I don’t get to read much about your country!

[Crocodile]

I’ll start off by saying the obvious that TW is a US west coast based business and website. I’m writing from Australia and I never been to the US but I find the country intriguing with its 50 states and very rarely have I read anything about sharing where you people are participating from in this forum. Are most of you in California and the west coast or is there anyone from Colorado. I do know someone who coaches in Colorado and it looks like a sensational place, you would probably need some indoor courts during winter to keep playing tennis.
I would be interested in reading about what it’s like living in your state.
Here in Australia we only have 7 states and territories with most of us living on the East coast. Both Sydney and Melbourne have over 5 million people which is almost double of Brisbane. It’s quicker for a Sydneysider to travel to New Zealand than it is to travel to Perth. Lot of people say that Perth is the most isolated city in world and the home of sister shop, Tennis Only.
Adelaide has around 1.4 million people and Canberra which is our capital is a man made city. The whole of Tasmania is less than 1/2 million and quite different in climate to the rest of Australia. Each city on the east coast is at least a 9 hour drive from each other and at least 850km away from each other. So it’s quite different. We do have major and minor regional towns but there is a lot of empty space inland whereas you guys have more states snd I would imagine each place would have its unique features.
Anyway I hope this post finds you well and hope to hear from you. I wonder how many of you in the US on this forum have met in person or on court? Later on I would be interested in talking to people from other parts of the world as well.

 

[Crocodile]

I was impressed with the scenery of this trip.

 

[Sudacafan]

Australia is a cool country. I like it.

 

[Mainad]

Australia is a cool country. I like it.

Sometimes it get quite hot (or so I'm led to believe).

 

[Mainad]

 

[Sudacafan]

Australian National Anthem.

 

[sureshs]

@stringertom uses Down Under in a mischievous way

 

[Sudacafan]

Sometimes it get quite hot (or so I'm led to believe).

Dry hot not much of a problem.

 

[Crocodile]

Come on you Americans, share a bit about your place.

 

[Bagumbawalla]

While having breakfast along the California coast (Morro Bay)I met a man from Germany
who was wondering what to do or see here.

I suggested Hearst Castle (not far from there), he said, "Oh no, we have too many castles
In Germany, already."

I mentioned the wine area in the Napa-Sonoma area, he was not interested in wine- "We have too
much wine, back home. I want something different."

He did not seem interested in Yosemite, Los Angeles, San Francisco, ski resorts in Tahoe,
Palm Springs, Disneyland, beaches, the giant Sequoias-- nothing, until I mentioned Death Valley,
and he decided he was going there next.

Anyway, unless you are like this guy who has been everywhere and seen everything in the world,
California has a lot to see and do, all within one state.

 

[stringertom]

@stringertom uses Down Under in a mischievous way

Ewe have knot scene down under two ewer feat inn decayeds.

 

[Larry Duff]

I live in Colorado, just outside Denver and arrived in 2019. The air is pretty good especially coming here from Carolina where the humidity could be tough. It also get a lot of sun and Denver markets itself as the city getting the most days of sun in the States.. Lots of snow in winter which lies then typically melts fast then repeat. Snowiest months are February and March. Summers get hot as it is the west, lots of days in the 90s. The Rockies are pretty spectacular if mountain scenery is your thing. Lots of people here hike and cycle.
I keep getting injured so with covid being during my time here I have not played much tennis. There are a lot of indoor courts.
A lot of tech jobs and many relocate here from California especially, so the cost of living is high as people selling in Cal have raised prices. Other parts of the state away from the mountains are affordable but the mountain ski resort towns are also expensive.
It is probably worth a visit for the mountains and many even come for the music outdoor amphitheater at Red Rocks which has attracts all the big names. It is pretty close to where we live.

 

[Crocodile]

I live in Colorado, just outside Denver and arrived in 2019. The air is pretty good especially coming here from Carolina where the humidity could be tough. It also get a lot of sun and Denver markets itself as the city getting the most days of sun in the States.. Lots of snow in winter which lies then typically melts fast then repeat. Snowiest months are February and March. Summers get hot as it is the west, lots of days in the 90s. The Rockies are pretty spectacular if mountain scenery is your thing. Lots of people here hike and cycle.
I keep getting injured so with covid being during my time here I have not played much tennis. There are a lot of indoor courts.
A lot of tech jobs and many relocate here from California especially, so the cost of living is high as people selling in Cal have raised prices. Other parts of the state away from the mountains are affordable but the mountain ski resort towns are also expensive.
It is probably worth a visit for the mountains and many even come for the music outdoor amphitheater at Red Rocks which has attracts all the big names. It is pretty close to where we live.

