Today after having a very quick lunch with DC and having him return to work so quickly left me with a lot of time to kill before I had to return from my lunch break so I wandered around until I came to Federal Triangle. I was drawn there by the strong rhythmic african drumming. To my delight there was an Ugandan drumming and dancing group performing next to the building with the most retarded name around (Ronald Reagan Building, you can guess how I feel about that 'tard).
Anyway, the ensemble was named Kayuga Africa and they performed several folk dances with appropriate music from their area. They had a lot of charisma and were quite talented. I particularly enjoyed the courtship dance that they performed.
During a few songs they recruited people from the audience to dance or play the “xylophone” (I would call it a marimba since it was wooden) with them. I was one of those fortunate enough to actually dance with them. They had quite a nice sized crowd but the comformists were to frightened to try anything out of the ordinary.
I go up on stage the first time with a group of two audience ladies, the two dancer ladies, and one of the dancer men, while the other played the drums and sang a chant. We did a very tiring dance that had a lot of jumping in it and it sure was fun. They then went to perform a few more enthralling pieces until their final number.
The last number involved the audience again and as I was the only man in the audience willing to dance (they actually said I was good… hahaha I fooled them), I felt alone. Anyway, more women from the audience joined in. This time they played a modern type piece from the Congo with a dance called the Kwahi Kwahi (sp?) and it had some line dancing fundamentals mixed with African folk dancing. It sure was interesting. So they teach us this dance and we perform it on stage in front of an audience. (I hate dancing in front of people but this was an exception since it was so interesting plus the performers were pretty charismatic so I would have probably have done most anything.)
Things like that are what make me appreciate where I live. For the most part it is too expensive both from the housing standpoint and from the grocery standpoint but then a lot of the things happening around town are free. I don’t know if I would actually consider that a make up for it necessarily because oftentimes the exhibits don’t exactly cut it (remember the Vagina exhibit when I last wrote about it? The vagina part was alright but the pop artist featured on the second floor was pure drivel). Then on Sunday the week before last, DC and I went to see Paul Simon perform on the mall (the same place the million (100,000) family march took place yesterday) for free. He was also quite fabulous to see. In my personal playing style I took a lot of influence from him but only from his early years. I feel that he lost the intimate feel that he had when Garfunkel was his performing partner, but that is neither here nor there. He was still wonderful.
** Lansing, MI **- general area -although not a booming metropolis, it does have several interesting museums (including a hands on science museum for kids), several nice parks, a minor league baseball team (if you’re into that), theater (including one that’s all kids under 18, really very good), lots of stuff at MSU, including the Breslin Center, a Planetarium. Countryside nearby where you can go to cider mills in the fall.
two major malls, lots of movie theaters,
Near enough to places like De-troit and Chicago if you’ve a mind to go there. Close by also, lots of little towns where they have cool festivals (Vermontville Maplefest is an all time favorite, along with the blueberry festival from Montrose, and the fiberfest from Hastings)
The seat of the State’s government, so finding stuff out is a local call away (the attorney general’s office is about 1/2 mile away from my office)
I like that when I walk down the street, I usually hear one or two foreign languages being spoken.
I like that it’s hard to tell the Borders employees out taking a smoke break from the homeless people who linger around the block.
I like that indy movies play to packed houses here.
I like that we’ve got a great public library and an astonishing number of bookshops. Per capita book buying is supposed to be record-setting here.
I like that there is world-class medical facilities for just about anything right here in town.
I like that when my friend lost her hair during medical treatment and started wearing do-rags, everyone thought she was just changing her look.
I like that when I went to hear a famous physicist lecture this summer, there were kids–KIDS!-- there lining up to get the guy’s autograph.
I like that I see moms breastfeeding in public.
I like that people were peeved when Starbucks came in. And that when Ben & Jerry’s opened a storefront right next door to a local ice cream parlor (god that’s predatory), the local place stayed just as packed.
