Beach, Mountains, Desert, Great Plains and more !!!!

[Robmeister]

This topic was spurred by the below post by SlySurfer to Timmay on the "backseat driver" thread in response to Timmay dealing with some snow driving.

Brought my thoughts over here so as to not hijack the thread

Even though I employ a polemical combo of sarcasm and hyperbole....there's nothing wrong whatsoever with Surfer's post...or his preference for living at the beach.  It simply reminded me of something I've pondered frequently and which was reinforced by Surfer's post.  I ain't pissed off at Surfer or anything else for that matter.  He just happened to spark thoughts that I have cogitated from time to time since we moved to Denver from Ft. Lauderdale.

Sorry Surfer, nothing personal.

Where do you live, Timmmay.....Siberia? 
I haven't seen a single snow flake this entire winter.
Man, I'm one lucky dude. The sun's been shining on my bald head all winter.
I have to admit that I admire you midwestern slys. You certainly have guts to go driving in all that slippery icy mess.

So you prefer earthquakes, mudslides, fires, air pollution and drive-by shootings.

That's the beauty of so many people (particularly South Florida and Southern California) thinking that living near the beach is the END ALL of places to live.  It keeps gorgeous places like Denver (and the midwest) less populated.

Now you being an avid surfer, sure....your place is at the beach.  But I've lived in both Southern Calif. and South Florida and yeah, the beach is pretty damn cool....even did a fair amount of surfing back in the day.    But it continues to amaze and amuse me how some beach folk cling to the notion that they--through upbringing or choice--are part of an elite elect that enjoys the END ALL Xanadu of places to live that ALL THE REST OF US could only WISH and DREAM to be as lucky.  As if the rest of us that actually enjoy 4 seasons are a bunch of pitiable land-locked saps.

I'm not arguing that people can't have and express their reasons to live where they live.  But after living in several and varied parts of this beautiful country, growing up near the beach in So. Calif. (which I thoroughly enjoyed) and especially when we made the move to Denver from Ft. Lauderdale, I've come to notice a subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle "arrogance" with beach dwellers. 

In other words, in other non-beach places I've lived, I ain't heard folks worry too much about where other folks move to or choose to live.

But, MAN, God forbid you should commit the blasphemy and devolution of moving from the beach to where you might have to put on a jacket and deal now and again with that disgusting white stuff that really screws up the look of things at Christmas time and defiles the appearance of the landscape.

When we moved here, our friends and family in Ft. Laud. couldn't comprehend why in the world we would be foolish enough to move to a place they likened to "Siberia" or clinging to the side of Mt. Everest. (thanks, Surfer, for actually verbalizing what I suspected for years)

What's funny is that--over the years--we've met others who have moved here from South Florida and coastal Southern Calif. who said that they experienced the same exorcism in tearing themselves away from pleading friends and family who vehemently and repeatedly warned them of the folly of leaving the Nirvana of sun and sand......AAAAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!

I don't know how unbearable it is in Timmmmmay's neck-o-the-woods, but here's a few shots of areas just a short 15-20 minute drive from my house in the Denver burbs.







Yeah...it's horrible around here....how in the world could I have done such a cruel injustice to my family as to move away from the beach, man.

[Timmay]

