Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
Lady Onogaro
"Be yourself--everybody else is already taken." --Oscar Wilde
Jon Szanto (March 6th, 2020)
Me too (17 yrs ago now), and also no regrets, though I miss family whom I've only visited twice in all that time. It's a beautiful place, in part because of the low population numbers. Sadly, as places around the world get worse people look to moving to nicer places, which inevitably get ruined by the influx over time. With luck I'll be dead before that happens here.
If the world was doing well, and people respected where they lived, then I would have liked to retire and spend the short remaining years in the village of Malcesine on the shores of Lago di Garda (Northern Italy). It's a place where I felt an instant peace. Under the watchful eye of Monte Baldo, with cool fresh waters of the lake to swim. Mountain walks in the spring to view the arnica and gentians, and snow all around in the winter. Just south of the Alto Adige region, which is bursting with fruit orchards and vineyards. I used to speak fluent Italian, so picking the language up again would be no problem, but there is no chance of retiring there now, what with COVID-19 and Brexit (I'm a Brit) and so on.
Last edited by Empty_of_Clouds; March 6th, 2020 at 09:25 PM.
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
I was never an "if you could" person. Still remember the day in seventh grade when I made the decision to do exactly what I wanted to do in life, money, circumstances, etc. be damned. Have pretty much abided by that and never regretted it. When I didn't like the work I was doing, I found work I wanted to do. When I didn't like where I lived, I went to a place I wanted to be.
If there were any other place to be, it would be...
Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Back in college, I made the decision to go on an adventure after graduation and while I was still young and free. I wanted an adventure that wasn't typical, so I moved to North Dakota. It's now 21 years later, and I'm still there.
But I think that my retirement will take me elsewhere. Realistically, I'd like to move to New England just for the culture. I really don't fit in where I live, and it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. I'm personally conservative but politically liberal. Try being a liberal in rural North Dakota!
But if I'm fantasizing: I have not traveled to any of these places, but they seem interesting.
Uruguay: a fairly well-developed country with a good climate and a secular culture. In retirement, my money would go farther than anywhere in the US.
Finland: I love the climate, the schools are amazing, and I think I would be a good cultural fit. As a bonus, I wouldn't have to drive if I lived there. I hate driving (another strike against rural North Dakota).
There are other places, but those are the two that always come to mind when I think about it. And please don't take any of this to mean I hate where I live now. I'm just not thrilled with it like I once was. But there is still nothing like getting out away from people, and that's still pretty easy to do in North Dakota.
catbert (March 7th, 2020), Deb (March 7th, 2020), Jon Szanto (March 7th, 2020), Lady Onogaro (March 8th, 2020), mana (December 18th, 2020), Yazeh (December 17th, 2020)
I still have fond memories of some of the photos you have posted from your area, including the small one-room (am I remembering correctly) church. The spaciousness of the area is very freeing but, I imagine, can be lonely as well. Anyway, I know your enjoyment of your place came through, at least at that time.
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Waski_the_Squirrel (March 8th, 2020)
Lafayette also has Bread and Circus Provisions. One of the best pizza's I've ever had. This coming from a lifelong resident of the NYC area.
Vermont. The most beautiful and peaceful place I've ever been, tied with standing on the beach on Cape Cod.
But since that requires a change of nation, and that's not an easy or affordable option; Vancouver Island is looking pretty good. I want mountains, and ocean. Vancouver Island is looking like the only place I can realistically have both.
I've lived in Colorado for 52 of my 56 years on this planet. We live about 60 miles from where I grew up. I can honestly say that as I've gotten older, I like Colorado even more. Sure, it seems to have a overwhelming number of legal marijuana shops and grow facilities and I don't partake of that, but as I look around at the number of liquor stores and bars (I don't partake of that either), both here and wherever I've traveled, I guess I don't see much of a difference. Take that for however you want to.
Our little city of 150,000 is a blue collar place. We still have an operating steel mill, a thriving manufacturing culture and are positioned just about 2 hours from Denver. Close enough that we can go there if we want, but far enough away to not have to! We live about 6 miles from the city in a 40-50 year old development, so can be in town quickly for what ever we need, but again, far enough away that we aren't in the middle of it. I can see alfalfa and corn fields from my window and am soon adding a couple of beehives to our yard.
I like our cultural blend in our city with around 50% Hispanic population (many tracing back to Native American from 300+ years ago), around 30% Italian or Eastern Europe groups who immigrated during the last century. The rest of us are mutts. The cultural mishmash brings out interesting food and entertainment options. The Groupo Folklorico is a local dance troup with Hispanic & Native American dances, the Tamburitzas are a Slovenian/Ukrainian dance group. We are the home to Solar Roast Coffee and the birthplace of the finest meal ever - the Green Chili Slopper. While our neighbors to the south in New Mexico may claim to have the best green chilis, those of us here, know that Pueblo Green Chilis are actually the best.
I know I sound like a commercial for the Chamber of Commerce, but I love our area and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
Last edited by countrydirt; March 8th, 2020 at 08:15 AM.
I use a fountain pen and a paper planner - paperinkplan.wordpress.com
Deb (March 8th, 2020)
I was born and bred in Caithness, the northernmost county of Scotland. I couldn't wait to get out into the (supposedly) more sophisticated world elsewhere and I left at 15. I lived in many places and, as someone said earlier, I was never in any place I was anxious to get out of. Three years ago a concatenation of circumstances enforced a return to Caithness. I never really yearned to return to the county of my birth but now I'm here, living among the familiar places and hearing the inimitable accent all around, I realise I did want to be here, at some level, all along. Seems I moved to where I wanted to be.
Gordon, using Deb's account when she wasn't looking.
countrydirt (March 8th, 2020), Jon Szanto (March 8th, 2020), junglejim (March 8th, 2020), Yazeh (December 17th, 2020)
It was a 501 in pale grey, perfect nib, one of the many that I wish I still owned. Pale grey pens struggle in the glamour department but it remained a good 'un. The only thing I recall about the purchase was that the seller lived in your part of the world and sent a letter with with pen saying that they hoped I liked the pen, the letter had a Border Collie on the top.
It might have been. 12 years ago we were considering setting up a pen business and we didn't use the headed paper then that we do now. 12 years ago is the dim and foggy past, to me.
I like pale grey pens if the colour is good. Both Parker and Swan grey pens are subject to yellowing which makes them unlovely but a good grey 1950s Swan or Parker Victory is a very nice pen indeed. The 501 grey is a different plastic and doesn't seem to suffer from discolouring.
I still enjoy the scenery. It's a different kind of beauty from what I grew up with. And I love the wide-open spaces and the ability to go out and just be truly alone. I suspect I recall the exact picture you're talking about. It wasn't a one-room church, but close enough. Very small and very rural. And I do love that. I guess what has me rethinking things is that over the past few years I've felt that people are less open minded, more dogmatic, and less willing to disagree. I've lost a few friends the past few years because I preferred a different candidate for president than they did. It's not like that was a new thing, but their reaction to it was.
Of course, you have to love stuff like this:
countrydirt (March 8th, 2020), empliau (March 11th, 2020), Jon Szanto (March 8th, 2020), Yazeh (December 17th, 2020)
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