Where I'd live

Given his druthers, Lileks would live in the desert, having rejected San Francisco, New York and the Pacific northwest.

I'm with him on San Francisco, from which I've just returned, and the Pacific northwest. Too much rain in the latter and the former is just too filled with self-satisfied types. And the obsession with food. Now I was squired around by wine people--my sister and her husband own a winery--so maybe my view is slanted, but it seems to me that the whole town is constantly discussing the best place for organic cheeses or some such arcana. Plus, I've held a grudge against SF since the 4th of July about 10 years ago when I froze my ass off for a week.

New York is a nice place to live if you've got money. And if you've got money you can get away for the dog days of summer when the tourists take over and you can see the heat rising from the sidewalk.

But if I had my choice, I'd choose Santa Barbara. I've only been there a few times, but everytime I go I want to live there. Not too big, not too small. Gorgeous vegetation. Right on the coast, but with a backdrop of mountains. Heaven on earth.