I moved to Portland, Oregon in 1988, right after High School. In fact, it was in the Summer of '87 if you want to get technical. (So yeah, I'm old. Don't bother writing in how you were born that year or whatever.)
Portland was a pretty cool city, but the thing that I liked best (besides the relaxed people) was that it had Light Rail. "Max", they called it.
I lived in Gresham, but could take the train downtown in a jiffy, and it was pretty inexpensive. Being that I hated driving my white 1977 AMC Hornet around, I could explore some of the city without getting behind the wheel.
There were only a couple of times that I rode Max without buying a ticket. I generally spent my money on lead D&D figures, so I sometimes ran out. I'd hop the Max, and then in a panic, hope that I didn't get caught. I didn't but it did manage to subtract 7 or 8 years off of my life due to stress.
In any case, I'm thrilled that Phoenix now has light rail, but I'm saddened by the fact that it won't reach my neck of the woods/cactus for a good 25-50 years.
At least it's a start.
- Daniel
