Southern California vs. North Carolina

Dixie is at it again.

There is a civil war going on once again, and the Tarheels of North Carolina are fighting it out with other areas of the country. But this is no battle against the states, it’s just me being torn in different directions.

Growing up in Southern California the world looked a lot different. Our playgrounds included spillways, the surf, and warm streets lined with palm trees. And though you can take the boy out of California, I’m not sure you can ever take the California out of the boy.

So coming to North Carolina was a change of pace for me. Of course, I’ve lived in New York and traveled all over the world, but the battle for me now is between North Carolina and Southern California. Compared to some of the more famous cosmopolitan parts of the world, living in a small college town in North Carolina may seem lacking, but I love it!

Around here there is a way of life you just can’t find other places. We were able to sell a mid-sized house in New York and get acres of land here, with a forest in my backyard and a landscape full of trees and fields. Southern California may have all the fancy restaurants and big-city culture you could want, but you couldn’t buy fresh air and streets with no traffic.

It’s also a great place to raise the kids. Although they are only three years old, my children are already smarter than me - they know Spanish, Chinese and English! There is something just so wholesome about living here that I really love.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot of fun. And when I go back to SoCal to visit, I definitely feel the tinge of longing to move back. But for now, Dixie seems to be winning this war between the states…