Gotta think positive… Gotta think positive… Gotta think positive…
Ok. Here, in no particular order, is a starter list of things I am looking forward to about living in the States:
- closets
- garbage disposals
- thunderstorms!!!!
- July 4th fireworks
- fireflies
- big front and back porches
- acres of real wilderness
- Thanksgiving
- storage space
- basements
- walks in the woods
- Mexican food
- cardinals in the snow
- a more lively regional arts scene
- a 5 bedroom house for $65,000!!! That’s right, we just looked at the local real estate agents website and found a brand new, 5-bed, 2-bath house, way out on a country road, about 60 minutes from my parents’ house, for $65k. Genuine. Ok, it’s not the most swanky area, but it’s not bad — it’s just on a country road outside an old coal-mining town. But that’s fine by us. Honestly, we couldn’t get a derelict, roofless, dirt-floor, falling down barn around here for that. Yeah, so now that’s something to get excited about!
Ok, that’s a good start. I’m starting to feel a bit better about this… It helps to think positive, and I need to keep it going. Come on, folks, give me a push-start… what else can I look forward to?
Stumble it!
That house sounds amazing, maybe I should move there
(I’d have to think that would go for at least $1m here!)
-Halloween/trick or treating (proper-like)
-Fourth of July parades too!
-dishwasher (do you have this now?)
-dryer (do you have this now?)
-fridge that is bigger than a dorm fridge (you probably already have this one but we didn’t)
-houses that are sealed against drafts
-central heating
-a proper yard with garden
-cakes and brownies
-friendly neighbors (you may already have this but we didn’t..)
-24 hour shopping or shops open past 5pm on Sunday
-mountains and proper snow
Oh yeah, central heat! I forgot about that!
We have a dryer but it apparently hasn’t read through its job description properly. *rolls eyes*
…friendly neighbours… sealed house… …shops open in the evening…
Ahhhhhh… I feel better already.
And don’t forget….your family as your support network. Your girls will love having their grandpa and grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins….etc.
You hit on most of them for me, especially thunderstorms! But the main thing I appreciate is that on a professor’s salary, I can be home with the kids and have a house. Surely there are places in North America where this isn’t true, but it is true here. I also appreciate raising my kids in a culture that feels more familiar to me than the UK did.