Thx for sharing this, very interesting and informative. Love to hear more of this stuff.

 

[Crocodile]

While having breakfast along the California coast (Morro Bay)I met a man from Germany
who was wondering what to do or see here.

I suggested Hearst Castle (not far from there), he said, "Oh no, we have too many castles
In Germany, already."

I mentioned the wine area in the Napa-Sonoma area, he was not interested in wine- "We have too
much wine, back home. I want something different."

He did not seem interested in Yosemite, Los Angeles, San Francisco, ski resorts in Tahoe,
Palm Springs, Disneyland, beaches, the giant Sequoias-- nothing, until I mentioned Death Valley,
and he decided he was going there next.

Anyway, unless you are like this guy who has been everywhere and seen everything in the world,
California has a lot to see and do, all within one state.

Thx for sharing, much appreciated.

 

[vokazu]

One of my uni classmates used to live in the JTNP area. It's quite a remote area and he loved the outback space and the scenery but he told me in summer the heat was very unbearable (the air conditioner could barely keep him cool) and it can be bitterly cold in winter. He loved the wilderness, camping and rock climbing. He told me many big Hollywood stars like to visit JTNP. One of his neighbours was not a nice guy and always carried a gun around the place.

 

[stringertom]

While having breakfast along the California coast (Morro Bay)I met a man from Germany
who was wondering what to do or see here.

I suggested Hearst Castle (not far from there), he said, "Oh no, we have too many castles
In Germany, already."

I mentioned the wine area in the Napa-Sonoma area, he was not interested in wine- "We have too
much wine, back home. I want something different."

He did not seem interested in Yosemite, Los Angeles, San Francisco, ski resorts in Tahoe,
Palm Springs, Disneyland, beaches, the giant Sequoias-- nothing, until I mentioned Death Valley,
and he decided he was going there next.

Anyway, unless you are like this guy who has been everywhere and seen everything in the world,
California has a lot to see and do, all within one state.

Was he a very “handsy” type of fellow?

 

[Kevin T]

I’ll start off by saying the obvious that TW is a US west coast based business and website. I’m writing from Australia and I never been to the US but I find the country intriguing with its 50 states and very rarely have I read anything about sharing where you people are participating from in this forum. Are most of you in California and the west coast or is there anyone from Colorado. I do know someone who coaches in Colorado and it looks like a sensational place, you would probably need some indoor courts during winter to keep playing tennis.
I would be interested in reading about what it’s like living in your state.
Here in Australia we only have 7 states and territories with most of us living on the East coast. Both Sydney and Melbourne have over 5 million people which is almost double of Brisbane. It’s quicker for a Sydneysider to travel to New Zealand than it is to travel to Perth. Lot of people say that Perth is the most isolated city in world and the home of sister shop, Tennis Only.
Adelaide has around 1.4 million people and Canberra which is our capital is a man made city. The whole of Tasmania is less than 1/2 million and quite different in climate to the rest of Australia. Each city on the east coast is at least a 9 hour drive from each other and at least 850km away from each other. So it’s quite different. We do have major and minor regional towns but there is a lot of empty space inland whereas you guys have more states snd I would imagine each place would have its unique features.
Anyway I hope this post finds you well and hope to hear from you. I wonder how many of you in the US on this forum have met in person or on court? Later on I would be interested in talking to people from other parts of the world as well.

Great post. I probably have an equal fascination with Australia. A combo Australian/NZ trip is on my and the wife's bucket list in the next couple of years. Before going back to graduate school, I actually worked as an archaeological field tech and travelled the country. Primarily worked in Montana/Wyoming/Dakotas but also spend long stints in West VA/Ohio/North and South Carolina. Between work and pleasure, I've been to all 50 states and am amazed at the overall diversity (people/geography/culture).

I joined TalkTennis close to the beginning-late '1998 I believe and in my mid 20's. I was just starting graduate school at the University of Kentucky. My dad was a career military man and I was born in Germany, then lived in multiple states until he retired and we moved back to my parents' home state of Virginia. I grew up in a small, rural area in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The nearest town has ~8000 people and I was 20 minutes outside of town. Four seasons with warm/not too hot summers, idyllic fall and spring seasons, cold winters with some snow but nothing brutal. No traffic, clean air, friendly people and everyone knows one another. Pretty much a John Denver video. Not a great tennis area but there were a few families/kids at school that were really into it and I joined in. I lived in Cincinnati my entire time in grad school, as I was doing a lot of work at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. A great, underrated city that I miss very much sometimes. A great tennis town with cool neighborhoods, unique restaurants and nice people. Winters were gray and I had no mountains to play in, so the Middle West just wasn't for me.

