Quality of Life
Since we remain in limbo (as we have been for quite a few years now) about where we will eventually settle down, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I would need to be satisfied with where I am living. What are the minimum requirements? What brings quality of life, or the quality that Derek & I hope for?
I used to think that in order to be happy I needed to live in a major city. I loved the idea of myself living in New York, and before that, San Francisco. I loved a lot of real, concrete things about my life in those places, but I also loved the image of them.
Living in Ohio is stretching my ideas about what I need in order to be "happy." For example, I would say that overall I am much happier this year than I was the year that I spent in LA. I don't think this was LA's fault really, since I was 1. grieving my life in Brooklyn 2. had a horrible, torturous commute 3. had a job that I didn't really like 4. worried a lot (apparently unnecessarily) about when we would be able to start a family. But never, in a million years, would I have thought it even remotely possible that under any circumstances I would be happier in an overall sense living in a place like D*yton than in a place like LA. That's how close-minded I was about the whole thing.
This is not to say that I am in love with D*yton, by any means. There are many things that I strongly dislike about where I am living and where I am in my life right now.
1. I'm don't like not working.
2. I don't like not having any friends.
3. I HATE the urban sprawlish-ness of the area where we are living right now. (and I will probably write another entry at some point about how enraged I am by the very poor urban/suburban planning that seems to typify much of this country)
But yesterday, we went out to Y*llow Spr*ngs, which is a tiny college town about 30 minutes away from here. The town is laid out in a lovely way. The streets are small and tree-lined and the houses are older and have character. You can walk to the elementary school and to the shops, which include NO chain stores of any kind but several cafe's, bookstores, organic type restaurants, a yoga studio, etc. You could walk or ride your bike out to a state park with beautiful hiking trails. It seemed to have almost everything I could want in a town albeit encapsulated in a tiny space. I thought I could probably be quite happy with my life living in a town like that. Maybe I would still feel it was "second best" to living in a CITY, but a close and acceptable "second best".
This is good because it means that I don't have to freak out every time Derek applies to a job that is not in an urban center. Only some of the time.
I used to think that in order to be happy I needed to live in a major city. I loved the idea of myself living in New York, and before that, San Francisco. I loved a lot of real, concrete things about my life in those places, but I also loved the image of them.
Living in Ohio is stretching my ideas about what I need in order to be "happy." For example, I would say that overall I am much happier this year than I was the year that I spent in LA. I don't think this was LA's fault really, since I was 1. grieving my life in Brooklyn 2. had a horrible, torturous commute 3. had a job that I didn't really like 4. worried a lot (apparently unnecessarily) about when we would be able to start a family. But never, in a million years, would I have thought it even remotely possible that under any circumstances I would be happier in an overall sense living in a place like D*yton than in a place like LA. That's how close-minded I was about the whole thing.
This is not to say that I am in love with D*yton, by any means. There are many things that I strongly dislike about where I am living and where I am in my life right now.
1. I'm don't like not working.
2. I don't like not having any friends.
3. I HATE the urban sprawlish-ness of the area where we are living right now. (and I will probably write another entry at some point about how enraged I am by the very poor urban/suburban planning that seems to typify much of this country)
But yesterday, we went out to Y*llow Spr*ngs, which is a tiny college town about 30 minutes away from here. The town is laid out in a lovely way. The streets are small and tree-lined and the houses are older and have character. You can walk to the elementary school and to the shops, which include NO chain stores of any kind but several cafe's, bookstores, organic type restaurants, a yoga studio, etc. You could walk or ride your bike out to a state park with beautiful hiking trails. It seemed to have almost everything I could want in a town albeit encapsulated in a tiny space. I thought I could probably be quite happy with my life living in a town like that. Maybe I would still feel it was "second best" to living in a CITY, but a close and acceptable "second best".
This is good because it means that I don't have to freak out every time Derek applies to a job that is not in an urban center. Only some of the time.
posted by Melissa at 7:26 PM
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