Making a Life Where You Live

by Laura Bickle

I know that it's not terribly glamorous, but I like living in the Midwest.

I moved away from the rural area I grew up in for college, and pretty much stayed in the nearest large city. I had spells where I moved other places for work: a university town, waaay out in the woods, a megalopolis. But to me, there's a sort of happy medium in quality of life to be had in a medium-sized city.

I didn't like living in an uber-large metropolis because the commute was hell and no privacy whatsoever. Sure, there was nice entertainment, like museums, to go to. But when I lived there, I really went only once a season. The rest of the time, I was fighting traffic, paying through the nose for parking, had five roommates, and still bitched about the cost of rent. You couldn't go anywhere alone at night. The day-to-day life wasn't very practical or enjoyable for me on a day-to-day basis. I was exhausted. I'm a person who needs a fair amount of solitude, and I couldn't get the hell away from people. Ever.

Living waaaaaay out in the sticks didn't work for me, either. I returned back to the county I grew up in for a job once upon a time. And it's true what they say about never being able to go home again. I spent one wreched winter in a house that I rented with a vertical driveway from hell and a completely ridiculous set-up with a heat pump external to the house. I used one 300 gallon propane tank each month in the winter (at a cost of about $500 a pop) to keep the house at sixty degrees. And that was when I wasn't groveling to the only propane show in town to put me on the delivery list before I ran out.

And we will not speak of the year-round ladybug invasion that looked like something out of Amityville Horror. Or snakes in the dryer.

So...yeah. I like my medium-size city. There are bookstores. Enough entertainment to keep me occupied when I've got the desire to go to the movies or have a good dinner with friends. I don't have to depend on sketchy propane delivery. There's a suitable degree of anonymity. There are twenty-four hour veterinary clinics for emergencies. I was able to afford my own house in a decent neighborhood without having roommates or neighbors on top of me. My commute to work is about twenty minutes, and I can park on the premesis. There are plenty of jobs. I met my husband online dating in this city, so I can say that the pickings are good in that arena, too.

I like the people here. I have friends to can tomatoes with, see chick flicks, and meet for dessert and coffee. My co-workers are pretty darn awesome. We have a great library, a wonderful comic book shop, farmer's markets, and a great day spa up the street. I feel safe going to the grocery store if the desire for ice cream hits me late at night. My neighborhood is quiet - no loud partiers. I can go for a walk in the evenings and meet an assortment of friendly dogs and their owners.

So...I picked where I did, in short, because it's a good place to a have a quiet home, make a living, enjoy the little pleasures, and be loved.

'Cause when you boil it down, there isn't that much more to life.