things I miss about Durham

[flea]

-having a wood-burning fireplace in my house
-my work friends
-my non-work friends
-a bus to take me the two miles to work (I like walking, but 2 miles is 30 minutes!)
-the Farmer's Market (Athens has one, but it does not compare)
-Elmo's (we haven't found a restaurant where I can take the kids and actually relax during the meal)
-Whole Foods (Athens has an Earth Fare, but it is a drive)
-the vigorous civic activity (my craxy neighborhood list-serv, Bull City Rising, downtown development)

Things Athens has over Durham:
-music scene, which would be nice if I was musical, and to the limited extent that I am musical, I don't like hipster rock or old time/bluegrass

I guess I am Slow To Adapt To Change. It's been less than 5 months. We have some great neighbors and great other parents at school. The kids seem settled and happy. I miss Durham, though.

Comments

[fatoudust.livejournal.com]

Hang in there. At five months into my move, I thought I should have been all settled, but I was deeply unhappy. But that abated, and I was able to adjust. Now I'm much happier than I have been in many years. The house is part of it, but a bigger part is being able to be settled into a lifestyle I actually want.

We just went over to a friend's house last night to watch bootleg Dylan videos, and I realized it's just now that we're able to have the kind of friendship interaction that we'd enjoyed in homes previously. And we had friends over here before that, so that was nice. But it's taken more time than I'd thought, especially with having lived here before. Since yours is a brand new city, there will be some adjustment. It's not any failing on your part.

Can you install a woodstove? I love our hearth and it makes a big difference to me.

I'd say keep looking on the other stuff, and give the friendships time. About the civic activity, I'd gamble it's out there, you just have to get tied into it. No matter what community, there's always a subset that's super active. Craxy, maybe, but active.