I can't think of a Title....so there you have it.....

CJ over at Martini Cartwheels made a comment on my blog about relating from moving from the city to the country. It got me thinking about it, the pros, the cons, and just in general how much my life has changed since I’ve moved here. Keep in mind, that I am not totally rural. I live outside of Montana’s State Capitol, but it’s still a pretty small town considering where I came from.

One of the biggest differences for me is actual commuting. When I lived in the Bay Area, my usual commute to work was 90 minutes each way. Now you can say I've gone from rush "hour", to "rush" minute. That is a heck of a lot of time to spend commuting back and forth to work. It did give me lots of “me” time though. I did a lot of reading, a lot of thinking on my commute since I took the bus.

Now I drive to work, which in itself is something I haven’t done in years. I can park right outside the door, and on a bad snowy day, it takes me about 10 minutes to get to work. I look at it this way, both have their advantages. At the time I was doing the 90 minute commutes, I didn’t have kids, so I actually enjoyed just vegging out. Now that I have kids, I’m really happy I don’t spend 3 hours a day on the road.

Another difference, is actual cost. Everything went down when we moved here. My car insurance went down by half, food was less, gas for my car was less. My house was less, I could have never bought the house I did, while living in the Bay Area.

I do miss some things terribly though. I haven’t had really good chinese food since I left California, or for that matter, a good burrito.

I miss being able to “go somewhere”. Living here, there really is no place to go. You can drive for hundreds of miles, and get someplace basically the same as here.

There are a ton of outdoor things to do, which I love, but sometimes I wish that I could drive up to the Napa Valley and go to the winery’s, or go to a good concert of my choice that is not country music. I would love to be able to just go buy something when I need it, instead of having to order it.

I miss the festivals...Carnival, Pride Week, Wine Festivals, all kinds of cool stuff that used to go on every weekend, or even just going to the beach. I think actually, that the beach is what I miss the very most of all.

I’ve always been a beach girl. Being the Cancer Child that I am, I grew up longing for the sea in the dry parchness of the high California desert.

I grew up around cactus and tumbleweeds. The rattle snakes that loved cool cement garage floors in the scorching heat of the summer.

The poppy fields and the smell of sage and creosote so strong after it rains. This is why, as soon as I could, I ran..to the coast and never looked back.

It is so amazing to me, that I have moved here, no beach in sight, with air is so dry it gives you a bloody nose and dries your skin to a lizard like texture.

All this being said though, I’m happy where I am. I am at peace with this portion of my life.

Peace,

OC