re: What do you like most and least about where you currently live?

Baton Rouge

like: my friends, my little house, my relatively short commute, several restaurants

hate: the weather 90% of the time, the crime, the traffic anytime I want to leave my little bubble, all the abandoned buildings, graffiti, and garbage everywhere

There are MUCH better places than BR out there. While many of the problems here are also problems everywhere else, a lot of those problems aren't nearly as bad. However, moving somewhere else can be extremely expensive, finding work in a new city that affords you the same or better QOL can be difficult, and replacing your existing social network, especially one formed since birth with deep ties in the community, is almost impossible to do even over several years time.

Many places also have minuses (mostly winter or drought related) that we don't have. It's all about leveraging what you stand to gain verses what you know you will be giving up.

My career is especially NOT mobile, so I'm completely trapped here. Even if I was willing to sacrifice my great friends, roots, and home, I couldn't leave if I wanted to.