Being closer to family and friends. I am pretty gregarious and not having anyone but Phil to talk to most days is not enough after a while. Not that he is not delightful. ..
Being in the same time zone as most of our friends and all of our family. It does get to be a nuisance figuring out the time elsewhere.
Being able to take books out of the library, three blocks away. I am too promiscuous a reader to buy many books. I so often don't finish them. I still buy more than most people but buying every book I think I might read is pricey.
Being able to DVR TV shows. I'd forgotten how horrible watching commercials is. And also getting rid of DISH TV. And also having TV shows on at the correct time.
Being able to go to movies at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Although we have venues showing foreign and indie films here, they are not as adventurous at the DFT at the DIA.
My electric teapot. And my electric stove. I know gas is supposedly better but the burners here don't always light. Also having my own cooking ware, silverware and dishes.
Enough lamps. I like a bright room at night. And a good reading lamp.
Not having to ask ourselves will we finish this? Will we get our money out of it.
I will not miss driving here although it is Phil who drives. I hate double turning lanes. You always have to know exactly which lane you need to be in. And as a stranger here, you just don't always know. Don't know how people did it before SIRI.
Not having to figure out how to get everywhere.
14 comments:
I don't know how you do it, Patti. I am a cold weather person, but I have limits, and Michigan exceeds them.
Five years ago I went to a funeral on the UP, in the summer, fortunately. So I was interested to note the early morning temperature in Marquette.
-28.
My cousin tells me that a short winter is five months of snow on the ground. I'm sure none of this is news to you, but I'm obsessing over it.
Home is where the heart is. And, in my case, home is where my thousands of books, CDs, and DVDs reside, too.
It is horrific in the winter. And one of the worse things is the dirty snow, which stays around until April. They don't show enough pictures of dirty snow, which you track inside. Once snow is on the ground in rarely melts. But the summers are usually lovely. It goes down to 60 degrees most nights.
As someone who has lived on the west coast almost all of my life, I can assure you that the TV shows here ARE on at the right times, Patti. It sounds like you need to find a better place to stay next year. And for heaven's sakes get a library car there next time!
I can understand how you feel, Patti. Like you and George I am most comfortable at home among my own things, with our local stores and restaurants and routines. I do hate change.
On the other hand, Florida in winter is ideal for us. The weather is perfect and the northeast cold (especially this year) is just not something we want to do anymore. We've been in this hotel for six years now (6-8 weeks a year), know the people and the area and have our own routine here now.
Yes, I miss the library. I definitely miss the television - the DVR, the ability to pause and rewind and start over and skip the commercials. But overall, if given the opportunity to skip the winter we will take it every time. Besides, our family is mostly on the West Coast anyway so we don't see them very often.
We are totally comfortable being snowbirds.
Jeff M.
As for the driving, we pretty much stay in Palm Beach County most of the time here and by now I know where I am going and how to get there. The double turning lanes and multiple lights took getting used to but the wider, well paved roads are a pleasure. Granted, NO ONE in Florida uses turn signals, which is annoying. It makes New York drivers seem better.
Jeff M.
I don't like to be away from my home for long for this very reason. I'm a creature of habit and I like to know where everything is and how to use it. Be it ever so humble, etc.
I'm very much a home body. Barbara likes to travel, but she plays hell getting me out and going much further than over to the coast (a couple hour or so drive). We're going over in a couple of weeks for four days, and I'll be more than ready to be back in my comfy nest with my familiar bed, books, music, cats, and all.
I have lived in the Midwest (Mpls) and SoCal (Bonita), but I would never opt again for the weather of the Midwest. It sounds as though family and friends are tipping the scales in favor of snow and ice. And I would have never thought of Detroit as a winner in a head-to-head contest with SDiego with respect to culture. But I clearly know too little about Detroit; some of my snowbird friends live there 75% of the time but escape here to the Gulf coast during the ice and slush months. Enjoy your journey home. Ah, what a lovely four-letter word.
The greatest thing about SD is that almost every day is amazingly nice. No humidity. 65-75. Blue sky, everything blooming here. Maybe there is a place with better weather but I doubt it.
Regarding the climate/weather in SDiego, I have been around the world -- from Iceland to Australia, from Scotland to Kenya, and from Seattle to Sri Lanka (with a few dozen other places also included) -- and I never found weather/climate anywhere that is superior to SDiego's. I very much miss it. (I do not miss the urban sprawl, the traffic, and a dozen or more other irritants.)
There is no way we could afford to live here. SD has the highest house prices v. salaries in the country. Down the street condos the size of one floor of my three floor house in Michigan are selling for 2 million. And houses on the beach go for up to 30 million. So it's ice and cold for me.
But we will come here in Jan-Feb as long as we can.
I was in SD for Xmas years ago and it was foggy every day. I prefer four seasons but I can do without blizzards.
I love the feeling of going home too, Patti. Safe travels!!
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