Wow Rob...quit a statement there.  I guess I came flying in low on this one.  Didnt realize there was a problem anywhere or maybe i didnt read thru it thoroughly enough.  Let me just say this.  Each and everyone of us..no matter where we live...just remember it takes us all to have a good country.  No I dont have the mountains, the rolling bubbling brook, the beach, large cities like NYC.  What I have here is Home.   Anyone can have a house in a city....but it takes alot of work to have a home.  Doesnt matter where you live...you always want better....want more.  Sure I would love to walk out of my back door and have my bare feet going thru the warm sands of a beach. I would love to sit out on my back deck on a cool summers morning over looking the mountains of Montana. 
I live in small town american.  We are not fast paced around here....we dont have the shopping malls in our town.  What we have is when you walk into a mom and pop store....they know you as you walk in.  I live in a town where you can walk up to a business and there maybe a note on the door...walked down to the bank...brb.  Have I complained about nothign for the kids to do around here?  Yes many of times.....but I wouldnt raise my kids anywhere else other than here.  We have a lot of culture in my area.  The biggest thing around here are the amish.  Yes they can be pain in the asses sometime...but where else can you take a midweeks summer drive thru the country and see 4 work horses pulling a plow with 1 amish guy on the back steering.   Well else can you go and see a community pull together...just for instance...today.  Sitting in our High school Gymnasium which seats 9000 people and it was packed.  Not a seat to be found, our local high school played its first round of the regional basketball.  We won our first round 70-63, all the way up to the middle of the fourth quarter it was anyones game..neck to neck..with a couple of ties along the way.  Im not saying I dont envy those who live with the beach ..the mountains....teh big cities...but Washington Indiana....its Home...to me anyways.  Come rain, snow, sunshine, tornados, earthquakes....You bet your ass....when my time comes.....I will be buried outside of town at Sugarland Memory Gardens....Thanks...
Timmay

[Robmeister]

...where else can you take a midweeks summer drive thru the country and see 4 work horses pulling a plow with 1 amish guy on the back steering. 

My point exactly, brutha....

Dayam...you beat me again at the verbosity quotient.

Yeah, my point was simply that you, yours, mine and many I've met in NON-BEACH areas love where they live and that's it.....they don't make a point of pointing out the "inferior-to-where-I-live" thing.

[Timmay]

Rob....way I look at it....its a silent cry from them that they are actually saying they hate where they live.  I dont know of anyone ....young or old...who wouldnt want to experience snow.  As much as I hate snow...after it falls.....I still tend to turn to my childish ways when a snow storm is coming.  Nothing like getting all bundled up and taking a huge tractor tire innertube down some big hills we have here at our city park.  Building snow ball forts and having snow ball fights...( I dont imagine having sandforts with sandball fights feel pretty good) Laying on the ground with your daughter making snow angels...watching them stand outside catchign snow flakes with their tongue.  Telling them about the times when yo were little ..scooping up fresh fallen snow in a bowl and adding sugar milk and vanilla to make icecream.  Yes I know there was  a report about not eating snow for health reasons....but come on.....so what we gonna do next..not breathe as we walk down the sidewalk? 
And besides...Indiana has the Indy 500!
We have a beach....Lake Michigan...
One thing good about not living in a coastal warmer state.....We dont have the tourist and snow birds!  .......Easy living my friend...easy living.
Timmay

[Timmay]

here is some of Indiana's scenry...

[Adam]

I've got to agree with Timmy on this one.  I, too, and from a small town in north central Illinois.  We don't have much, here.  No malls (closest is about 30 minutes away - 2 towns over), no Wal Mart (although we are getting one in the next few years), the same mom and pop stores that he mentioned.  We have our share of problems like anyone else (petty crimes, bad roads, poor economy), but this is home.  I have moved away from home, to another state, twice in my 28 years on earth, and I always come back.  Some people joke that Streator, Illinois is a black hole and always sucks you back in...well, i think it's the fact that it's home, and always will be.  I don't care much for the snow, but again, when it comes in fresh, something about it brings out the kid in me and I want to hit the hills with a sled or an inner tube, have snowball fights, build snow forts.  You can keep your earthquakes, forest fires, pollution, drive by shootings, and hurricanes.  I'll take some snow in the winter, the occasional tornado, and camping on cool summer nights.  There's no place like home.

[schro]

With very few exceptions, I would think people CHOOSE to live where they live. You want Mountains? Go to the Rockies, or the Sierras. You want plains? Go to the midwest. You want big city life? Go to LA, Chicago, etc. You want the beach? Go to the West or East Coastline.

No need to go on a bashing spree here. Everyone is (or should be) proud of where they are residing. If you don't like it, MOVE.

