Hey all!
I’ve been around Dkos for about a year (don’t know what took me so long to find ya) and I must say that I really enjoy reading the diaries – even the primary diaries – though some are a bit more entertaining than others... :D
Anyway, this is a huge community with people located all over the world who have a very wide variety of opinions, and I am fast coming up to a decision on which I would like your input.
Jump with me if you’re game on giving me some advice...
I graduate (or so it seems) from UCLA later this year and I am ready for a change – a real one.
I am just about 38 years old (on Wisconsin primary day) and I was born and raised in Southern California; I’ve never lived anywhere else. And I want out. I’ve been there/done that and am probably the only native who’s ever gotten sick enough of this place to want to live elsewhere.
Granted, I will miss the beach sometimes, and the big blue Pacific, and the many different cultures out here, but I won’t miss the traffic, the cost of living (rent, car insurance, and gas prices just off the top of my head), the weather that barely changes (I do like the sun, but geez...), etc... I can always visit...
And as a bonus point - I have no concrete ties left here, nor any big ones anywhere else in the U.S. So my options are really wide open.
I am a writer who’s recently gotten started and I have a strong news journalism background as well, so jobs being available is not necessarily an issue for me – those jobs are needed everywhere (or can be done anywhere.) Salary isn’t a huge issue with me either, so I don’t need to go somewhere based upon how much I could make - I just want to make enough to support myself wherever I end up.
I love the ocean but could stand to live without it, and I love weather – all of it: hot, cold, inclement – especially weather that changes with seasons; we don’t really have that out here in SoCal.
I think I am more of a small-town-type personality – not a glitz and glam kinda girl - but would prefer to be close enough to a big town to be within a few hours drive.
I have been mulling over where I would like to end up for a long time now and *so far*, I find myself partial (for varying and admittedly quirky reasons) to the following states: both of the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Maine.
However, I am very open to opinions, and I still have a few months before I must decide... So, if you like or hate your state and feel it should be on or off of my "contenders" list, let’s hear it!
And my apologies for the non-political diary - I really would like your input and I figured we could use a little break from the primary wars anyway... (It is the weekend...)
So, where should I consider moving?