My Thoughts on Leaving San Diego

I will be leaving in just a little bit over a month from this vile city.

Things I will miss:

-The weather, or lack thereof
-A few select taco shops
-The Apple store being just a few minutes away
-A few friends
-A few select restaurants, including Phil's BBQ, Jimmy Carter's Mexican restaurant, and Cafe on Park. I will not miss the large amount of shitty restaurants that I visited while I was here, for example: Chili's in Point Loma, Outback Steakhouse in Mission Valley, D'Lish in Eastlake, D'Lush in the Fashion Valley mall, and for the love of Christ, DO NOT EVER go to the Sun Cafe downtown. Trust me, just stay away. It's a dump.
-As much as I hate to admit it, I will miss my house, only because it's the first place I have ever lived completely on my own. It's kind of like your first car: at first you loved it, then you hated it, then you were emotionally tied to it solely because it was your first. It may have been a piece of shit, but a lot of cool things went down there. I've spent a lot of late nights up drinking coffee, playing video games, and generally goofing off doing whatever I want in my house, and I will miss that.

Things I will not miss:

-Traffic and the general overabundance of people everywhere you go.
-Snobby people
-Illegal immigrants
-Shitty air quality
-CA Drivers
-Overpriced EVERYTHING
-Lack of decent, affordable housing
-San Diego doesn't have it's own identity. It is not a city known for anything. It just exists without any real history or definable traits.
-The graffiti in my neighborhood and my alley
-The potholes and sinkholes that are rampant throughout the city
-Inflated prices at most bars you go to
-The gas prices
-The lack of any outdoor recreational activities (camping, freshwater fishing come to mind) that are close, affordable, and that aren't packed with people.
-A wide range of many other things that I'm sure have been covered elsewhere. It's been fun, but I'm sick of this place.

And now for some thought about where I am moving, to Missoula, Montana. In a pamphlet that I got in the mail recently, there is a great quote about Missoula.

"Outside Magazine selected Missoula as one of 10 dream towns. Our formula is simple. First, each place offers a close access to a mother lode of usable outdoors, so that a paddle, a hike, a few wave sets, or a bump run after work is not possible, but routine. Each one also provides some realistic hope of making a living (enough to support a family) and a healthy supply of sub-millionaire housing. Some of our towns are classic meccas, some relatively uncelebrated burgs, but all are places that haven't bulldozed their character and don't intend to. Places that no one could mistake for Anywhere."

Easily San Diego's worst problem: it is an "Anywhere."

And now for some John Steinbeck:

"I'm in love with Montana. For other states, I have admiration, respect, recognition, and even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it is difficult to analyze when you're in it..." - John Steinbeck, Travels with Charlie

I think the thing that I am going to love about Montana is that the people there seem more authentic to me than anywhere I have ever been before. They didn't seem like they were trying to please anyone or appear pretentious. They seemed comfortable with who they are and what they are doing. And most of them had a quiet admiration for where they lived. They don't talk about how much better they are than other states (Texas has this problem, bad), and they didn't seem ashamed of it, either. And most of them are probably quite pleased that the rest of America has all but forgotten it exists.

An afterthought:

After typing this post, I was almost ready to hit send. Then I found this gem, which just completely reiterates the last paragraph that I wrote. Another one from Steinbeck: "Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans. - John Steinbeck

After visiting Montana the first time, I said to myself: this is what I thought Texas was SUPPOSED to be like. Texas is like the California version of Montana, in my opinion. Steinbeck hit that one right on the nose. That was too weird. My thoughts exactly. And to think that Steinbeck probably wrote that 50+ years ago. Still true today.

One more, for posterity...it's a good one, and probably explains the last half of this post: "Just as converts make the best Catholics, so newcomers make the most rabidly possessive Montanans. Everyone who moves to Montana wants to be the last one allowed in." -Glenn Law, More Than Skin Deep

Ok, it's late and I have to get up in 5 hours.