Window shopping

I'm back!  Did you miss me?

Not here, btw.  My muse has been rather noncommittal visiting me lately (gotta blame something, right?) but when I say I'm back, I mean I've returned from my latest road trip.

I took a few days to scout out potential post-career landing spots in North Carolina.  Why North Carolina you ask?

Go on, ask.  I'll wait...

...

Thanks, it's like this.

If you know me IRL you know how much I loathe winter in northern Illinois.  And if you've never heard me whine (yes, whine) about winter weather, count your blessings.  Because it's not pretty.  Like, at all.

So, several months ago, I started perusing various websites, looking for where I want to retire.  And snow birding is out of the question, I don't want to have to deal with two separate properties.  I ruled out going west fairly quickly since the offspring and their offspring are going to be here (despite random threats to come with me) for the foreseeable future and the thought of travel of that magnitude was daunting to say the least.  Both by drive time and airfare cost, so...  I started looking in the southeast.  Savannah, GA has been one of my favorite cities for some time, but it's too pricey for my meager public-servant pension so that was out.  Also, again, if you know me IRL, you know I tend to lean to the left on most issues.  OK, that's a lie.  I'm pretty liberal on pretty much every topic you can name.  So, due to the overwhelming Red stateness of the south in general, I thought perhaps college towns might boost the odds of finding at least a small enclave of left wingery for me to nestle into.  That eliminated a lot, btw.  Pretty much tossed out Georgia and South Carolina right off the bat, in fact.  Even though both states have many fine institutions of higher learning, they couldn't overcome what I perceived to be blatant right-wing crackerdom.

Is that a word?  I don't know, but I like it.

So that led me to North Carolina.  And, somehow, I drifted off of college towns.  At least to this point.  But I did find a few towns that I found... intriguing.  I also learned the state has something called "Certified Retirement Communities" that meet certain criteria like access to healthcare, cost of living, climate and other things pleasing to old people.  Frequent reruns of Matlock, perhaps.  I decided the best way to learn more was to make a road trip.

Before I get in any deeper, let me just apologize to my NC guys, Chuck, Duane and Brad for not reaching out to any of you.  I was kind of time limited and wasn't sure I'd have time for even a quick visit even though I was in your fine state.  Next time out, I'll organize my time better.

Hopefully.

Don't hold your breath.  #imstillmeafterall

That, my friends, is how I ended up in Lumberton, NC.  A nice older town, it seems to be at least 90 minutes from anything.  I met with a realtor there and she was a delight.  Within minutes of sitting down with her, I trusted her completely, it was that clear that she "gets me".  A self-described hippie, (at which point I high-fived her) she understood what I was looking for and delivered a really cool older home, that, quite frankly, didn't appeal to me from the curb, but inside was exactly what I was looking for.  Including affordable.  She had another listing that I had actually already viewed online that I liked even more in person.  Another nice factor for the town was that, due to a coming influx of medical students, the rental market was going to take a bump up, which would dovetail into my plans nicely. Driving around the town with Natalie, listening to her stories and descriptions of the town and it's people, I must say I saw some charms to the town.  To me, the negative to Lumberton is the distance to more of the things I find appealing.  Don't get me wrong, I think the town has gone through some rough times in the past, but I also think it's got a lot of potential for a healthy recovery and could be quite vibrant.  I'm not sure of the fit for me personally yet.  But I will say one thing unhesitatingly.  If you find yourself going to this town and in need of property, go no further than Natalie Lewis, an absolute gem of a human being.

From Lumberton, I moved on to Concord, NC which is suburban Charlotte.  As in Lumberton, I had a really nice hotel which was *poor planning alert* about a mile down the road from the Charlotte Motor Speedway which, if you're a racing fan (hint-I'm not) you are aware is the site of a big race this weekend.  Something I learned upon exiting the interstate to arrive at my hotel.  And getting slapped in the face (figuratively) by homemade banners advertising tickets for sale.  Hundreds (literally) of them.  You're welcome for the impromptu grammar lesson btw.  Quite frankly, I like the towns I checked out in this area more than Lumberton.  They had more in common with the Chicago suburbs I've lived in or around most of my life in that their proximity to the city meant there was a lot to do in the area.  I talked to two different real estate agents and really wasn't pleased with either of them.  For a couple of reasons.  I didn't feel a genuine sincerity from either of them and neither really seems to "get me" like Natalie did.  (btw, if you read this, can you go up by Charlotte for me?)  (Please?)

At this point you're probably thinking "dammit man, how was the FOOD down there?"

Let me explain...

No, there is too much.  Let me sum up.

Apologies to Inigo Montoya, but I've been itching to throw that one out there for awhile.

The food was, by and large, ridiculous, and, while I didn't go out for a traditional old-school southern breakfast, I did take full advantage of Carolina barbecue and it was Ah. Mazing.  Three different meals all of them killer.  Also, special s/o to Havana Carolina Cafe for their spectacular Cuban food.  Oh good lord it was good.  Like, I kept thinking about the meal for days afterward.  Long time eater here and I've never done that before.  I seriously wanted them to adopt me.

Couple quick jabs and I think I'm done.  I know, right?  I've been nice THE WHOLE TIME...

At one of the southern buffets I dined in there was a guy with as deep of a drawl as I've ever heard.  Like cartoonishly deep.  And, as he was bitching to the hostess about the $13 cost, he uttered an actual "hoooooooeyyyy" I shit you not.

Lastly, one of the gas stations I stopped at, I went in for a bottle of water and found myself (I was easy to find, I know what I look like) fourth in line.  As I waited for the line to proceed I overheard from the clerk no less than 15 "baybee" or "doorlin" (my phonetics are probably off but you get the idea) until my turn came.

And she called me "sir".

And I wondered how in the heck she knew I wasn't a local or even a semi-local?

Maybe it was the tie-dyed t-shirt with a peace sign emblazoned across the chest?

As always...

Peace