Your Hometown

I hail from Los Altos Hills, Ca.

Our only claim to fame is our outrageous real estate pricing. The lowest property to sell in the last year was around 3 mil. In addition to this, we host the most strict developing laws in existence: 1 acre of property minimum, massive laws about house color/windows, limits from edge of property, one house per property, etc. There's also a strict no business rule: A friend and I had our lemonade stand shut down by a Los Altos Police officer when I was 8.

So yeah, aside from being insane, every house has a beautiful view of either San Fran, the ocean, or beautiful mountains.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I guess I forgot to mention what the Quad Cities actually is.

4 Cities, Davenport & Bettendorf, IA and Rock Island & Moline, IL

Some more boring info...

Home of the Rock Island Arsenal. There's something special about it but I don't remember what. Something to do with the Civil War.

Our sports teams achieve greatness their first couple of years and then flutter away. Our hockey team, the Quad City Mallards have won something like 6 UHL Championships in 8 years but now they are just a regular team. The local AF2 team, the Quad City Steamwheelers won their first two arenafootball2 bowls with a combined record of 39-1 but have only made the playoffs once since then. They were also on probation in their third year, when they could have probably won again but were prohibited from the playoffs. We had a good basketball team, the Quad City Thunder, but they are long since gone in 1996 I think was the last year. And, we have a local minor league baseball team. They are doing good this year, I guess. But they have changed their name at least 10 times since beginning in 19-earlysomethingorother.

Davenport has been featured on the Weather Channel many times for it's massive flooding. Even made Channel One in 2001 for the flood there. 1993 was the worst though.

And if you look on a map of the Mississippi, you can easily find the Quad Cities, it's where the river bends East and West.

Now, if I can think of anything more to add to this then I will. LOL.

[JackN]

Man goodrich has got you all beat. We have two BP gas stations across the street from each other. Nothing famous. Several good restaurants. It is nothing at all.

[Brandon Martus]

In the weekly newsletter from the city I live in (Sterling Heights, MI):

Sterling Heights named among best places to live in the nation

Sterling Heights is among the best cities in the nation in which to call home, according to Money Magazine's Top 100 Best Places to Live for 2006. The study examined 670 cities nationwide with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.

At 37 out of the top 100, Sterling Heights was the third highest ranked Michigan city among the five communities from the state to make Money Magazine's list.

The annual list is based on comparisons to national averages in areas such as housing prices, availability of cultural and leisure activities, job opportunities, crime rates, commute times, education levels, access to health care, air quality, and income levels.

Housing in Sterling Heights, for example, is more affordable than housing markets nationwide, with median home prices in the $186,000 range, compared to $259,000 nationally, according to Money Magazine. The study also said the risk of personal and property crime in Sterling Heights is lower than the average cited in the top 100 list, while the city scored much higher than most cities in terms of culture and leisure activities offered to residents in the form of movie theaters, restaurants, public golf courses, libraries, and sporting venues.

Finally, the median family income in Sterling Heights is $78,947, more than $2,000 higher than the national average, while residents in Sterling Heights have access to 13 colleges, universities, or professional colleges, compared to the national average of just eight.

Mayor Richard J. Notte said the study is reflective of Sterling Heights' efforts to establish itself as a clean, safe, livable community worthy of being called home by first time buyers, empty nesters, single folks, families, and retirees.

"It's always nice to see Sterling Heights recognized," Notte said. "We've dedicated ourselves for years now to making this city the kind of community that offers something for everyone, and studies like the one by Money Magazine prove that we have achieved that goal."

A similar study by Money Magazine recently revealed that Sterling Heights is one of the nation's fastest growing large cities, with a population now estimated at 128,000. For more information, contact Community Relations at (586) 446-CITY (2489).