Moved back to Virginia for my PhD at University of Virginia. Charlottesville is probably my favorite place on Earth. Great university, great college town, lovely scenery/environment. Interned in Charleston, SC and spent about 4 years there. Charming city, a bit too hot/humid in the summer for my tastes but you can't beat wearing shorts and playing tennis in the dead of winter. Lovely people, wonderful food, the warm Atlantic Ocean. The sights and smells of the Carolina Low Country are hard to beat.

Moved to San Diego in 2005. After C-ville, probably my ideal place to live. We still have a little bungalow there in Ocean Beach and hope to retire there. The climate is about as good as it gets. Great beaches. So much to do. Great beer city. Very much a transient city as I think I've met more people there from other states/cities than from California.

Now in Northern California, just outside of the Bay Area. To be honest, I personally hate it. That's probably a little too strong...I'll go with I don't fancy it. It's nice being close to Tahoe and Napa but summers are brutally hot and the air quality is horrendous for much of the year. Traffic is a nightmare. Housing prices are obscene and I'm so glad we got in at a good time. I have a love/hate relationship with San Francisco. But my wife's family is close, which is important for her and our 4 children. We have great jobs that would be hard to match outside this area. The kids are in great schools. Tennis and squash communities are great. I try to get up the coast into Mendocino County/Fort Bragg/Avenue of the Giants when I can. Just the compromises we make in life.

 

[mikeler]

Great post. I probably have an equal fascination with Australia. A combo Australian/NZ trip is on my and the wife's bucket list in the next couple of years. Before going back to graduate school, I actually worked as an archaeological field tech and travelled the country. Primarily worked in Montana/Wyoming/Dakotas but also spend long stints in West VA/Ohio/North and South Carolina. Between work and pleasure, I've been to all 50 states and am amazed at the overall diversity (people/geography/culture).

I joined TalkTennis close to the beginning-late '1998 I believe and in my mid 20's. I was just starting graduate school at the University of Kentucky. My dad was a career military man and I was born in Germany, then lived in multiple states until he retired and we moved back to my parents' home state of Virginia. I grew up in a small, rural area in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The nearest town has ~8000 people and I was 20 minutes outside of town. Four seasons with warm/not too hot summers, idyllic fall and spring seasons, cold winters with some snow but nothing brutal. No traffic, clean air, friendly people and everyone knows one another. Pretty much a John Denver video. Not a great tennis area but there were a few families/kids at school that were really into it and I joined in. I lived in Cincinnati my entire time in grad school, as I was doing a lot of work at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. A great, underrated city that I miss very much sometimes. A great tennis town with cool neighborhoods, unique restaurants and nice people. Winters were gray and I had no mountains to play in, so the Middle West just wasn't for me.

Moved back to Virginia for my PhD at University of Virginia. Charlottesville is probably my favorite place on Earth. Great university, great college town, lovely scenery/environment. Interned in Charleston, SC and spent about 4 years there. Charming city, a bit too hot/humid in the summer for my tastes but you can't beat wearing shorts and playing tennis in the dead of winter. Lovely people, wonderful food, the warm Atlantic Ocean. The sights and smells of the Carolina Low Country are hard to beat.

Moved to San Diego in 2005. After C-ville, probably my ideal place to live. We still have a little bungalow there in Ocean Beach and hope to retire there. The climate is about as good as it gets. Great beaches. So much to do. Great beer city. Very much a transient city as I think I've met more people there from other states/cities than from California.

Now in Northern California, just outside of the Bay Area. To be honest, I personally hate it. That's probably a little too strong...I'll go with I don't fancy it. It's nice being close to Tahoe and Napa but summers are brutally hot and the air quality is horrendous for much of the year. Traffic is a nightmare. Housing prices are obscene and I'm so glad we got in at a good time. I have a love/hate relationship with San Francisco. But my wife's family is close, which is important for her and our 4 children. We have great jobs that would be hard to match outside this area. The kids are in great schools. Tennis and squash communities are great. I try to get up the coast into Mendocino County/Fort Bragg/Avenue of the Giants when I can. Just the compromises we make in life.

You need to get out more and see this great country of ours! Impressive list of places, enjoyed the read.

 

[Kevin T]

You need to get out more and see this great country of ours! Impressive list of places, enjoyed the read.

Mikeler!!! Hope all is well in Sunny FL.

