On Wed, 22 Jan 1997, Nina Barton wrote regarding why one of every seven
people in the US lives in California:
> Some people might think its the sweeping ocean views as you drive along
> Highway One in your LBC with the top down on a sunny January day. Others
> might think its wine tasting in the Napa Valley. complete with picnic and
> friend along. Or you might think its the availability of excellent food
> here in Berkeley, much of it ready to take along on your outing. Or, and
> this is one of the big ones for me, its the choice of taking a drive along
> one of our fun mountain roads. late at night, all with the excuse of going
> to the grocery store for lunches for the kids in the morning! However, as
> a native Californian, I don't really know much else.
> Nina
Sounds fabulous. I guess that explains it.
It is just gosh-awful here in Vermont. I know the conventional view is of
beautiful, lush green country with mountains and lakes all around, but
that is just tourist BS. The population is exploding and we have terrible
growth pains. The population of the state is somewhere near a half
million, and Burlington, the largest city in the state, must be over
50,000 people by now. I live about 3 miles from the university, as the
crow flies, in a modest subdivision. When the farmer out back manures his
fields, the smell would knock you over. Our rush hour often lasts as much
as 45 minutes, and it frequently takes me more than 15 minutes to get to
work, if you count how long it takes to park.
Land costs are horrible; my daughter had to pay $38000 for a cabin and 10
acres of land at the foot of a mountain, even though there is a stream
running right through the middle of the land that makes it hard to drive
right up to the cabin. In the next month or so, the *second* Wal-Mart
will open in Vermont. Half the mailboxes have black cow spots painted on
them. Except for the interstate, the roads are all twisty and hilly,
there are mountains all over the place, and you need a sports car to make
decent time. And hey, the weather is just terrible. Your CA-acclimated
body would freeze here. It is -30F just all the time, and the wind is
terrible, and we suffer endlessly. It is just horrible. Californians
would hate it here.
WRG
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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