I like that you can go hear the marching band practice on fall weeknights.
I like that you can get awesome falafel cheap. Ditto for chinese food, caribbean, ethiopian…
The main reason that I love living in Denver is that I can set my mouse down, walk out to the back porch, and drink a beer while watching the sun set over the mountains. Working in Boulder, I can hit a true mountain stream and cast a few lines on my lunch hour(while maybe an hour and a half), and bring a nice trout back to the company grill. Plus Denver ha most of the culture of any of the real big cities, without any area considered too dangerous to wander into.
Ditto what he said, plus this: the greater Lansing area is what, 200,000 people? It’s big enough to have some big-city features, but small enough that I can drive 10 minutes from the office and park next to a corn field or through a small forest. It has Michigan State University, state government, and several Oldsmobile plants. It used to have Olds world HQ here, but they moved to the Detroit area a few years ago to consolidate that part of GM. Agriculture is also big around here. These 4 separate “industries” mean that when one or another has a bad year, there’s still something else going on economy-wise. We’re not recession-proof, but we are resistant.
The university has a great theater that brings in big-name broadway shows, concerts, and stage performances like The Flying Karamazov Brothers, some magicians, that sort of thing. They also have Big 10 college athletic teams in football, hockey, and basketball, plus a lot of other sports like fencing, gymnastics, etc. The student population is diverse ethnically and according to their home country, so we get a nice mix of restaurants and groceries to serve their desires.
And it’s far enough from my in-laws (and my wife’s in-laws, too!) that they don’t just drop in without notice…
Several points to make about why I appreciate where I live:
I chose to move here, as opposed to being job-transferred or living here because of the school (FSU or FAMU) or something.
Friendly, friendly people. Unike South Florida where most people would spit on you rather than greet you on the street.
Reasonable/low cost of living, yet a very high standard of living. Groceries & rent are relatively low, utilities and gas are relatively high. However, you get lots of services for what you pay. Example: Garbage pickup happens 2 x week (recycling. large trash and yard waste every other week). Once a week, they drop off some guy, he grabs your trash can from wherever you keep it (garage, next to house, whatever) and drags it out to the street for you. At the end of the day, he drags it back and puts it away for you! You never have to worry about, “I forgot to take the trash out.” That is soooo worth the cost of my utility bill.
The trees, man. Everytime the city tries to widen a street, the citizens shut them down if they have to cut so much as one little sapling down. It’s a very very green place to live, with creepy Spanish Moss dripping off everything(read: really cool at night in fog) and we put up with the gridlock because we like it that way! I’d rather sit in gridlock staring at trees than stare at more concrete on a wider street!
Stuff like this happens: I was driving home one day following a pick’emuptruck. There was a musician playing a sax in the bed of the truck. His dog was sitting with him in the bed, attentively listening to him play as they were driven around town. As the truck slowed to turn off the street, I bammed on the horn. When the musician looked up at me, I applauded his performance and thanked him for serenading me all the way home from work. He smiled, the dog smiled, I smiled. Only in Tallahassee…
The weather’s great, centrally located to major cities like Atlanta, Jacksonville, Tampa, New Orleans, the population is small enough to feel home-towny but large enough to be diverse and not too homogenous. Close enough to large cities when you need a Real Culture injection and far enough away from the hustle-bustle of Big City Bull*#t.
Liberal political climate: not only is Tally-town the state capital but home to two major universities and a host of associations/lobbyist groups and grassroots political orgainizations. It’s the most highly educated city in Florida: about 35% of all residents have a Bachelor’s degree, about 25% have a master’s and another 20% or so have a doctorate or professional degree (like Law or Medicine). With that kind of diversity and education, every waiter and gas station attendant has a political opinion they are more than happy to share given the drop of a hat. This offsets the decided disadvantage of living in the Deep South – you have to deal with rednecks anywhere you live, but here they are balanced out by politicians, attorneys, professors, hippies, writers, artists and government employees.
