Gwen, what's up with moving to Dallas? Did I miss something?

Also, I'm toying with the idea of trying to get a temporary job and move to London for 6 months. I'm almost 40, in good health, and if I don't do it now, when will I ever? Plus i heard they have a shop that's one floor rubber clothes, one floor leather clothes (don't know what's on the other floor...chainmail (is that spelled right?))

Who's over 30 and on a whim, moved somewhere outrageous, and why?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Answers

Unless you're from a Commonwealth country or have parents or grandparents from the UK, good luck moving there and getting a job on a whim. After over two years and one marriage, I just had permission granted to work wherever I want -- last week. It's not as easy as it may seem.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2000

I'm not over 30 (this is perhaps the only time that my under- thirtiness has seemed like a disadvantage) but I'm going to answer anyway, because I don't like to see young people discriminated against, goddammit.

I recently returned to London from Hong Kong, having lived there for a year. Admittedly, I moved there to take up a job offer, so it wasn't quite as random as it could have been, but there was a definite element of whimsy involved ...

When the HK position became vacant, I decided almost immediately not to accept it, partially because I was involved in a protracted and complicated courtship. Then, the object of my attention rebuffed me, and the next day I put myself up for the HK job without really considering it. My application was immediately accepted and supported by the MD and a date was set for me to fly out there, all in the space of a half-hour conversation. Boom!

When I told Her that I was going to Hong Kong, she suddenly decided that she actually DID want me, and after a year and a half of are-we- friends-or-are-we-something-else, we were suddenly something else and falling in love. Two months later, I left the country for a year. It was too soon to exchange vows of fidelity, so we settled for staying in touch.

Hong Kong was about as different a city from London as it's possible to get (unless you go fully third-world) and I had an amazing time.

As the story above (hopefully) indicates, the decision to leave, to uproot myself, although taken without due consideration, fundamentally changed a lot of things - it changed the way I interacted with people, the dynamics of a lot of other relationships, and consequently changed me. It prompted a chain of events which has seen me move back to London with a partner I met in Hong Kong. We have both started new jobs, found a flat together, and all kinds of crazy things are happening.

You don't need a reason to move, there's no need to view it as a Big Deal. If you want to go (and it sounds like you do) then go, and worry about it later - what's the worst that could happen?

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2000

Yeah, if you don't have kids, just go.

Lisa, do you want me to answer your post? Coz I'm under 30, too. [smiling emoticon]

I was sort of considering moving to Dallas. Now I've decided to table the decision. One of my kids is starting Kinder next month. I don't really wanna miss that, I guess.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2000

I'm moving to Eugene, Oregon from southern Illinois. I've lived in Illinois my whole life. I'm 22, and my husband and i just decided at one point that we needed to leave, and go far away, at that. It's not like moving to another country, but a totally foreign experience to me nonetheless.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2000

Gwen--are you trying to tell us that you were considering running away from home? Don't you think Del Rio would be more exciting than Dallas?

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2000

Wow! I've been sick for a couple of days or I would have clarified myself sooner....everyone post, regardless of age. There is no doubt that I feel different about moving around now than I did in my 20's (it's harder) and I wanted some perspectives from that generation too. Yep, I know about the employment situation in England, but I've been told that there are temporary jobs for technical people there (through special recruiters.) Who knows....anyway, great Hong Kong story!

Gwen, why were you going to Dallas? Just a change of scenery? Did Paul get a job offer there? ...? Also, I saw in your diary that you went to Lush...is that where they have the lemon soap that you can buy by the slice?

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2000

It's easy to buy soap by the slice in around London!

I am 28 and my husband is 33 next week. 2 years ago we decided we wanted to pack up and ship out from a pokey little town just south of London with a 3 1/2 hour commute daily and set up a new life in New England. And we have kids! It has taken all this time to achieve our dream - My husband started the new job last month and I am bringing the kids out next week. It feels so good to have this shake- up. So, research it and do it - that's my advice.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2000

I buy soap by the slice from the shop around the corner from me. Alas, not as cool as Lush, but it's certainly not a UK-only (or Canada-only) phenomenon. Maybe there's a store in your hometown, too.

P.S. Soap-slicing place also sells pens and necklaces that light up. Toys rock.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2000

Lisa, yeah they do sell soap by the slice at Lush. But like everyone else said, that's not the only place in town that does. You could go to www.lushcanada.com and see if it's the same one you're thinking of.

I wanted to move out on my own because of... um... let's just say "the 8 year itch". But I think everything's gonna be okay now.

Just yesterday Paul and I were talking about selling our trailer and land and moving a few towns up the road. But now I think we're just gonna repaint the walls.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2000

Gwen, you don't wanna come to Dallas. I'm so sick of this place! There's so much nouveau riche pretension. I much prefer the starving artist pretension college towns offer!

