I just got back from a weekend in Vegas after a two year boycott of the Silver State. Reason for visit: to reconnect with good friends for a 50th birthday celebration and a baby shower. (Not for the same person, obviously.)
During my visit, my host-friend and I discussed Money Magazine's 2006 Best Places to Live. He has been thinking seriously about moving to Fishers, Indiana (#33) to raise a daughter and be closer to family. A California native, he solicited my Midwestern advice to what I thought about leaving Las Vegas to move to Indiana. My response was this: "Anywhere is better than Las Vegas. I would actually consider moving to Iowa again before I would go back to Vegas. That's not even taking a child into consideration." I would actually be hard-pressed to move back to Iowa, even if I could afford more things.
My friend owns a 2000 square foot house with a beautifully landscaped back yard and pool that he paid $250,000 for when he bought it in 2002. Needless to say, it's worth considerably more now, but not even close to the 2 million it would probably cost in the Bay Area. He would be able to double his purchasing power if he were to move his family to the Midwest. I wonder: Is it worth it to have a perfect home, when the city outside has nothing to offer? My friend and I have different opinions. The aspiration to have a perfect home that you never leave doesn't appeal to me. What appeals to me is the culture outside of the house. I like to go - leave - scat - gehe - vamos!
So, I would like to take this opportunity to forget about my tiny apartment and having to live paycheck to paycheck to appreciate the Bay Area and all it has to offer. There is no where else I'd rather live, than in a crappy apartment amidst this beautiful area! I mean, accommodations are so meager, that you HAVE to get out of the house and enjoy the following:
* Proximity to San Francisco, Tahoe, Santa Cruz (the beach), Sonoma and Napa (wine country)
* Major airport within 10 miles - there will be NO 2 hour drives after getting off the plane
* Diversity - anything imported to buy or any cuisine available within 10 miles
* Education - 40% of Silicon Valley have attended some college
* Arts Culture - Opera, museums, symphonies, festivals
* Sights - hikes, bike rides, and swims are breathtaking
3 comments:
Tell your friend that Fishers is the nicest part of Indianapolis, and that there's a Fry's Electronics there too.
Other than that . . . its a homogeneous Midwestern culture of generic strip malls (Best Buy, Target, etc.) and he'd better like the Pacers and Colts.
Oh, and if he likes ethnic food (I'm including Italian and Mexican), forget it.
Perfect - he'll love it.
Oh, and also the fact that you have TONS of good friends in the Bay Area...
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