There’s something here for everyone!
The quiet!
I live in Northern California, really Northern, not Silicon Valley (as in some other threads). I can sit on my deck and hear nothing but nature sounds. Not a single engine, leaf blower or boom box. I’m still only 20 minutes from Redding and about an hour from Chico. I DO miss Trader Joes, though. Chocolate dipped ginger - MMMMMM!
At this moment, every tree in Connecticut is having a fit. As I look out through my office window, I can easily start to think that the poor buggars are actually competing with each other to be the most beautiful. There are sixty trees of the same breed planted equidistant from each other and no two of them bear the same color in their leaves. All this is just in the office park. Out of the city, the view is beautiful chaos and madness. The trees and shrubs everywhere are desperately forcing one last display of their beautiful lives in violent, vibrant color to compensate for their inevitable stark gray winter of slumber. I pity anyone who has not witnessed autumn in New England.
I chose to live in a small town of about 5000-7000 people. (I’m not sure how many live there) I grew up 20 minutes away from where I live now but what a difference a small town makes. I essentially did it for my kids… I moved before I had kids but I was planning ahead. I wanted my kids to go to a smaller school than I did. Instead of them graduating with a class of 400 like I did they will graduate in a class of 150. I think living in a smaller town has made me a little more laid back. I don’t feel so rushed anymore. Eventually we want to buy a house out in the country somewhere… then I’ll be completely happy.
I don’t think I’ll ever live anywhere but Kansas. It’s really beautiful here. (Western Kansas is really flat and not fun to look at but I’m in the North-eastern part of the state and it’s more hilly out here) The leaves are starting to change and fall to the ground. If you go to the right places you can see for miles and miles and it is gorgeous!
As many of you know, I live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
I love it for many reasons. First and foremost, it has to be one of the most liberal places on the planet, situated in one of the most pragmatic countries (no flag-waving here, it’s not my achievement, it’s just the way it is - and I like it). In Amsterdam, you can walk around in your pink tutu, metallic purple wig and leather boots, smoking a joint, right after visiting a prostitute - if you feel so inclined. Not that I am personally into that sort of thing, but it’s good to know that people can do it without being harassed or attacked over it. “Here, you can be what you wanna be”: I know of no city in the world to which this applies more.
Other than that, I love it because it is a culturally and historically very interesting city. It also hosts a great nightlife, and hundreds of great restaurants and bars. I sometimes refer to it as the smallest Metropole in the world. 750,000 inhabitants, but with a greater diversity than most bigger cities. Also, the city is relatively small so almost anything can be covered on foot, by bike, or with a short tram ride.
Its museums are fantastic as well.
I will be moving to London next year. Which is of course about as cool as cities come, but I will miss Amsterdam for its compact, uncomplicated diversity. After London, we are planning on maybe moving to NYC. Then, who knows? But there will always be a place in my heart for this wonderful city. People who have visited it will most likely agree, provided they are not TOO conservative
I don’t know if I’ll ever be back for good, but I never will be a stranger to Amsterdam.
I live in a small town near a small metro area. Everything is at least twenty minutes away from my house, except for the farm and the woods. It’s 20 minutes to work, 20 minutes to school (in the opposite direction), 20 minutes to my friends’ houses…
But, those 20 minute drives are (during Autumn) the prettiest 20 minutes of my day. All the trees are slightly different shades of green, red, orange, yellow, gold, brown, rust, maroon, copper. The air is crisp and cool and smells of fallen leaves and fresh air. Autumn makes me love New York.
I know that when I move, I will miss New York autumns, as well as New York corn and apples. In case you’re thinking “But you can get corn and apples ANYWHERE!”, well… maybe the APPLES, you can. But take my word on this, I live on a dairy farm that grows its own corn to feed the cattle, and I’ve had locally grown corn. The stuff we get imported to our supermarkets and the stuff we export to other markets, is the same grade of stuff we feed our cattle. We wouldn’t dream of eating it as long as we can get the good local stuff.
