Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Isn't There A House For Me?

Like most people, I love traveling and I wish I could do more of it. I'm kind of a schizo in that I don't like any one type of place in particular, but I like extremes. Extremely cold, extremely hot. Crowded, deserted, loud, silent, beautiful, hideous. I love them all, and I wish I could have a bunch of little houses around the country, so I could get to know each place personally, not just through a traveler's glimpse. Of course, there are plenty of places around the world I'd love to live in, but that list would take me all day. Besides, there's so much of my own country that I haven't seen, so many vastly different places I want to live. Here are some of them:

New York, NY: My hometown. No matter where I move or how long I live there, I'll always feel like a foreigner when I'm not here. I want to keep a studio in Manhattan to come home to, where I can fall asleep to honking taxis.

Athens, NY: A tiny town in the Catskills, in upstate New York. I've always loved the Catskills; it's an interesting mix of breathtaking natural beauty and depressing living conditions. The weather can be brutal, but I can handle it. I'd buy an old, run-down farmhouse and write from home. Also, my mother's ancestors lived there when they came over from Ireland, so there's a bit of family history.

Goldfield, NV: I've always wanted to live in a small town way out in the desert, and this seems like a good one. It has lots of historic old buildings from the gold rush, and a small artists' community. I'd have a little cabin on the outskirts, looking out on the mountains.

Boise, ID: I keep reading that this is one of the best places to live in America, so I guess you can't go wrong. It's an interesting place because it's a relatively large urban center, but it's right in the middle of the mountains, without the sprawling suburbs and highways we have here. It's the kind of place where you can go to a museum or concert downtown but then go kayaking or mountain biking only a short distance away. I'd want an apartment looking out on the mountains.

Washington, DC: I know this city very well, since my dad lived and worked there for a couple of years. It's a gorgeous mix of classic and modern architecture, plenty of parks and museums, and it's not crowded and frantic like New York. Plus, they have the cleanest and fastest subway I've ever seen. I'd have an old rowhouse in Georgetown, along the canal.

Fairbanks, AK: Like I said, I like extremes.

Los Angeles, CA: I've heard it's a terrible place to live, which makes me want to move there and understand why. I'm fascinated by the superficiality of their culture and they way they live. At least the weather is nice.

Oklahoma City, OK: Kind of like Boise, except that it's in the middle of the Great Plains instead of the mountains. It's also a very beautiful, safe, and cheap city, with lots of really pretty neighborhoods. I'd have an apartment in Bricktown, overlooking the canal.

Laredo, TX: Hot, dirty, one of the most crime-ridden cities in America. I'd like to give it a try.

Ypsilanti, MI: A weird little town with a cool name and an eclectic population. Plus, it's mentioned in Sufjan Stevens's "Michigan", which is cool.

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