October 13, 2005

Bye bye Boston, see ya (hope not) later!

It's official. I'm outta here on Saturday for good, with luck, rarely to return.

I will be a North Carolinian after that I guess, a "tar-heel" minus the accent. I can hardly wait.

My husband has been there for a week, and so far:

  • He's been called "sir" by the cashier at the McDonald's drive-through

  • He's been called "sir" by some workmen in the elevator at his building

  • He had to get his car serviced by the dealer, and not only was he NOT ripped off, they drove him to work, picked him up in front of his office when the work was done, called him to confirm what needed to be done and emphasized that he "only needed the rear brake pads replaced" when let's face it, they could have done them all--he'd never have known the difference. They also took ALL the Boston dings out of his doors for only $180 while the Boston dealer told him it would be at least $600, that's why he never bothered to do it. Oh, and before he left, they gave him a rose to give to me and told him to say he picked it up on the way home (they didn't know I wasn't there), just because I'd made the appointment for him!

  • He had to buy some stuff at Babies R Us and the two women who waited on him CARRIED IT OUT TO HIS CAR for him without him even asking for help!

  • Several people--from our realtor to a few of his co-workers--have offered to find us babysitters or just "stop by and help out" when the baby comes in December. They only JUST MET HIM!

  • He's enjoyed nice balmy 75 degree days while I've been sitting in cold, rainy windy cloudy Boston

    • I think I'm gonna like my new home, and I don't even have my gun yet! (Kidding) What an irony it will be to be living in a place where you CAN get a gun, but every other person doesn't inspire you to want to use it on them! (Kidding again, sort of)

    In other news...

    • Our house goes under contract tomorrow--for less than we wanted, but the opportunity cost of being done with this place before we're actually gone counts too. I couldn't handle the stress anymore. So essentially the new people bought a kitchen and got a house to go with it. Lucky bastids!

    • We're under agreement to buy a new house in Charlotte. It's a new build, but close to the city. No land per se, but I'm pretty sick of yard work actually. In that heat, I'd rather live inside anyway, in my nice THREE ZONE A/C'd house!

    • I'll be in my new home BEFORE Christmas and BEFORE (God willing) Lily makes her appearance. Just think, she'll be BORN a tar-heel, how weird.

    And the icing on the cake? THE RED SOX LOST!

    Pardon my glee, I always was a Yankee fan. You can take the Yankee out of NYC, but you can't take the NYC out of the Yankee!

    Let's just hope you can take the yakee out of the northeast and leave it there. I'm no carpetbagger, that's for sure!

    Wish us luck!

    As of next week, this will be a CHARLOTTE BLOG!!!

    Posted by insomnomaniac at October 13, 2005 9:43 PM
    Comments

    You go, girl!

    Just promise me that you won't lose your unique Deb Anger living down there. The blogosphere would not be the same without it.

    Moving from New York City to rural Wisconsin 20 years ago was one of the smartest things I ever did. You're going to love being back in "The Rest of America."

    Safe travels.

    Posted by: Pete (Alois) at October 13, 2005 10:52 PM

    I'm so glad you going ahead with the move and leaving that stress behind. I think you will really like living in Charlotte. What a beautiful state, North Carolina!!

    I remember seeing the pictures of your kitchen and it is so amazing. I know you hate to leave it so soon, but I bet you'll have a nice one in your new home.

    I can't wait to see what you have to say when you write again. Good luck.

    Posted by: sandy at October 14, 2005 5:49 AM

    good luck with your move, and anything south of NJ seems to have a certain politeness that goes along with it which is totally lacking in the North East.

    Don't drop dead when some stranger is kind to you.

    :-)

    Posted by: christine at October 15, 2005 2:12 AM

    Deb,
    Best of luck with the move. Keep your skeptical eye though; remember, while Boston produced the loathsome John Kerry, North Carolina inflicted John Edwards on us. Seriously, though, it sounds like a fine place for you and your family. Enjoy.
    Steve

    Posted by: Stephen at October 16, 2005 2:56 AM

    Hello Deb! Was just thinking fondly of you and thought I'd drop by to see how the move is going! Good for you!!

    "I think I'm gonna like my new home, and I don't even have my gun yet! (Kidding) What an irony it will be to be living in a place where you CAN get a gun, but every other person doesn't inspire you to want to use it on them! (Kidding again, sort of)"

    I've come to strongly suspect those two points are NOT at all unrelated.

    Looking at Boulder (CO), which received an influx of Californians I have this theory about liberals: They insist on absolute control over places, they get all these laws pass which make the place a disaster, they complaint about what a mess the place is, and then finally move to more conservative areas where they start the process all over again.

    For a group of people who pretend they are concerned about "sustainability", they don't know the first thing about it.

    Welcome to non-Boston!

    Posted by: Tim (Random Observations) at October 17, 2005 5:08 AM

    Welcome to the Friendly South!

    Posted by: Misha I at October 23, 2005 6:05 PM

    I'm origionally from pittsburgh transplanted to CT. I've been living here for 16 years now and I still can't get over how rude This portion of the north east is I think you will like living down south. I know I did when I lived in VA.

    Posted by: Bob S at October 24, 2005 9:16 AM