I don’t appreciate my state much before August or after November, but in the late summer corn-eatin’ season and the beautiful, beautiful fall, I love living in the sticks of the mid-Hudson valley.
West Warwick, Rhode Island which used to be the shopping capital of central RI until they built the Midland Mall and began the disatrous urban sprawl that is Rt 2 in Warwick.
But there is a Catholic church in town and every night at 7:00 they have a carrilon that rings throughout this section of town. For some reason, it seems like everything stops for a few minutes while it rings out a few songs and for just a few minutes everything is at peace. It’s especially nice right around Christmastime with a light snow falling.
I have lived here just about a year now, and this is my first autumn in New England. Like others have said before, the fall colors are spectacular.
I am 20 minutes away from Providence, RI when I want a city atmosphere, and minutes away from a state forest when I want peace and quiet.
I can leave the windows down on my car when it’s hot outside, and not have to worry that it won’t be there when I get out of work.
My father-in-law meets me at the door almost every night after work, to give me a taste of his latest creation, or to fill me in on the neighborhood gossip.
I actually know my neighbors!
I am originally from NYC. It was hard to adjust to living somewhere else, but everyday I realize I like it more and more.
Come on you guys, there has to be more than 13 people who have something nice to say about where they live. If not, then you guys really should move.
Magdelene, we could talk about the things why you don’t like where you live but in DC that could take up several pages. It is the little things like the above that have kept me here for the last few years.
There is a small river that runs through the town & instead of concreting over the river, they have turned it into a feature near the main shops. People go to feed the ducks & geese, there are always swans there & they raised two cygnets this year and I even see herons occasionally if I go late at night after a meal. (Hemel hempstead, near London, UK).
Hills. Tallahassee is the southern extreme of the Appalachian mountain range. Not mountains – we don’t even call the dips between hills valleys – but we have hills nonetheless. (Unlike most of Florida.)
Trees. Everywhere you look there are hardwoods. Go to the observation deck on top of the 26 story capitol building and virtually nothing more than a mile away is in view because of the trees. The nearest MALL is just a mile away and shielded from view.
Youth. It’s a young town. The county’s permanent population is about a quarter million. 40,000 transcient 20 year olds invigorates nearly every one of them.
Water. It’s a 30 minute drive to the Gulf of Mexico. Sunsets over the Gulf are beautiful.
FSU football. I live for this time of year.
Opperman music hall (at FSU). Free concerts both planned and impromptu. You can never tell who or what will be playing the amphitheatre. (On the downside – Charlie Carter passed away recently. For nearly 40 years everything that the Marching Chiefs played was a Carter arrangement. He’ll be missed.)
Dogzilla. I mean this is the ONLY place on earth with Dogzilla. You just can’t trump that!
(more like a slurp up the side of the face, really.;))
Thanks, man! What a sweetie! A true Southern gentleman.
Even for a relative “newbie” like me – I’ve only been here three years – do y’all see how quickly I’ve been accepted as a true Tallahassean? Damn Yankee, my ass! Warms the heart, I tell ya.
Southern Style is right and I must re-emphasize the tree thing: I love flying into this city. Looks like you’re about to land in the middle of the woods. You can barely see any buildings from the air…
World famous points of intrest & national parks are minutes away (on my bike). There is an incredible ethnic diversity here. Take a snap shot of any random street corner and there is a far greater chance of seeing a wide variation of ethnicities than there is of seeing a majority of any single one. You can experience flavours of many different cultures just by visiting a random selection of merchants on certain streets.
I’m really really really really hoping to find a city on the gulf coast that approximates what I have become so attracted to in DC, but with less winter. Please visit my thread if you have any suggestions or comments on Tampa, St. Petersburg or any of the other major cities down thar.