It's funny you mention quakes, Rob as a criticism of living in CA. As someone who spent some time in CA, you know the ones that cause any serious damage are extremely rare. Personally, I'll take the occasional shake versus a guaranteed miserable winter & humid summer. I hear this from people that I deal with on the east coast OFTEN. Yet, I personally know more than a dozen people that have transferred from the NY area (supposedly the GREATEST CITY ON EARTH) to CA. When I ask them, "So, you wanna move back?" Without exception, the anser is "Are you kidding me?". Maybe a dozen is a small sample, but the point is that they made a choice to move and were happy with the choice.

The payoff for MY CHOICE of living in CA is weather that I like.

The USA provides ample choices.

For me, I do not plan on leaving CA anytime soon (especially Northern California).

[marshd1000]

I have to say that I appreciate the great beauty that North America contains.  I can't say that I have seen all of it...at least not yet.  In 2005, I went to Miami for the first time on a business trip.  I really enjoyed the BEACH!   Yes Rob!!!!!  It was fun but too humid for my taste!

I have been to Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas to visit relatives and friends.  Through that, I  got to experience the beauty of the southern part of the Great Plains, and the pine woodlands that I was surprised to see in Texas and Southwestern Arkansas.

The Nevada and Arizona deserts are beautiful with their geology.

Northern California is beautiful with the Redwoods and the dry hills around the Bay Area.

Vancouver is stunning!

What I am trying to say here is that I appreciate the varied beauty of our continent!

Fortunately, for me here in Seattle, I can get out to similar views the Robmeister posted rather quickly too!  Plus I am a 10 min drive from the BEACH.  Yes, in my part of the world, it it the cold water beach from the Pacific through the inlet called Puget Sound.  But it is home to me as I was born here.  In case you didn't know, the desert is only a 2 hour drive from Seattle.  Most people think that Washington State is just a rainy moss covered  area with pine trees.  But the east side of the state is rather arid.  But the Cascade Mountains are a short drive from the city and so is the desert.

Anyway, sorry for the ramblings.  But I just want to say that there is not reason for snobbery about areas.  All of them have great pluses and minuses.  And different people will like different areas for different reasons.

Who knows, maybe someday I will live in Alaska!!!!

[Robmeister]

.....It's funny you mention quakes, Rob as a criticism of living in CA.

Silly man...

I wasn't criticizing anyone for living anywhere...

Since Surfer brought up a worse case scenario of midwest living ("slippery icy mess")...I responded simply by pointing out a few worse case scenarios of California living.

In fact...the whole point of my verbose rant was to point out that, out of all the places I've lived and the folks I've met....I've found it curious that it's been only the beach folk that have a tendency to "criticize" with regard to where other folks choose to live.  And it was Surfer's post that bore that out again.  I just--with as much sarcasm and hyperbole (and pictures !) as I could muster--expressed how curious I find that mindset.

[PBurke]

Being from cajun country and being able to see some parts (not nearly enough) of this country, I am living back in La. I bitch about it all the time, but i do love the swamp. Fishing, hunting, scenery is beautiful. My personal favorite part of the country is the desert southwest (four corners region) that, to me, is the most breathtaking place to VISIT.
          Because of the way our society is, we tend to never be satisfied with what we have or where we are. Everyone knows I really miss the rocky mountains, but some part of me is glad i don't live there. Cause living there, I fear, I may take that beauty for granted if I saw it everyday. People come here and are amazed by the Atchafalaya Basin. I grew up around here and it is just normal for me to see it everyday. You guys in the mountains see them everyday and would probably think other places are beautiful, just like I think other places are. My point is this, love where you are and admire the beauty you have around you. I can always take a trip to the mountains, or the desert southwest, or the east coast, etc (you get the point), but even though these places are beautiful in their own way, south louisiana is home for this coonass. But I do appreciate ALL the other areas of this world for what they have to offer. So instead of condemning what you haven't experienced, just go out and see the country. Take it all in like you are a 7 year old when everything is amazing. You may see some things that blow you away, and you will always have the memories to keep as your own when you get back to wherever HOME is.


