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| Find the challenge here |
Move? No freaking way! First of all, this is where I belong. Yes, it gets cold in December, January (and sometimes February), but I appreciate all four seasons. Plus, I dislike heat way more than cold.
Second, there are advantages of living here. I learned this when my oldest friend decamped to SoCal and Reg and Henry moved to Key West.
Public transportation. Reg and Henry seldom drove when they lived here but when they got to Key West they had to invest in a second car. My oldest friend found driving in SoCal traffic incredibly stressful. I don't even have a car.
The economy. Reg and Henry were, at one point, working five jobs between them to maintain a middle-class lifestyle. My oldest friend had a much tougher time finding/keeping jobs than she ever had here.
Climate. No, I don't mean weather. I mean politics. While Key West is very welcoming, the State of Florida, as a whole, is not. The Governor actually proclaimed that "Florida is where woke goes to die!" That's some ugly shit, as though diversity, equality and inclusion are somehow bad. Imagine being a tax payer in a state where your elected official dismiss you, as Henry and Reg (as a biracial gay couple) were dismissed by Desantis. I love it that, for all Illinois' faults, my state's vision matches my own.
Stuff to do. There's always a movie or restaurant or program at the library that I can walk to. There's live theater and, of course, the Cubs just a short train ride away. If you're bored here, it's because you're boring.
Ah, but where would I like to visit? I'd like to go back. There are so many places I've been before that I'd love to return to, like the spas in Colonial Williamsburg and Hot Springs, Arkansas. And Graceland! Graceland was great fun. Hawaii was other wordly, I'd like to see that again, too.