I was a bit of a vagabond in my early years. Probably left over from my military brat upbringing. I've been in my current spot for 12 years now...three times longer than anywhere I've lived in adulthood. We talk about going back to VA but need to work a bit longer. A professional move back to San Diego makes zero since, outside of the obvious awesomeness that is the SD area. My wife and I are both in healthcare and the Bay Area pay scale is MINIMUM 35% better here (we're close enough to benefit from the pay range) and our cost of living is probably 30% lower. The paradise tax is a very real thing in SD.

 

[sportsfan1]

While having breakfast along the California coast (Morro Bay)I met a man from Germany
who was wondering what to do or see here.

I suggested Hearst Castle (not far from there), he said, "Oh no, we have too many castles
In Germany, already."

I mentioned the wine area in the Napa-Sonoma area, he was not interested in wine- "We have too
much wine, back home. I want something different."

He did not seem interested in Yosemite, Los Angeles, San Francisco, ski resorts in Tahoe,
Palm Springs, Disneyland, beaches, the giant Sequoias-- nothing, until I mentioned Death Valley,
and he decided he was going there next.

Anyway, unless you are like this guy who has been everywhere and seen everything in the world,
California has a lot to see and do, all within one state.

Should have sent him down to LA and around Hollywood maybe lol.
Yeah on the same day you could be on the beach and in the snow up in the mountains.

 

[Crocodile]

Great post. I probably have an equal fascination with Australia. A combo Australian/NZ trip is on my and the wife's bucket list in the next couple of years. Before going back to graduate school, I actually worked as an archaeological field tech and travelled the country. Primarily worked in Montana/Wyoming/Dakotas but also spend long stints in West VA/Ohio/North and South Carolina. Between work and pleasure, I've been to all 50 states and am amazed at the overall diversity (people/geography/culture).

I joined TalkTennis close to the beginning-late '1998 I believe and in my mid 20's. I was just starting graduate school at the University of Kentucky. My dad was a career military man and I was born in Germany, then lived in multiple states until he retired and we moved back to my parents' home state of Virginia. I grew up in a small, rural area in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The nearest town has ~8000 people and I was 20 minutes outside of town. Four seasons with warm/not too hot summers, idyllic fall and spring seasons, cold winters with some snow but nothing brutal. No traffic, clean air, friendly people and everyone knows one another. Pretty much a John Denver video. Not a great tennis area but there were a few families/kids at school that were really into it and I joined in. I lived in Cincinnati my entire time in grad school, as I was doing a lot of work at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. A great, underrated city that I miss very much sometimes. A great tennis town with cool neighborhoods, unique restaurants and nice people. Winters were gray and I had no mountains to play in, so the Middle West just wasn't for me.

Moved back to Virginia for my PhD at University of Virginia. Charlottesville is probably my favorite place on Earth. Great university, great college town, lovely scenery/environment. Interned in Charleston, SC and spent about 4 years there. Charming city, a bit too hot/humid in the summer for my tastes but you can't beat wearing shorts and playing tennis in the dead of winter. Lovely people, wonderful food, the warm Atlantic Ocean. The sights and smells of the Carolina Low Country are hard to beat.

Moved to San Diego in 2005. After C-ville, probably my ideal place to live. We still have a little bungalow there in Ocean Beach and hope to retire there. The climate is about as good as it gets. Great beaches. So much to do. Great beer city. Very much a transient city as I think I've met more people there from other states/cities than from California.

Now in Northern California, just outside of the Bay Area. To be honest, I personally hate it. That's probably a little too strong...I'll go with I don't fancy it. It's nice being close to Tahoe and Napa but summers are brutally hot and the air quality is horrendous for much of the year. Traffic is a nightmare. Housing prices are obscene and I'm so glad we got in at a good time. I have a love/hate relationship with San Francisco. But my wife's family is close, which is important for her and our 4 children. We have great jobs that would be hard to match outside this area. The kids are in great schools. Tennis and squash communities are great. I try to get up the coast into Mendocino County/Fort Bragg/Avenue of the Giants when I can. Just the compromises we make in life.

Thx for your kind words and I enjoyed reading about your experiences.

 

[Crocodile]

We had a really funny guy who was an exchange teacher from Beaverton Oregon. On his desk he had a flag that had, “State of Oregon”, and this kids immediately connected with him because as far as they were concerned the flag hie had on the desk was promoting the Rugby League State of Origin series, so they thought he was a pretty cool
teacher.
He was stationed in a housing commission area in Sydney so it was a pretty tough exchange whereas his home school in Beaverton was middle class nice and easy area to teach. He had the skills though to handle the behaviour of these kids. One kid called him a ****head and he replied, “That’s Mr ****head “, to you hotdog.
Is there anyone from Beaverton Oregon?

