Jump to content

NLCbanner2024.jpg.2478be509670e60c2d6efd04834b8b47.jpg

Where would you live?

nitram100

By nitram100
in The Astro Lounge

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 29
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Merlin66

Merlin66

Posted
Posted

I "normally" live on a 100 acre farm near Heathcote, just over 100Km north of Melbourne, Victoria.

Being on the northern side of the Great Dividing Range we get shielded from the lights of Melbourne and unfortunately ( not for Astronomy - but to live!) the best of the rain.

We were in drought for ten years; there was more rain in Pheonix Arizona, than in Heathcote.... just turned into a desert.

Fantastic dark skies!!!

I hope to get back there sometime......

Link to comment
Share on other sites
barkis

barkis

Posted
Posted

Similar to Ant; but the Southern Texas Plains for me.

Probably only for a couple of years in a motor home.

If I win the eighty odd million in the Euro Lottery tonight, then a month aboard ISS will take priority.:icon_rolleyes:

Ron.;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Psychobilly

Psychobilly

Posted
Posted

Trouble is - I dont like spiders and snakes ...but that aint what it takes....

My plan is Teneriefe or Hawaii or a few acres of the Austrailian branch of the familes small holding about 100 miles outrside Perth...

Peter...

What latitude is the "best" though.... both for the range of imaging targets and "weather"

Peter...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
moocher

moocher

Posted
Posted

I`ve heard that Texas is really good!!! I suppose if i could afford it somewhere near "New Mexico Skies" with its mag 7 naked eye limit!!! Also far enough south to "bag" some of the "Southern Gems"...i can dream....

Alan:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sam

Sam

Posted
Posted

I'm moving back to my property in NZ at the end of the year - really dark and clear skies, summer gets to 30 degrees, winter gets the odd frost, 2300 hours of sunshine per year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Beulah

Beulah

Posted
Posted

Seriously? A quiet rural coastal community in West Wales, or Western Ireland....

New Zealand would also be an option - but that is a little beyond reality...:icon_rolleyes:

Where I live now is an astonishingly beautiful rural area, but feel the threat of overcrowding in England...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nitram100

nitram100

Posted
  • Author
Posted
but feel the threat of overcrowding in England...

I think we all do!

I would like to live in Arizona, if that didn't work out it would have to be New Zealand, i still can't believe that it's about the same size as the UK, yet only has 4 million people, when we have nearly 62 million people, it's crazy!

@LightBucket, i'm extremely jealous! :icon_rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
moondog

moondog

Posted
Posted

I'm with Sam (Lightbucket). Just in process of selling house (hopefully) to go back out to New Zealand - 1 1/2 hours drive from Sam's place. Wether or not we sell,we're going out to NZ in September again for several months. Can't wait!

MD

Link to comment
Share on other sites
narrowbandpaul

narrowbandpaul

Posted
Posted

my plans when I have money is to move to near tucson arizon. They keep old planes out in the open air. They dont rust because the air is so dry. Any place with dry air is great for astronomy, clear skies with good transparency.

I plan on having an obsy out there ideally a couple of thousand feet above the desert floor below.

Also arizona is great for golf.....and I like america, laid back.......and great scenery in that part, not to mention the grand canyon.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
centroid

centroid

Posted
Posted

For me it would have to be an England, with an Aussie spring and autumn climate all year round, less light pollution, and fewer people crammed onto our little island home. :)

Much, if not all of mainland Europe, is probably quite light polluted. Albeit, there are likely a few remaining areas of rural France, where light pollution is still low, but for a variety of reasons, its not a country in which I would choose to live.

Canada, huge clear un-light polluted skies, at least out on the praries of Aberta and Saskatchewan that is. However, here, the winters are too severe for my liking, with temperatures getting down to -40C, and snow cover for several months. You might struggle to get your laptop and goto scope working, at those temperatures ;).

North America, still has a lot of remote locations, with vast dark skies. However, its a land of weather extremes, from Tornados, and hurricanes, to severe Canadian type winters in the more northerly states. Perhaps most off puttng of all, is its the 'land of the gun', with the 'citizens right to bear arms' :). So for me, no thank you.

Australia ?. Having spent 4+ months living in W.Oz over the past two years, I am now very certain that I would not choose to live there. Back out there next Christmas BTW ;).

From an astronomy aspect, it can be a paradise, with vast, dark and un-polluted skies, within reaonable driving distance of the metropolis.

Last year, I attended a 'star party' out in the 'bush', and it was a 'mind blowing' experience, with the 'imagers' impatient for Venus to set, as it was causing light pollution :). BTW, yes it is true, Venus can cast a shadow!!.

However, this astro paradise, comes at a cost. In summer it can get VERY hot, and when I was out there at Christmas 07, it was +44C on the coast, while further inland, it was 'hitting' +50C.

Now, I love the sun and the heat, but believe me, that's a bit too hot for comfort, and Oz has one of the highest incidences of skin cancer to go with it.

With the heat come the flies, which arrive in droves, and I mean in droves!!. Not at all pleasant.

At dusk, its the turn of the 'mozzies', which arrive en-masse to drink your blood, leaving you struggling to refrain from scratching the multitude of itchy bumps they leave you with.

The standard of driving in Oz, at least W.Oz, is appalling, resulting in a very high fatal accident rate. This is despite having an irritatingly slow speed limit (rigidly enforced) on the freeway (motorway) of just 62 mph (100 kmph).

Fantastic skies, friendly people who are great company to be with, but for me, the list of negatives, out weigh the positives.

So ignoring the list of negatives for the UK of today, and believe me its a fairly 'big list' ;), what does that leave me with :icon_rolleyes:

Well, a green and beautiful land, rich in history (much of it still standing and preserved), where the scenery changes dramatically without having to travel great distances.

A land to which I have traced my ancestry back hundreds of years, and a land for which members of my family fought and died for. Albeit, they must be 'turning in their graves' to see where we 'are at' now :D:(.

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tim

Tim

Posted
Posted

Great post Dave, enjoyed that. I blame the original 'exports' we made to Oz, there was a reason we wanted them on the opposite side of the planet!!

For me, I think rural Greece, probably one of the islands. Question though, is it possible, if living nearer the equator, to be able to see both southern and northern skies?

And at what point on the earth would you have to be to see the sun move left to right, but then go slightly south and have it go right to left? Or would it just go overhead for a large band of the earth???

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Astronut

Astronut

Posted
Posted

As tempting as it's southerly latitude is, Arizona would probably be too hot for my tastes so I would choose the British Columbian interior near to the US border. Osoyoos (49 deg N) in the wine area has a good climate, dryer than the rest of BC and possibly the rest of Canada. Summers are hotter than the UK and definately drier, winters are only marginally colder than UK. Beautiful semi-desert landscapes and some amazing dark skies outside town.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.