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Old 04-08-2009, 11:33 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,603 posts, read 77,247,404 times
Reputation: 19066

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After enduring some stonewalling in a seemingly innocuous thread on the NEPA forum that spiraled downwards into a vicious bicker-fest I decided that perhaps it was time for me to sit back, take a deep breath, and do some soul-searching. What I saw in not only that thread but also on this sub-forum disgusted me and made me feel like such a small-minded person. I've been enduring a great deal of stress lately from my parents who won't stop nagging me about my impending relocation, and since I'm the last one to leave the nest they've been especially irksome, asking me the same questions several times after forgetting the responses I provided to them the first few times, giving me some "sage wisdom" that I had already heard from ten other relatives via telephone, feeling the need to "enlighten" me on issues I was already aware of, etc. They've been driving me up the wall with insanity, and unfortunately I don't get much time to just "escape" anymore and enjoy some solitude for meditation and self-reflection. I wake up in the mornings, and they're here at home picking my brain. I go to campus, work tediously on in-depth group projects, cram for exams, return home, and they're here AGAIN! I retreat to our home office and shut the door, and every ten minutes one or the other will be poking their heads in to nag me again with one of the same questions they had just asked me two days prior. I've just been feeling intense "burn out" as of late, and I'm not even relocating until June 1! Couple this with the miserable Pennsylvania weather (we had snow again today with no "improvement" in sight for the long-term forecast), and one very irritable person has been bred.

I've had a short fuse lately, and while that is obviously no excuse for my self-serving behavior and judgmental evangelizing, it should provide you with at least some insight into what was going on in my head when I finally "snapped" in that other very controversial thread that has garnered me quite a few nasty remarks. I have always been and always will be a person staunchly opposed to the notion of the suburban lifestyle. I don't like the lack of "community spirit," the lack of mixed-use neighborhoods, the "newness" of everything, the need to have a vehicle attached to your hip, etc. Normie was kind enough to brave her illness and walk around snapping neighborhoods she thought I'd like, and I really do appreciate her efforts on my behalf. That was unexpected and very kind of her to do. Unfortunately, nothing that she photographed is the type of environment I crave and seek at this stage in my life, but I now realize that with a budget like I have life is just going to have to be less-than-happy for a few years until I can swing the lifestyle I truly DO want---living alone in a no frills 1-bedroom flat in a TRUE urban neighborhood like Old Town Alexandria or Georgetown. The Reston Town Center is the type of place that many people apparently adore in the Dulles area, but a bunch of modern-looking buildings housing chain stores with an ice skating rink and movie theater thrown in for good measure isn't my cup of tea for a true "town center."

Someone in a thread on here once said "You have to sacrifice SOMETHING to live here" in response to another poster whining about not being happy living in NoVA. He or she is right. I'm blessed in that I'm going to have a great career opportunity with the ability to earn my MBA, CPA, and perhaps even Ph.D. and will enjoy great opportunities to travel as I rise through the ranks. However, in order to enjoy these "perks" I'm going to be living in an area I'll be very unhappy in---cul-de-sacs, vinyl siding, and SUVs are depressing to me, not inspiring. Conversely I could have very easily stayed here in Scranton, been VERY happy living in a true historic mixed-use urban neighborhood, but my career potential would have been abysmal---the fact that people here are HAPPY that Sallie Mae is creating 600 jobs paying $9/hr. each is evidence of just how desperate our employment outlook is. I suppose many of us spend our entire lives looking for just the "perfect" area until we realize that no such place exists. There is no attractive area with an affordable quality-of-life, good urban planning, and great job opportunities. Every area I can think of lacks ONE of these amenities. NoVA is very attractive and prosperous as evidenced by its gorgeous surrounding scenery and six-figure median household income, but its cost-of-living is trying for those just starting out, and obviously you all know where I stand on the "land usage" issue.

In short I'm very sorry that I've been so snippy, snappy, and downright rude over the past few days. I've been going through a lot of emotions, and I just snapped a bit the other evening out of sheer disgust with coming up EMPTY on finding an area I'd like to live in that I could afford near my workplace. I'm now prepared to take the advice of other posters and just suffer/struggle until I finally earn my dues someday and can improve my life.
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