 

[stringertom]

We had a really funny guy who was an exchange teacher from Beaverton Oregon. On his desk he had a flag that had, “State of Oregon”, and this kids immediately connected with him because as far as they were concerned the flag hie had on the desk was promoting the Rugby League State of Origin series, so they thought he was a pretty cool
teacher.
He was stationed in a housing commission area in Sydney so it was a pretty tough exchange whereas his home school in Beaverton was middle class nice and easy area to teach. He had the skills though to handle the behaviour of these kids. One kid called him a ****head and he replied, “That’s My ****head “, to you hotdog.
Is there anyone from Beaverton Oregon?

Lots of Nike executives. Phil Knight started that trend.

 

[Larry Duff]

Moved to San Diego in 2005. After C-ville, probably my ideal place to live. We still have a little bungalow there in Ocean Beach and hope to retire there. The climate is about as good as it gets. Great beaches. So much to do. Great beer city. Very much a transient city as I think I've met more people there from other states/cities than from California.

I lived in OB in the 90s. Visited 2 weeks ago with Scottish friends and Hodads was a must. They loved it!

 

[Slicehand]

i heard of it, you use boomerangs there right?

 

[Crocodile]

Does anyone live in Seattle in the Washington State? A few years ago some Australian motoring journalists did a road test for the release of the first Tesla at the time and stopped at a cafe in Seattle that focussed purely on melting down chocolate from all over the world and turning it into a beverage? What’s the weather like there and the tennis scene? Is real estate expensive ?

 

[kayapit]

Be thankful that your an Aussie. The States is in decline. Once a manufacturing powerhouse and producer of tangible goods the economy is now almost entirely service oriented, except for tech. Urban areas are becoming third world w/rising crime and increasing homeless. Social programs are completely dysfunctional. Energy sector has been shut down. Farming can not operate sustainably without subsidies. Wealth gap has exploded and middle class virtually disappeared. Rural areas are littered with methamphetamine labs and heroin/fentanyl comes across the border daily. Yes there is great beauty and diversity of climate and terrain, but so there is in many places in the world. Sadly we are a fractured nation with no clear path to improvement. A lot of people here with means are trying to figure out how to shelter/protect/isolate their families from what is around them. Sorry to be Debbie Downer but we have a lot of issues on this side of the pond.

 

[Sudacafan]

About my country, there’s not much to read.

 

[Sudacafan]

i heard of it, you use boomerangs there right?

New generations lost a lot of brand new boomerangs, as they don’t know the proper technique to make them return.

 

[Kevin T]

I lived in OB in the 90s. Visited 2 weeks ago with Scottish friends and Hodads was a must. They loved it!

Yep, Hodad's is still alive and kicking. OB has lost it's Bohemian vibe over the last few years. Starbucks coming into town was an absolute scandal, leading to protests, boycotts, etc.. A lot of great 'hole in the wall' bars and restaurants the area was famous for have lost out to chains and fancier options. Newport Pizza used to be a favorite and closed a couple of years ago. Pepe's was a fave of ours but closed just before the pandemic. Hard to compete with Pizza Port (which I also love) just a few blocks away. Poma's Italian Deli, New Break Coffee, Olive Tree Market, Nico's breakfast burritos, South Beach. Runs up to Sunset Cliffs. Kayaking in Mission Bay. Great surfing at the pier. Love it!

 

[Crocodile]

Be thankful that your an Aussie. The States is in decline. Once a manufacturing powerhouse and producer of tangible goods the economy is now almost entirely service oriented, except for tech. Urban areas are becoming third world w/rising crime and increasing homeless. Social programs are completely dysfunctional. Energy sector has been shut down. Farming can not operate sustainably without subsidies. Wealth gap has exploded and middle class virtually disappeared. Rural areas are littered with methamphetamine labs and heroin/fentanyl comes across the border daily. Yes there is great beauty and diversity of climate and terrain, but so there is in many places in the world. Sadly we are a fractured nation with no clear path to improvement. A lot of people here with means are trying to figure out how to shelter/protect/isolate their families from what is around them. Sorry to be Debbie Downer but we have a lot of issues on this side of the pond.

No, western countries are going through similar challenges, so it’s not just the US. We need to get off the mainstream media because they are mostly negative and do not support or respect the right values and we must rise and take back control of the institutions and make sure that schools and universities are there to teach and not indoctrinate. We have allowed nonsense to creep into the education system and it’s time to wake up and call out the lies and send a message to the global shapers that we are not going to comply.
So get up you people in America, we can do this.

 

[Crocodile]

A local Sydney band from 1982 had this to say.