from a city with a sunny climate the whole year

http://www.turisvalencia-guias.info/city_breaks_en/home.htm

 

[*Jibrielle*]

^Valencia is so beautiful!! I might go there in march, I can't wait

 

[StellaMare]

I think inner Paris overall is ridiculously beautiful. The Left Bank anyway, no place gives me more joy than the 5th and the 6th arrd. early in the morning.