I didn’t grow up here in Kanawha County, West Virginia and only came to live here because my racquetball partner grew up here, moved back and called me up on a particularly bad day and asked, “How would you like a new job?”
Life here is pretty laid back and people move really slowly, so for how pokey I am, I’m still going at light-speed, comparably speaking. The thing that I like best is that folks really don’t care who you are. With the folks that I meet, there are very few folks who put on airs and when they do act that way, we’re usually polite about it or if necessary, we point out to them that they live in West Virginia.
And there’s great canoeing of every type possible.
The fact that I can move 'cause they got no lutefisk and all the canoeing is flat water, blah! It’s also too hot, too many tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes and most of the people sound like foreigners, ya’ll know what I mean?
Good grocery stores. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Fresh Market. Oh, and good fast-casual restaurants.
Other people like the water. It’s nice and all, but I don’t have a boat.
Mainly I live here by dint of several defaults, and I stay by dint of several more.
That I live on the flat plains, only a few miles from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
That they never plow the roads when it snows because the bright Colorado Sun will melt it all off the next day.
There’s lakes everywhere.
All ranges of paddling are supported here, flatwater, whitewater.
If you ask someone directions on the street, you better be prepared to chat for 30 minutes, and maybe even be taken on a walking tour of town. Super friendly.
The New West Fest music festival every August in Old Town Fort Collins (FoCo).
Having the most restaurants and microbreweries per capita in the US (at least that’s what the local Chamber of Commerce says).
Being close enough to Denver to visit some great sessions and great players.
I was born in Indiana, graduated from Indiana University, but lived in Arizona most of my life. I returned to Indiana to be close to my parents in their old age. My mother lived to be 81 and my father nearly 91. I enjoy living in Indianapolis because that is where my wife is, and I doubt that she would want to move away from where she has lived all of her life and from her extended family, some of whom need our help.
That’s one of the many things I like about where I live. We’re right near the confluence (love that word) of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers which offer many great flatwater paddles. We’re three hours from three great cities: NY, Boston and Montreal. Close enough to get to, but far enough away too, if you know what I mean. Lots of great cultural/musical/gustatory choices. Finally, living right across the street from a pond makes for interesting neighbors…
Contrary to popular belief, the area I live in is not all conservative, racist, and stagnant. You just have to dig a little (and get away from the new “McMansion” suburbs) to find it.
I love the diversity of my neighborhood, but the friendliness, too. I love the old houses and wonderful green space. I wish we had some more things close by ( a grocery would be nice), but like that while I live in the “city” I also have deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, ground hogs, etc. in the back yard on a daily basis.
I hate my drive to work. But for many years I only lived 2 miles away from work (now it’s 25). I actually work 2 miles away from the house I grew up in, on property that was my bus driver’s pig farm.
But this is “home”. One son and his wife have bought a house right around the corner, and the other lives in an apartment just as close. I don’t see us moving.
Halfway between the M4 & the M40 but not close enough to either to get swamped by traffic. Close enough to London to get in for the day but far enough away not to get the smell. Near the river - two rivers if you count the Wye - and my work is in walking distance. Some lovely walks in the area, including the Thames Towpath. Rebellion Brewery just up the road, and good schools in the area. Terry Pratchett went to school in High Wycombe! I knew that from close reading of his books, but it was nice to have it confirmed by some members of the Folk Club who went to school with him. In fact this is a really literary area. Enid Blyton, Edgar Wallace, Patrick Campbell, Percy and Mary Shelly and many others lived around here. It’s a shame there isn’t an independent bookshop for twenty miles in any direction.
Walk out of the front door, and you can step into the beautiful Royal Forest of Dean. Walk out of the back of the house, and you’re in rolling Herefordshire meadows. Wales is a 15 minute drive away and the Cotswolds a 30 minute drive in the opposite direction. Within an hour’s drive, you can get North to Birmingham, or South to Bristol.
But, for the last few years, more importantly than all that, there has been a pair of ravens nesting in the trees on the ridge just above the house. They come and circle overhead at the end of the day when I’m in the garden, and now they have a youngster who comes and flies about with them too. Every now and then, they land on the drive and hop about in a lollopy sort of way. They are about the most beautiful birds I’ve ever seen.
I live by the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. It is also a confluence of the agrarian, industrial and technological periods of American life. Then there’s C. F. Martin & CO.
Well, CLC is in Annapolis. So they’s be local to Emmline.
Pygmy is good too. Laughing Loon. Shearwater. I’ve got a real fondness for Mac McCarthy’s open deck canoes.
Speaking of why we like where we live, our older neighborhood is interesting in that every house is different in design, built in the first part of the 20th century. During my daily walks I always seem to notice some architectural detail on a house that I hadn’t noticed before. We even have a ten-page quarterly newspapaer, free and published by our neighborhood association. It is interesting to read about the people who are living in our neighborhood, some new residents and others living here for a long time. Being close to water does make a neighborhood more attractive. The White River that runs through Indianapolis is within easy walking distance from our home, as well as a canal with ducks, geese, and a walking path beside the canal. Although we do have several small neighborhood grocery stores, I generally find myself driving to the larger stores for a better selection of produce at lower prices. I agree with Emily that having a “Trader Joe’s” grocery store nearby is a plus.
So much richness here in Southern California, both natural and human.
But if I had to pick just one thing, I think it would be … the light.
Anyone who has lived in these latitudes will know exactly what I mean.
From New York; lived and traveled in more northerly climes, all with charms. But the instant I first set foot in Southern California, I knew I was finally home.
Oh! You are talking about Cisco! (Who was a friend of mine btw. He drank whiskey) Surprisingly our local market here in Virginia gets smoked cisco, white fish, and chub from the Great Lakes along with fresh walleye which I prepared last night. Down here they call it walleye-pike, I had to explain to the fish monger what it actually is as he thought it was Northern Pike.
