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Kymberlie posted the following comment in response to my moving idea: I guess I’ll be the dissenting opinion and say that I actually like living in Houston. ~gasp~ There’s lots of things to do – we’ve got a zoo, the most kick-ass baseball stadium, some great museums, we’re a stop on the Drum and Bugle Corp tour (www.dci.org), we’ve got all kinds of fine arts and entertainment, a mix of all kinds of restaurants, clubs, and bars, AstroWorld, and a million other things. Yeah, the weather sucks, but I personally wouldn’t be caught living up north. Too damn cold. Anyway, just wanted to do a little defending of Houston since everyone’s so down on it and I like it here. 🙂

Yes, but Kymberlie … have you lived in any other cities? I have. Our zoo isn’t that great (and I don’t go to the zoo that often anyways). I will admit, Como Park in St. Paul does not compare to our zoo, but the park is *gorgeous* and you can enjoy it in the middle of summer. Sure, Enron field is nice, but it actually didn’t make the “ten best” list. Safeco field in Seattle is my personal favorite. I would miss Enron. But it’s ok, Minneapolis has baseball, basketball and football teams. Museums in Chicago KICK ASS compared to the ones in Houston (and how often do I go to museums anyways?). The natural history museum here is quite small, and I have never been to the art museum, but I know it pales in comparision to the Chicago Art Institute. (Every time I see “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” I say out loud “I’ve been there!”) Every major city has a mix of restaurants, clubs & bars (also don’t frequent clubs or bars too often, and the restaurants here are the same everywhere although I would miss Lupe Tortilla’s) I haven’t been to Astroworld in years, and there are great amusement parks, AWESOME festivals, and much more in the Twin Cities and surrounding area. The weather here sucks and so I can’t do any of the outdoor things that I like to do – I had a BLAST this summer just being able to go for a walk without melting. Camping with the family was a LOT of fun. The heat here is unbearable. I can add more layers when I am cold. I can only take off so many layers when I am hot. The largest Mall in the United States is there in the Twin Cities, and I can tell you that Mall of America ROCKS and puts the Galleria to shame. People actually plan their vacations around the mall. There are parks, lakes, river, tons of green space, tons of outdoor things that you can do both in all four seasons. I love being able to be out on the water. Hmmmm, maybe I can finally get that Mokai and put it to use? (It’s easier to remember mokai.com!!! hehehe)

Most importantly, I have family there. The only family I have here are my parents, and they are talking about moving north at the same time. I will move, with or without them. Candi is right, my Dad makes it sound like I have to have tons of money saved up. I don’t agree. On the other hand, I want to pay them back a sizeable portion of the money I owe them, and then I need enough for deposits, moving fees, and to cover expenses while I job hunt. I think it is entirely possible though. Fortunately, with family in the area I won’t have to pay for hotels while I look for an apartment or wait for my furniture to arrive. I have an Aunt & Uncle in Wyoming, MN, another Aunt & Uncle in Forest Lake, MN (20 minutes outside of the Twin Cities), a cousin in Forest Lake, an Aunt & Uncle in Eden Prairie, another cousin in the area (don’t remember which town she is in…) and family in Winona, MN. I would love to go to Winona, but I think the job opportunities in the Twin Cities might be better. I can always drive down to Winona on the weekends to go camping. Oh, I get more excited about it every day! I even figured out on Monday that instead of buying a new couch now, mine can last another year or so and then I will just get rid of it when I move. I am putting myself on a strict “pitch it” plan. I don’t want to pay to move stuff that I don’t need. I have boxes that I still haven’t opened since I moved them last October. I will go through them one time (I am bad about putting things in boxes that need to be saved, like tax returns) and then I will pitch everything that is NOT critical. I have more stuff then I need. It is time to part with the clothes I don’t wear, the shoes that are out of style, and so forth. Everything must go!

Sorry Kymberlie, Houston isn’t worth defending to me. The outdoors mean a lot to me, and what forest was left in this area has been chopped down so the city could grow. (Wal-Mart sits on one of those spots, my old apartments are on another) You can not do activities outside in the summer unless you are in water and drinking water or else you will die of heat stroke. The cultural activities here leave a lot to be desired, there are better museums, restaurants, and so forth in many other cities. Basically – I don’t like it. I want out. Now that I have cut the ties that bind (in 1999 the Insignificant Other was my reason for staying here) I have no reasons to stay. Living near family and being able to do activities outside in the summer mean so much more to me. I can’t stand to have a picnic here in July, barbeques are miserably hot, and so forth. But the family issue is really the biggest thing for me.