Californessee
In the comments of the previous blog entry, Kendra asks, "What were you doing up at 1 am on a school night?", and the answer is worthy of its own entry:
I was up talking to a friend, trying to convince him to move to California from Tennessee. On the other hand, he was trying to convince me to do the opposite. His position is that Tennessee, with a much lower cost-of-living, is a much better place to live. He asked, "What did you do today that you couldn't have done in Tennessee?"
Sadly, I didn't really have a good answer to that. But I promise to start taking more advantage of Cali, because I really don't want to have to move to Tennessee.
Tags: california, tennessee, humor
posted by IvyMike @ 4/05/2006 11:25:00 PM
5 Comments:
Well, in CA, you can die in an earthquake today, rather than in a tornado. That's important. You can work in a dynamic tech sector of our economy. Can you do that in TN? There is the Pacific Ocean, after all, and some big mountains, bigger than the Smokeys. And deserts to explore. And let's not forget all the LA activities and Disneyland. And the generally mild temperatures that allow you to be outside throughout the year. Geez, does everyone have to put down our beloved state? If you hear them criticize, don't even bother inviting them for a visit. Let 'em steep in their bitterness.
My friend conceded the weather point immediately. But he does work in the high-tech industry.
But the remainder of his argument was: I didn't explore the desert yesterday. Nor did I go to Disneyland, nor climb a mountain, or swim in the ocean. I didn't take advantage of almost anything uniquely California that day.
I do California things on occasion, but he would argue that he ALSO can do those same things on occasion, all while enjoying more disposable income.
I'm not buying his argument, but it was a good reminder to take better advantage of my circumstances living here.
There's a cultural element too that you might find, er, unenjoyable. But that knife cuts both ways. Is it a blue state/red state thing? This may be the elephant in the room that you and your buddy may be unwilling to talk about. Cause it's never just about the money or the things you can do.
I'm late to this debate, but I can't help but want to argue for TN. Of course I'm biased by being happily southern. CA is on my list of places to visit certainly, and I can't say I'd argue against the chance to live in CA for a while. But I also can't help but feel home here in TN.
You've got Disney, while we have Dollywood. We've both got some beautiful mountains though vastly different geography, both states being able to brag in their own right.
I'll give you points for Bakersfield over Nashville. But our western border, the Mississippi river is our oldest highway down to New Orleans which has to be worth something.
As far as tech, we do have our share of tech, not the least of which is to be found at Oak Ridge National Labs. We also have the body farm which, while it isn't tech, is one of the coolest places in terms of research. http://www.deathsacre.com/
Of course, I still don't know that I could pick. I can't really say no to CA till I've actually been there and seen it. So I just argue what I do know.
Samuel,
I'm definitely glad to hear you're keeping an open mind about Cali. I lived in the midwest (suburban Chicago, central Illinois, and central Indiana) and the misperceptions about California were rampant.
If you do come out here, make sure you hit Yosemite; there's simply nothing like it anywhere else I've been.
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