Finding My Spot

Last night I had dinner with a friend from graduate school -so we've known each other a LONG time. At one point, we reflected that both of us came to this little burg following a guy. We'd never even heard of this town before. And both of those guys -poor benighted fools that they are- left us and this town. So here we are. This is our spot.

At least for now. My house is here, and as you know I'm having great fun making it really mine. Many of my friends are here. And for now at least, my children are here. I'm sure they won't be here forever; in fact I want them to think of the world as their playpen. But they're here now, and you wouldn't believe me if I told you I didn't love that.

I've stopped pretending, though, that I can see very far into my own future. I'm taking steps now that could lead me anywhere -and I don't mean that metaphorically. Seriously.... anywhere. I know it's several years down the pike before those (or any such) opportunities present themselves, but one can't help wondering about it!

I found this website that lets you take a quiz and find 24 cities in the United States that match your preferences: Find Your Spot. Every single one of my spots was in the south, and number 2 on the list was the city I grew up in. How weird is THAT?

My spots:

Hattiesburg, Mississippi (Honestly, I don't think I could live in Mississippi. Maybe in Oxford.)
Little Rock, Arkansas
Alexandria, Louisiana
Gainesville, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tulsa, Oklahoma (doubt it)
Clarksville, Tennessee
Athens, Georgia
Biloxi, Mississippi
Shreveport, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jackson, Mississippi (actually, this could be another Mississippi contender)
Mobile, Alabama
Houston, Texas (Texas is probably a non-starter for me.)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Corpus Christi, Texas
Pensacola, Florida
Galveston, Texas
College Station, Texas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Nashville, Tennessee
Ocala, FLorida
Memphis, Tennessee


Seriously, these are NOT the places I thought would show up. San Francisco, I expected. Portland, Oregon I expected. I even expected Chicago. I expected ocean. Lots of ocean. What I got was mid-size cities in the South, close to big cities and mostly with colleges or universities. I got DeKalb, moved south ;)