I'm such a spoilt creature. I want to have my cake and it eat it too.
The apartment we used to rent is about two miles from the lab. The new house is seven miles away, which means I have a much longer commute. (Those of you in big cities, stop with the hysterical laughter already.)
I love big cities. I love the variety, the bustle, the shopping, the arts, the fact that the airport has real planes (not itty-bitty puddlehoppers that fly only to the nearest big city), the eccentricities, the cultural events, the facilities. But I hate living in them; the noise, the pollution, the crime, the inflated prices at some places.
I love living in a town that is big enough to have all the amenities, but still feels to some extent like a community, that has character, lighter traffic and space to move around in. Oh, and parking.
But I love the country although I am not that keen on roughing it exactly. It is more of an appreciative, on-the-other-side-of-the-camera-lens kind of love.
And now I live across the river from a big city with all that I love about it (literally just a bridge away), in a town big enough to be comfortable and small enough to care, and the route that I drive to work takes me through an undeveloped area of smallholdings and sports fields, with meadows and pastures and quaint ramshackle barns, woods and ponds with long stretches of magnificent mountain views.
And here I am complaining that in order to get a gigantic comfortable house for all the family, I have to drive an entire 20 minutes to get to work!
Comments (6)
to complain is human :)
Posted by Sagnik | February 3, 2005 2:48 PM
Posted on February 3, 2005 14:48
It's lovely. I started listening to books on tape/disc from my local library and sometimes, wish the drive were a wee bit longer or just sit in my car listening awhile until I am forced by time to totter into work. You might like it, too.
Posted by Mary | February 4, 2005 4:59 AM
Posted on February 4, 2005 04:59
Sagnik - yep. If it wasn't this, we would find something else to complain about :-)
Mary - I get to take the o-o-o-o-old vehicle to work. No tape deck or cd player, just the radio. Which is where I get my daily double dose of NPR that keeps me tenuously attached to the real world and at least partially sane.
Posted by Sivani | February 4, 2005 5:25 AM
Posted on February 4, 2005 05:25
Sivani, I won't complain about my commute as opposed to yours, even though ... frassem-rassem ... I'm jealous.
Alas! I'm an urbanite, it seems ... it's in my blood, no matter how I might deny it or fight it. Previous to buying this house we lived for seven years in a township, just a few miles from a city of 50,000. I loved the easier pace of life and lower cost of living, but felt somewhat out of my confort zone.
Posted by Chrysalis | February 4, 2005 7:26 AM
Posted on February 4, 2005 07:26
I have to agree with you. You are spoilt! :)
Posted by Jag | February 5, 2005 5:24 AM
Posted on February 5, 2005 05:24
Jag - Yeah, I know. Wanna come for a holiday? We've got plenty of space in the new house :-)
Posted by Sivani | February 8, 2005 12:11 PM
Posted on February 8, 2005 12:11