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2000

I kind of wanted to go to Big D coz I know more artists there than I do here in The Semi-Rural Suburb of Austin in which I live.

But that is no longer here nor there. If I move anywhere, now, I'm moving to Japan. (Specifically, to Hello Kitty Land.)

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Gwen, where do your artsy Dallas pals hang out? I'm sick of the 'burbs. I like Greenville but don't get there as often as I'd like.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

Y'all should move to SA! We've got Six Flags, SeaWorld, Schlitterbahn, the riverwalk and other places I've never been to in the 3 years I've been here.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

Jill, they live in some neighborhood with a bunch of old houses that's next to a big street with a lot of thrift stores and Mexican stuff. And they also live near... shoot. What's the name of that place? Dang it. Some historic neighborhood where they're putting in a lot of shops now. Shoot. Okay, I'm gonna have to find out the names of these places. (That was helpful, wasn't it?)

Shelly, if Seaworld isn't good enough for you, what makes you think it's good enough for us, huh?

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

Oops! My bad. I've been to SeaWorld twice and the riverwalk a few times, so there! But how did I forget to mention the Alamo? That was really the reason we moved here.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

Okay, above, where I'm talking about Tania's neighborhood, I'm talking about Oakcliff. Or, as Ann calls it: "Oakcliff-O". Why does she call it that? Because whenever she tells certain sorts of people that she lives in Oakcliff, they go, "Oh..."

I'm bringing this back up to tell y'all that Paul and I just signed contracts necessary to list our property for sale. We're hoping to sell it and make enough for a nice house. (Not trailer -- house.)

So I'm torn between wanting to live in Austin proper (not the semi-rural, trailer-zoned outskirts) and wanting to live in Houston. Here's my preliminary list of pros and cons, and peeps who've lived in either city are welcome to contribute:

Houston pros:
you get more house for your money
bright lights, big city, more culture
my family is there, and tons of friends
the ocean

Houston cons:
more pollution
more crime (I think... is it still that way?)
more humidity

Austin pros:
um... less pollution, crime, humidity?
easier for Paul to pop into his job's headquarters when necessary
um... Paul's family lives nearby
the lakes

Austin cons:
lame schools, I think
could the houses BE more expensive?
no museums or Chinatown or anything that you'd think a city so full of braggarts would have

I just don't know. I'm so confused! And can you tell I'm slightly bitter towards Austin? Maybe I just don't know it well enough yet. Ugh.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

What about New Braunfels?

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

I don't know. Is it nice there? Is that where Ralph the Wonder Pig lives?

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

I've only driven through it, but from what I've seen it looks pretty nice. I don't know how the schools are, but it would still be fairly close to Austin. I've heard Garden Ridge is nice also.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

Does Ralph the Wonder Pig live at Wonderworld?

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

I think so. He dives under the Wonder Boat with the clear bottom. Or something.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2000

Four years ago I packed up my kid (who was then 7) and moved from upstate New York to Brooklyn. I hated living in the country, I was bored to death, I couldn't make any money and was getting more and more in debt. I managed to convince someone to give me a fancy internet job and I moved, closer to my friends, my boyfriend, and STUFF TO DO.

It's been a rough transition in a lot of ways. My son still misses the country and really misses having a place to play outside. It's noisy and dirty and fully of unsavory stuff, but the excitement and the access to culture and to people makes up for it most of the time. Sometimes I get worn out and want to move away again, someplace quieter. And *cheaper.* But for the most part I still think it was the right decision.

Good luck, gwen. I don't post here much, but you're one of the bright spots in my web day, every day. I hope things work out.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2000

Wonderworld is such a waste of money. It's so cheesy and their cave sucks, especially after having visited Natural Bridge Caverns. I don't remember the pig.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2000

Gwen, I think you should move to Austin because I never did get to meet you and there aren't nearly enough cool females in this town. Austin is actually a very nice place to live despite the lack of a Chinatown (I guess that Vietnamese strip mall over by the Target just doesn't count) or any big museums (there are a couple of small ones though).

We have Arboretum cows! We have lakes and springs and creeks with actual clean water that you can swim in! We have a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan! We have wonderful arthouse theaters and lots of parks and and and ... it's not as humid as Houston, either. We have amazingly expensive homes to rent and buy! Okay, I don't like that last bit.

I suspect the homes in Houston may be cheaper and the food is better because you can get fresher seafood and they have Ikea, if you like that sort of thing. But I prefer Austin. I drive just about anywhere I like by myself and I'm not worried I'll be attacked.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2000