Find Your Spot

Last Saturday I was procrastinating tidying the house (which I do so regularly that I suppose it should technically be termed as a hobby). I had just updated my blog and the next thing on my to-do list was cleaning so in a bid to delay the inevitable I clicked from blog to blog hoping to find something that would attract my attention sufficiently so that a for a few more blissful minutes I could keep the cleaning right at the very, very, very back of my mind.

I started off from a friend's blog and clicked a link from hers to another to another, browsing freely into the lives of total strangers. Then I saw a link to an uncommon name that I recognised, I clicked the link and lo and behold it was the very person I knew. What were the chances? The blog I started off from and where I ended up are complete strangers. It really is a small world after all those Disney folks certainly got that right.

It was on my newly rediscovered friends blog that I found the link for 'Find your Spot' which is this nifty little tool for determining your ideal spot to live. I didn't realise initially that it only extended the width and breadth of the USA but I played along all he same. (After all it was that or doing the dishes.) I filled in the survey correctly indicating the things in my life that were of most importance. I'm a selfless wife so I even threw in a few of the things that would make Rob happy, after all if I'm gonna up and move to my ideal spot I expect I'll have to bring him along. So I indicated a place with access to snow so he could board happily and little culture because he's allergic to it. I also added the things that are important to me, Sunshine, shopping, a good standard of education for the kids etc. You know me I am pleased by the simplest of things. So once I completed the survey it quickly processed all my answers. Drum roll...........

It turns out my ideal spot in all of the USA is Brownsville, Texas. If you're thinking Where? Then join the club, that is exactly what I thought. But the lovely 'Find your Spot' people give you a comprehensive profile on your dream town. So I promptly read all about Brownsville to see if it met all my needs adequately. After all I didn't want to rashly move there only to find out it wasn't everything I hoped and dreamed of, that would be a massive disappointment. Now I was already really familiar with Texas having visited Austin Airport once and Fort Worth airport three whole times, oh and not forgetting that I spent two entire weeks in San Antonio working for a Summer Youth Camp program for my church. The one thing that stands out most about my time in Texas is that they had the most delicious ice cream (Bluebell brand or something) so already a massive thumbs up!

So Brownsville is so far South it's almost in Mexico, by the sea. They have just 25 inches of rain a year which we've generally exceeded by the time January is through and the average home is $100,000 which in the UK wouldn't even buy me a garage let alone a house. Suddenly Brownsville was looking pretty good. Clearly the 'Find your spot' peeps took little notice of Rob's utmost desires because not a chance of single snowflake unless you travel hundreds of miles and plenty of arts and culture all around.

I quote 'Residents of Brownsville can stroll along the banks of the Rio Grande River, listening to the sounds of the Mariachi and lejano music and enjoying the fragrant mimosas and acacias that fill the city', sounds great for a holiday but I fear even the lejano music and acacias would wear on me eventually (and on Rob after about 7 minutes). So I'll just have to stay put here right where I am after all. Where housing is overpriced, the sun seldom shines and we have seemingly endless rain. What's not to love?

But, where is your spot?