Paradise Found

In our quaint little town we've noticed something peculiar. People here are friendly. And normal.

This friendly, normal thing even includes the town youth. Seriously, we were walking down the sidewalk on two seperate occassions and had kids say "excuse me" as they passed on skateboards. Another time a kid actually stopped his bike on the sidewalk and let us pass.

People here smile at strangers, and not in a creepy way. Neighbors stop by to say hello and share from their gardens. Deli clerks invite people to parties at the river, and folks working at the grocery seem happy to be there. It's kinda wild.

Granted we just moved here. But it's an incredibly refreshing change from our year in San Diego, a supposid paradise.

When we moved to San Diego we expected to experience a year long vacation in paradise. That's what San Diego promises. But what we found were a lot of mentally ill people living on the streets, a lot of homeless teens and young adults, a very big party scene, racially segregated communities, and surprisingly very little "culture" considering the proximity to Mexico.

Kids and adults rushed passed us on their bikes and skateboards, not bothering to even acknowledge we were sharing sidewalk space and often forcing us off the sidewalk or to stop and let them pass. We were there an entire year, frequented several business establishments regularly, chatted with a couple of our neighbors and servers, and yet never truly made any friends and certainly were never invited to any parties or gatherings. It was a tough scene to break into, and we never really felt at home.

On our first day here in our new little town, we've already met several new people and feel so completely welcome and safe. This place feels like a true community and I'm looking forward to creating wonderful relationships.