Filed under: Politics
I live on the side of a hill in a Seattle suburb. Down at the bottom of the hill is what is often called “the main drag” or the street that runs through the center of the town. Ours is often filled with the sound of sirens, police or ambulances heading one way or the other. Today it is all silence. Not much traffic at all, as everyone stays home. The garbage company called to say they wouldn’t be picking up tomorrow, and hang on to your garbage till next week. The forecast is for more rain and snow, gradually shifting to just plain old rain towards the end of next week. How well cities deal with snow probably depends on how practiced they are at it, and here, not so much, as it is only occasional winters.
That all got me thinking about Americans moving. There are folks that have lived in the same town for generations, and those who move a lot. A large number of the latter seem to be Californians. I lived in different parts of California, Northern and Southern, for years and loathed the state. Northern is better, but not enough. Oregon is falling apart, and Portland is a disaster area.
Why do people move? Some things are obvious, a better career or job, escaping areas with major problems like tornadoes or hurricanes, but there are plenty of people who resolutely stay, adding tornado shelters or just accept that there will be earthquakes or tornadoes.
But there are people who just pick up and move to an area they think will be better, hope to find work, a home and a neighborhood without much knowledge of the city they are moving to. Corporate transfers are, of course, common, and you go where they send you, or quit. I’m going to have to study up on moving a bit. I’ve done quite a bit of it and didn’t like it at all.
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