Welp!

[MauEvig]

Well guys, Virginia's nice and all, but we're moving West! Off to California the state of the rich and famous! Woo hoo! Time to pack our bags. See you online when we get there!

[Murfreesboro]

My goodness, that was sudden! Where in CA? And how will this affect your college work? Do you have time to finish the semester at least?

[MauEvig]

Happy April Fool's day! I know it was a bit early in terms of posting it here time-wise, but it turned April first when I posted it.

Naw, we're not going to move to California. Got too much to do here with College, and we have our house here and the cats. A big move would take up a lot of time and money.

[Andybev01]

Hahahahaha! !!

[Murfreesboro]

Mau, that was a great one! You are the only person who even attempted an April Fool's joke in my hearing. It's funny, but I am actually kind of glad you aren't really moving out there. Isn't that silly? Since it makes no difference to me where you are seated when you are typing on the forum. But I guess I enjoy talking with someone who lives in the area where I used to live.

[Andybev01]

Hey now, California is nuts but it's where I call home.

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, I Like CA. I have relatives out there--in fact, they were just visiting here in TN this week. That's why I was asking Mau where in CA she was moving, when I thought she was serious.

[MauEvig]

I'm sure California's nice. A friend of mine from High School moved out that way. She wasn't really what I'd call a close friend, more like an acquaintance. From what she has said she's been very successful there, and wasn't satisfied with the environment surrounding New York. I certainly wouldn't mind the warmer weather. Not sure I'd like the high prices, drought and control over how much water we can use, or the Earth Quakes. But I'm sure there's beautiful land scape out west, you'd get the view of the Ocean depending on what part. I might even find a great paying job.
Who knows? I know back in the pioneer days people moved out west hoping to find gold. Others have moved out there to find fame and fortune. There's just something about California that makes it stand out as a state of golden opportunity.
But I like where we are now. The mountains are beautiful. Jobs are just as scarce here as they are in New York, maybe even more so. I might have to commute a ways to get to work. But the climate is nice. The location we're in now gives us commuting choices that aren't crazy far away. We have a beautiful home with a gorgeous view. The birds coming to sing make it all the better. It's peaceful. Honestly I think there's good and bad points no matter where you live. If I lived in the city, everything I would want would be right there, there's something breathtaking about sky scrapers, and I'm sure the jobs would be more plentiful. Health care such as hospitals and urgent care would be closer, bigger grocery store chains, more restaurants, being closer to different places, that would be nice. So many shops to visit, so much to do there. But it wouldn't be quiet at all. The traffic would drive me crazy. I can't stand driving in city traffic. Cities are fun, but the drawback is that they are dangerous and a pain to drive in and easy to get lost. I think the "magical" experience I get visiting the cities would fade away after a while. Cities offer zero privacy. The neighbors here are nice. I wouldn't like living two feet from the next house over and I don't think I'd like apartment living much either.

[Murfreesboro]

Sounds to me like you have a pretty balanced view about it, Mau. There are good & bad points to everything.

My daughter is going through the college search right now, and at the moment her two best offers seem to be from Sewanee (1600 students on a mountaintop here in TN) and NYU (22,000 students in the center of NYC). What a choice!

[MauEvig]

I can't really give much advice about New York City since I didn't live near there. I had friends who did though, including one of my roommates at one of my previous colleges.

If she was going to be visiting upstate New York I could tell her where not to go. Definitely wouldn't recommend Alfred State. I think RIT might be a good school.

Perhaps one day I'll get to travel across America and see all the different historical landmarks and wonders of the land. I'd like to see the world actually. But I think I'll steer clear of countries that are especially cruel to women and highly violent. I'm thinking along the lines of Europe, and a trip to Japan one day. I'd love to see the ancient cities but the problem is they're mostly in the Middle East. I'm sure there's some beautiful places to see in the Middle East but I wouldn't feel safe going there with all the conflicts and horror stories I've heard. In Europe I'd love to see the country side and the castles, and experience the rich cultures and perhaps learn a bit of the lore. Japan because I like the culture of Japan, the fact that they're the biggest in the video game industries, and they literally have a vending machine for everything. I'd love to see the country side of Japan as well as the urban side of it. Some of the other countries are debatable, like Mexico, Meso America, countries in Africa etc. Being exposed to potentially deadly diseases doesn't sound very appealing either. However, my uncle is from South Africa. My being a Lion King nerd and loving to see big cats kind of makes me wish I could go on a safari. But I don't know. Then again I don't want to take the risk of malaria or getting lost in the savannah either.

[Murfreesboro]

I was fortunate to be able to travel a fair amount before I was married. My mother made vacations a priority for us, and by the time I left home I had seen most of the U.S. My uncles took me to Mexico City, Taxco, and Acapulco when I was 18, and when I was 19 I went on a student tour to London (one week). Several years later, as a member of the Vanderbilt Concert Choir, I toured Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (two weeks). I haven't been in a position to travel like that for many years, though, and I do miss it.

I would love to visit the Holy Lands but, like you, I am afraid of all the violence over there. If pyramids are a turn-on for you, though, we do have some terrific ones on this continent. I climbed all the way to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun outside Mexico City. A few months later I was at Stonehenge over in England, so those are my two experiences with ancient structures.

I think travel is something everyone should aspire to do. It is perfectly possible if you make it a priority. You just have to plan for it and do it, the same way you plan for buying a house or a car. OTOH, it is good to remember that everyplace is exotic to someone. If you use your imagination, you can see the area you call home through the eyes of a distant traveler. Get into its history and learn what was going on there decades and even centuries ago. I also recommend exploring state parks, wherever you live. Those are treasures that people often don't tout very highly, but they should.