Can the Adults Please Smoke? Part 24, Drunk on Guinness — Page 7

I have to agree with YWIW. There are some states I know I could not live in.

Michigan is one of them. But not because I don't like it there.

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Okay then, Miss P, is it because of someone's relatives and others that do live in Michigan. lol

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Maybe it's because I haven't been "asked".

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I lived in Texas for awhile - and not even in Ausitn. Since I escaped alive and didn't end up in prison, I assume anything is possible

Baddy, you got it!!!!

Shira, you tell me

DG, prison would NOT suit you!

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DG, no one said ALL of the South is horrific. But in general, Arkansas seems to be so.

I'm somewhat open to where I live. I mean, I even interviewed for an internship, and will apply for employment, at a company in Minneapolis. I didn't expect to like Minnesota, but Minneapolis isn't too bad. Besides the horrid winters...

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I do realize blanket statements aren't the best choice, in general. And poking at Arkansas was sort of a joke.

But I have family that has lived all over the south, and the experiences they had in Arkansas in comparison to elsewhere was surprisingly much much worse. I also have some friends that tried working at the corporate office of Dillard's, a department store, in Little Rock, and they didn't have the best experience.

I think if you have friends and family there, it's a different story - just as plenty of people could crack on Virginia, it just depends. A large part of my mother's family lives in VA and I miss visiting more often! But I do agree with you, DG. The state of mind you have where you're living makes the biggest difference.

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Oooh, have fun. I've never been to Sam's Club, but I'm a fan of Costco!

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Well my darlings, off to Philly. Have a good weekend!

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Well DG, I will say that I met some very lovely people in Little Rock, but when I was working there, I found an undercurrent of prejudice against blacks and jews that threw me.

Some of the people there were great, but the social structure there, and the pervasive push of the church, were too much for my socially liberal, Jewish little soul. I had never been cornered and preached/prostelized to on the job until I was in Little Rock.

It is beautiful country, with lush trees, and some amazing landscapes, but it was not the place for me. Class and knowing "your place" seem to be very strong currents there, and while again, there were some lovely folks, they were outnumbered by those that just seemed to be about 40 years behind the times.

Funny, I befriended a gay man there, who moved to Arkansas from St. Petersburg for the job, and he told me in no uncertain terms...

DO NOT MOVE TO LITTLE ROCK - IT WILL KILL YOUR SOUL.

He was looking for options of moving away as quickly as possible.

I also forgot the ongoing sexism I faced, but that was not as bad as being told, when I mention I was Jewish "I know one of them."

Interestingly, that kind of describes the environment we live in. Most of the small businesses around us are owned by Christians of a rather conservative bent, and they go so far as to use their businesses to promote their 'perspective' (I'm consciously avoiding using the term 'agenda' ) I've had some rather uncomfortable encounters while doing something as seemingly innocuous as picking up dry-cleaning!

Obviously, I get what you're saying about 'pervasive attitudes' in a region. Part of what's fueling my thoughts on this - at least at the moment - is a reactive posture on my part to the notion I get thrown in my face around here (concerning being gay and living in America) - "If you don't like it, leave". That's not something I think is viable, and so my negative reaction to that is fueling my feelings on categorizing 'place'.

All-in-all, I just think it's sad that this type of thing has to be an issue - for anybody, for any reason.

YWIW - it would certainly be preferable Believe me, especially since I spent most of yesterday on the coast - where the weather was PERFECT, by the way! - I feel it would really improve our quality of life to live 'further west'.

We're out here because of the TinMan's old life, but that's been changed. Mostly, right now, it's simply a financial decision. We have a rather unique set-up with the home ownership here, and there would be NO WAY to even come close to replicating our lifestyle if we moved in that direction.

Ultimately, as in everything else, you make choices based on the priorities you develop. Who knows what the future holds, or where we might end up.

Eventually, we just hope to end up being two old queens living in Palm Springs and running around naked in the desert sun