CARPE DIEM = SEIZE THE DAY.

[schro]

Being from cajun country and being able to see some parts (not nearly enough) of this country, I am living back in La. I bitch about it all the time, but i do love the swamp. Fishing, hunting, scenery is beautiful. My personal favorite part of the country is the desert southwest (four corners region) that, to me, is the most breathtaking place to VISIT.
          Because of the way our society is, we tend to never be satisfied with what we have or where we are. Everyone knows I really miss the rocky mountains, but some part of me is glad i don't live there. Cause living there, I fear, I may take that beauty for granted if I saw it everyday. People come here and are amazed by the Atchafalaya Basin. I grew up around here and it is just normal for me to see it everyday. You guys in the mountains see them everyday and would probably think other places are beautiful, just like I think other places are. My point is this, love where you are and admire the beauty you have around you. I can always take a trip to the mountains, or the desert southwest, or the east coast, etc (you get the point), but even though these places are beautiful in their own way, south louisiana is home for this coonass. But I do appreciate ALL the other areas of this world for what they have to offer. So instead of condemning what you haven't experienced, just go out and see the country. Take it all in like you are a 7 year old when everything is amazing. You may see some things that blow you away, and you will always have the memories to keep as your own when you get back to wherever HOME is.


CARPE DIEM = SEIZE THE DAY.

Paul's post is exactly the point I was trying to make. Damn, that coonass sure is eloquent.   

[Paul]

Great points Paul and very well said.  I for one, have lived or traveled to five continents and 28 countries besides the U.S.  Home is where YOU is.  Every place on this earth has something special to offer us.  You just need to get out there and find the place that is special to you.  For me it is the U.P. of Michigan where you have the beaches of either Lake Superior or Michigan, the Porpupine Mountains, the dense forests and cedar swamps of the interior, the many off shore islands of the Great Lakes and the majestic beauty of the Straits of Mackinac. The winters may be tough, but that is the price you pay for having only 300,000 people in the whole penninsula.  Personally I will take rough winters and pleasant summers with less people to spoil the view.

[Mikekoz13]

I've been to a few different states in my life..... California,  Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York (both the city and upstate). I absolutely loved something about every one of them. But man I love my home in my small town where there are no malls, no fast food, no traffic lights. A place where everybody knows your name.

I think the thing that makes all those places I visited so great in their own way is that they are all very American. God Bless the US.....  (Corny maybe but true to me...)

[JDog]

The beach is indeed overrated. I have lived near it for over 7 years, just 50m from it actually.

To some, it is Valhalla. They spend every waking near the ocean or in it. And I'll admit, It is a very beautiful thing to see the sun coming up at 5am while running on the soft sand. But I am dumbfounded how anyone can feel that living somewhere else other than near the beach requires "guts".

SlySurfer is a known rabblerouser so I dont think much weight should be viewed from his posts.

I consider it a blessing that I have been able to live and grow up in the Midwest. Sure we dont have any beaches(Ocean,we do have the Lake Erie shore!) or towering snow capped peaks.Did I worry about that growing up and having wonderful childhood?Hell No.

Like Mike, I have been able to travel throughout nearly all of the USA and a lot of Canada too. I spent time in the big cities and drove through small communities with 1 stop light. Most people are happy where they are. They wouldnt trade their small time happiness for anything.

Newport Beach California I found is one of the most unwelcoming,uninviting places that I have ever been to.Huntington however,is another story.



LA is one of my favorite cities to visit, I love the atmosphere of it all. The buzz and feelings it envokes.

[schro]

So you prefer earthquakes, mudslides, fires, air pollution and drive-by shootings.

.....It's funny you mention quakes, Rob as a criticism of living in CA.

Silly man...

I wasn't criticizing anyone for living anywhere...

Sounds like criticism to me 
Sincerely,
Silly Man