Wrapping things up

I've decided that I pretty much love all of the seasons, except for below-freezing Boston winters and Texas summers :P. This isn't to say that Boston and Texas don't have nice weather, they do. Still, if I could pick anywhere to live in the US as the seasons change, this is where I'd live. Boston in the fall and spring, Texas in the winter, and California in the summer. Boston gets humid in the summer (this was a shock to me) but I will never forget how beautiful it was here during the fall...

Across the street from our apartment:


Apple orchard/farm in Concord, MA:


I love Texas in the winter, because it is just cold enough to wear a jacket but not so cold that you have to wear long underwear :P:

Mayfield park, Austin late winter


Boston in the spring:


The beach is the place to visit in California during the summer (so long as it isn't closed due to being overly polluted :P)


We're about to head back to Texas for the summer, it'll be a nice change but I have to admit that I'm starting to like it here again, now that it's warming up and the flowers are blooming. It'll be nice to temporarily have a car, though. The ability to get up and go (and not have to think about where the nearest bus stop/T station is) will be nice. But Jose and I have learned to get along quite well without a car. Zipcar has been a lifesaver; we rent a car 2 times a month, when we go grocery shopping. There have been a few times I've forgotten to buy something on the grocery list, I've walked to the grocery store when that's happened. Looking back, I never thought I'd be able to walk 3 miles in 30 something degree weather just to buy xanthan gum for a baking project! I remember when walking 3-4 blocks down the street from my apartment (in Austin) to the grocery story was a big deal :P.

So with 1 school year down and 2 to go, I can say this: though I do look forward to picking apples again when we come back in the fall, Boston isn't home. It's a nice place to visit and if you can afford to get by comfortably, it might be a fun place for an on-the-go person to live permanently. But I have to admit, I miss Texas and it's somewhat slow pace. If Northern California weren't so expensive, I'd move back in a heartbeat (to the outskirts, not the city), but Jose and I have decided that Austin is probably the best place for us to settle down. It has some of the quirks/entertainment you'd get in a bigger artsy citiy, but it still isn't as crowded or expensive.

Sometimes I have a hard time imagining myself as someone who is "settled down", though. After moving so much throughout my life, I wonder what it'll be like to finally have a place to call home for more than 3 or 4 years?