The Commonspace > January 2005

We asked a few of our far-flung correspondents (a.k.a. friends in other cities) to give us their read on how they and their fellow citizens are feeling about their cities. Take a look to see the common themes — and then, those stark differences.

Eddie Roth, Dayton, OH

Eddie Roth Age and how you spend your days:
46, writing editorials for the Dayton Daily News

Where you live now and where you consider your hometown:
Dayton ("the Gem City") and St. Louis

Best and worst thing about where you live:
Answer for both: It's a lot like St. Louis

How easy is it to find a place and get involved in your city?
Plenty easy

Biggest issue/challenge currently facing your city:
Sprawlraceeducationairqualityhousingbraindrain — sound familiar?

If you could live anywhere, where and why?
Where ever things take me, because everything works out for the best.

If you wrote a book about your city, what would the title be?
Wouldn't decide until I wrote it.

Athima Chansanchai, Baltimore, MD

Athima Chansanchai Age and how you spend your days:
32, metro reporter for The Baltimore Sun

Where you live now and where you consider your hometown:
Baltimore. But I consider home to be where my family is, which is northern California — San Francisco.

Best and worst thing about where you live:
Best thing about where I live — my friends. Worst thing — You've seen The Wire and The Corner, right? At its worst, Charm City is anything but. It's a drug-infested, dirty, grimy, dangerous city.

How easy is it to find a place and get involved in your city?
Not hard to find a place in the city, but it does require a lot of street savvy and research. "Good neighborhood" to "bad neighborhood" here is a matter of feet. People do band together in neighborhoods.

Biggest issue/challenge currently facing your city:
Drug addiction and the desperation and lack of humanity it breeds — the root of the evils of this city.

If you could live anywhere, where and why?
Ideally, a villa overlooking the Italian Mediterranean. Kinda like a quiet Positano. What's not to like? The ocean, gorgeous scenery, fantastic food and a laid-back lifestyle. If in the U.S., I would have to say it'd be a toss-up between San Francisco and Seattle. Both cities are beautiful, progressive and full of good eating (I don't cook often).

If you wrote a book about your city, what would the title be?
Baltimore: Charmed, I'm Sure. (NOT!)
or, Baltimore: Crack (Addicts) in the Sidewalk, around the corner, in your building, sleeping on your stoop...
or, Baltimore: Life on the Streets
or, Baltimore: Get Your Hon on (the Jon Waters version)
or, Bawlmer: City in need of a Good Luck Charm
and on, and on, and on...
sometimes that's all I can think of at the end of a long day after filing a story.

Henry Brean, Las Vegas, NV

Henry Brean Age and how you spend your days:
32, newspaper reporter

Where you live now and where you consider your hometown:
Live in Las Vegas, but Tucson, AZ, is home

Best and worst thing about where you live:
Best thing: 24-hour access to gambling, cheap booze and food, plus Las Vegas is within 200 miles of about a half-dozen National Parks. Worst thing: Median price of house is $280,000 and climbing, even though the homes are piled on top of each other with no yards to speak of; there is little in the way of culture, and the music scene is awful; 24-hour access to gambling, cheap booze and food.

How easy is it to find a place and get involved in your city?
Las Vegas is not a terribly involved town. Almost no one is from here originally, so there seems to be a lack of community spirit.

Biggest issue/challenge currently facing your city:
Urban sprawl and the availability of water to support it.

If you could live anywhere, where and why?
Probably Tucson, home to my family and the spectacular beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Kaui'i is nice, too.

If you wrote a book about your city, what would the title be?
"Craps"