Moving and Shaking...

So, I feel like it's time to move, maybe. Small town living is getting old and uninspiring. Yes, there is a lot going on, if you can 'belong' to the community. But, it's hard to wedge one's self into a closed system. That was a problem from the last small community we lived in--even after 15 years we still didn't fit in. Not that we didn't try. But, there is a lot to be said about how people in small towns treat 'foreigners' and a foreigner is anyone that was not born and raised there--doesn't matter where you come from.

So, is it time to try for the anonymity of a larger city? Time to go for the city lights, theater, festivals, free music in the park? Time to find inspiration from blending into a crowd? We are at a crossroads, and crossroads can be tricky to navigate. A major change in life-style can completely unhinge, or it can be just the right touch.

If I had my way, where would I want to live? Let's see, maybe a nice apartment with all the amenities; swimming pool, sauna, exercise room, someone else to do all the yard work. A gated community, perhaps? Feel like living in the lap of civilization for a change? Have neighbors that watch out for each other instead of living in the middle of no where, with few neighbors. It would be very different, that's for sure. Nothing like what we are used to.

I guess the bottom line is that we go anywhere the job is. Right now, we are both unemployed and the job prospects here are not good at all. That's another problem with small towns--employment. Closing down the charter school put a lot of folks out of work. Some of them happily--it was just what they needed, as they said, to move out of their ruts. Others, who had not been planning on any changes, are now in a different kind of rut. The looking-for-work rut. That's not a fun place to be! However, it may be a necessary place to be. The universe sometimes conspires to make us do things we may not want to do--and it usually turns out to be for the best in the end. We have traditionally stayed away from the idea of city living for personal reasons. But, maybe that is an idea whose time is over.

We always thought it would be cheaper to live in a small town. That was one of several reasons we stayed out of cities. However, we do visit cities and end up spending a lot of money when we do. So, if we lived in one, maybe we would be less tempted to spend money. There are all sorts of free things to do in the two cities we are looking at: Festivals and concerts in the parks, places to just walk around and take pictures, lakes and rivers to visit, libraries to wander through, just a plethora of things to do. Maybe the cost of living in a city is off-set by the fact of being there and not having it be a novel thing--where one may be more likely to over-spend during a visit, for instance. Oh, so much to think about.