So long, Pennsylvania
I’ve been looking at things in a different light since we received the offer on our house. I’m trying to soak up what I can, as… let’s face it… we probably won’t be back, as we’re only here for work.
I’ve been living full-time in PA since 2003, and in PA & NJ part-time since 2001. That’s almost as long as I lived in Orlando. So while we’ve never been able to put down solid roots here, that doesn’t mean I’m not emotionally attached to some degree. So, in no particular order, some of the things I’ll miss about PA:
• Proposed to Sherri here.
• Canadian geese. They bug a lot of people… me, I like them. Me and Tony Soprano have that in common. They seem to be bad for plane engines.
• It’s not Florida. This is the first non-Florida place I’ve lived for more than 4 months.
• Convenience. We have a great grocery store right down the street with good selection and quick check-out. A decent mall, sushi, Marshalls, Kohls, Dairy Queen, Chick-fil-a, and farm fresh produce are all within 5 miles.
• Commute. Sure, I’m trading a 6 mile commute currently with a 0 mile one, but still… 6 miles of back roads to get to work? Hard to complain.
• Work people. I’ve spent a LOT of time around some of those people. And while I’m staying with the company and will be on touch with some of them several times a day, others I won’t. It took a superstar team to accomplish what we did, and I’ll miss the day-to-day interaction.
• Deer. There’s a family of deer that lives in our neighborhood. They eat our plants, but I’ll miss them nonetheless. If you follow this site you’ve already seen photos.
• Summers. I love summers here. Not enough to put up with the winters, but I do love the summers. Since there’s less outdoors time here, people make the most of it. Once it cracks 58 or so, people are always out and about. The neighborhood we moved from has Tuesday evening concerts. The walking trail is mobbed. It doesn’t get dark until 9. And everything is so GREEN. It’s quite beautiful here in the summer.
• Struble walking trail. This is our local rails-to-trails getaway. In the warm months we walk the trail at least once a week, and more if we can.
• Wawa. Sadly there’s nothing like it in Florida.
• Hills.
• Proximity to New York. We love that city and we’ve only seen 1% of it. Maybe if we hit the Powerball we’ll buy a studio apt. there.
And last, but not least, I’ll miss this house. This was the first house I’ve owned as a “we” instead of a “me”. When we bought it, we bought it not for what it was, but for what it could be. I imagined where the swing set and grill would go. I wondered about the joy the previous family experienced in this place. I’ll still get all that, it’ll just be somewhere else.