If you were going to spend some time visiting Alabama, what would you check out while you were there? I haven’t spent a lot of time there myself. I don’t have any particular plans to visit the state anytime soon, but I do have some idea of what I’d want to see if I do make it there.

Some of the things I’d see in Alabama include:

• Gantts Quarry. This is an old quarry and ghosttown. Since I come from Arizona, I’ve seen a lot of towns like this. I love to check out how the ones in other parts of the country compare to those in my home state.
• Alabama Constitution Village. This is one of those places that’s designed to look like a town looked back in the nineteenth century. I kind of have a love for these places although I’ve only been to a few.
• The Tennessee River. I’ve heard that there are a lot of fun activities that take place along this river. I’d probably stay in Decatur, Alabama and check out some of those activities while I was in the state.
• Festivals. Alabama has some interesting Alabama festivals including a hot air balloon festival and a festival devoted to peanuts. I’d probably try to time my trip to the state to check out some of those things.

Check out my article on ten Alabama cities if you’re interested in what else there is to see in Alabama.

Tags: alabama, alabama attractions, cities, states, Travel, vacation

AskMen.com recently published their list of the top cities that guys might want to move to in 2009. Why would women be interested in this list? Because all of the cities that were recommended were cited as being full of cosmopolitan life, culture, entertainment, beauty and fun. Women who want to find guys who are interested in that way of life will find themselves with a better chance in those cities.

The top three cities on the list were Chicago, Barcelona and San Francisco. That’s an interesting mixture of places. Just compare Chicago and San Francisco for a moment – Chicago is a huge sports-loving, music-rich city and San Francisco is a much smaller, arts-loving, tech-loving spot. And yet, what they share in common is a strong sense of community and a vibrant energy, something also found in beautiful Barcelona.

Another theme that ran through the list provided by AskMen.com was that these cities are great places to find women. However, they weren’t just for finding any women – they were for finding smart and interesting women. This means thta the guys that are paying attention to the list are guys that may actually be interested in different facets of you beyond your availability and your looks. That takes things up a notch right there!

Tags: ask men, barcelona, best cities, chicago, cities, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, San Francisco, top cities, where to live

I am head over heels in love with San Francisco. I am passionate about the city where I live. I have known since before I first came here that this was the place where I was going to make my life and create my world. When I tell people that I have found “the one” and they learn that I am talking about a city, they have one of two reactions.

The first reaction comes from those people who have also had this experience, often from people who also live in San Francisco and feel this same way about the city. They get this knowing look in their eyes and we don’t have to say anything more about it because the understanding is just there. It’s the same as when you find “the one” person that you want to love forever and you tell that to someone else who has had that experience. You both just relate to each other through that common shared human experience.

And then there is the other reaction which comes from those people who have not found the city that resonates for them like San Francisco does for me. It is an amused reaction or a befuddled reaction. It comes along with statements like, “yeah but it’s so expensive in San Francisco” or questions like, “don’t you think you’ll want to try out other cities someday?”

To someone who has truly fallen in love with a place, these reactions just seem ridiculous. Yes, the rent is expensive and there are a dozen other things that aren’t great about San Francisco but don’t you see that I love everything about her despite some flaws? And why would I look for something else when I feel so incredibly absolutely safe and at home here in this city.

Not everyone gets to find “the one” – in romance or in a hometown. But nobody should ever stop looking because if you do find it, your whole life is altered. This happened to me with San Francisco. I got the chance to write about it a bit for a collaborative photo project that I was a part of here recently. The project is called I Live Here: SF and it’s photos of the people who live here and mostly love it here. Check it out to see the cool creative people that live in this city, the collaboration of those people’s words with the photographer’s pictures and the passion that exists when people truly do fall in love with the place where they live.

Tags: cities, creativity, i live here sf, i love sf, kathryn vercillo, love, photography, projects, San Francisco

I’ve been busy answering questions over at Yahoo! Answers again. One of my favorite things about being a web writer is the diversity of the topics that I get a chance to learn about and become an expert in. The fact that two of my Yahoo! Answers were recently chosen as “best answers” even though they are from widely different topic areas is a testament to the fact that web writers really get to know their stuff across a diverse range of interest areas.

On the one hand, I answered a question about which is the best city to live in. I’m certain that no one is surprised that I argued for San Francisco since we all know that this city has my heart. But I tried to be thorough in my answer so that others could see why I feel that way. This answer came from the hands-on personal experience of living here as well as the research I’ve done about the area since I write about it so frequently. I also made sure to cover the highlights of other great cities and to emphasize that ultimately the answer to this question is a really personal one.

The other topic I answered a question about was completely different. Someone asked how to pay for shipping. I think I answered that completely but also went on to try to explain some of the pros and cons of shopping when it comes to shipping fees as well as to offer tips for reducing shipping costs. I figured that people looking into shipping anything would want that money-saving information!

So hopefully that was helpful.

Tags: advice, answers, cities, how to, kathryn vercillo, Personal Finance, questions, Travel, Yahoo Answers

I’ve been working on a set of posts highlighting the top ten cities to visit in different states if you want to get a really good understanding of what each state is about. In some states, this is easy because there aren’t that many cities to consider and a lot of them are very similar to one another. But that’s not the case at all in California!

California is a huge state with a ton of different cities. There are deserts and oceans and lakes and forests and mountains to see. There are the liberal streets of San Francisco and the conservative towns throughout the Central Valley. There are rural farms and urban sprawl. There are so many different ways of life here. And it’s so big that it’s hard to get a good sense of that by just checking out ten cities.

But I’ve tried to make that list anyway. I do think that if you check out these ten cities in California then you’ll have a decent sense of the many different options there are for travel and life in the state. And then you can always plan other trips to explore the areas that you like in more detail!

Where would you say should have been included on the list?

Tags: best cities in california, california, california travel, cities, places to go, Travel