Moving to Minnesota

After a few months of deliberating, I’ve decided where I’d like to live:  Minneapolis.  I’m going home.
I’ve also thought a move to either San Francisco or San Diego would be good – and they would be – but financial and familial reasons make the Minny Apple the better choice.  I really do like it there and have wanted to live there since I was in high school.  But then I went to college in a small town and traveled throughout my 20s.  When I was 20, I spent 6 months in Germany.  When I was 22, I spent 2 years in Shanghai.  When I was 25, I spent 3 years in California.  (Update: When I was 29 I spent 6 months in Belize.) I’m ready to go home now.

I’ve been mentally preparing for this for a while now, and I’m glad to have been able to take some trips this summer to go abalone diving in Mendecino, beach partying in San Diego, outdoor funning in Tahoe, camping in Big Basin, beer festivalling in Monterey and music concerting in San Fran (coming soon to a weekend near you).  Check out my Flickr collection for some great shots from those excursions.  Many are also on Facebook in case we’re “friends.”

But, like any move, this one will be bittersweet.  First, I will be leaving many friends in California.  It’s always difficult to say goodbye.  It’s the worst part about traveling; the more people you meet and become close with, the more people you have to say goodbye to.  In particular, these last years in Monterey have been the hardest, as it’s a town with a transient population by nature (at least within my circles).  So, goodbye California friends.  That’s the bitter, the sweet is that I’ll have even more reasons to come back and visit San Fran, LA & Tahoe.  Not bad.

There will be some other things I’ll miss in Monterey and California:
•    Coastal weather – never too hot, never too cold
•    Driving back from Tahoe – waking up in the mountains, followed by evening swims in the bay
•    Local beers:  Sierra Nevada, Pyramid, Gordon Biersch, Dragon Slayer, English Ales and all the goodness from Mendocino county
•    The Silicon Valley spirit – innovative, collaborative
•    Biking to work
•    Golfing in January
•    Cali girls
•    Bonfires on the beach
•    The air of superiority we Californians take with us wherever we go
•    Surfing and abalone diving
•    Driving 90+ on the freeway, and being considered “with traffic”
•    The warm sunshine just on the other side of those hills there
•    Rowdy A’s fans – though I’m not sad to leave before they go to Fremont
•    AT&T/SBC/whatever park where the Giants play – badass venue

But there are a lot of things I’m looking forward to in the Midwest again:
•    Storms
•    More golf courses – and those that don’t cost >$200 to play
•    Local beers:  Summit, Leinenkugel’s, Schell, Glueck & Cold Spring
•    Music venues – would’ve found them in SF or San Diego too, so maybe this is just me glad to leave Monterey
•    Not dealing with the fascist cops in the 831
•    Minnie girls
•    Tons and tons of disc golf courses
•    Swimming in lakes, not needing a wetsuit and not sucking down salt water
•    Slightly less traffic than CA.  Slightly.
•    Seasons – yes, cold winters can suck, but they make spring so awesome. Plus, they’re not all that bad. For serious.
•    Having campfires when I go camping
•    The mist that comes off lakes in the late summer/autumn
•    Twins in the division race

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