I drove to work with one thought on my mind this morning:
"I've got to have a place to call home...a place of my own...a place for me."
I had a brief mini-spat with my mom last night because she is apparently getting tired of me crashing at her house until I am able to move to my own apartment in Port Huron or hopefully, another city. Things are not going according to plan since I had to move out of my last place, and I am ready to just go somewhere for me for once. I came to Port Huron to help my godparents and have hated the stay.
I also am staying with her because she is planning to move to the Phoenix, AZ area, and I wanted to go with her. I didn't want her to go alone because we have no family in that area (most of our family is either in Michigan or down South.)
But she doesn't seem to want me with her, and I don't want to be miserable or to make her miserable since really this move to the Valley of the Sun is her dream - not mine. I don't mind going to Arizona but I have some concerns with how she will treat me if I am not able to find a job right away or an affordable apartment there. My mom can be mean sometimes, and I hate it.
But the truth is, I do need my own life. The problem is I don't know where to go. I don't particularly want to return to my city of origin (Grand Rapids), and right now, Michigan really sucks as far as jobs and housing and men and good times go.
So my question to anyone reading this post is: Where is the best place for a 30-something, single, African-American female with an education and no kids to establish a home? What location should I set up residence in, where I can take part in artistic endeavors, meet new people, find a great church to attend, possibly get a graduate degree, and where I could potentially meet a great guy to settle down with?
Maybe a lot of women in my shoes are asking this, and I am not alone. But if you, O Reader, have found a happy place, please let me know about it. Please let me know if the city you are living in is working for you and why. I am pretty stumped as far as my next move is concerned.
Places I may be interested in going:
(1) Nashville, TN
(2) Chicago, IL (although it can get friggin' cold there, but I love the Chi)
(3) Phoenix, AZ
(4) Somewhere usually pretty warm most of the year
Places I am definitely not interested in going:
(1) Detroit, MI
(2) Somewhere people are not doing anything positive
(3) Somewhere cold (besides Chicago)
That leaves a lot of room for choices. Let me know!
3 comments:
Well... I don't know how I came across your blog but I guess everyone has one these days. Honestly, I read it primarily because the pics you have posted of yourself were very pleasing to my eye.
Anywho... I've lived in Nashville, Tn since the early 90's. It's not a bad town to call home especially if you don't mind a slower paced city. You didn't say what type of work you would be looking for or what type of skills you bring to the workforce. If you're in the medical field this is the place. You didn't mention if you had savings to live off of until you can get those first few paychecks in the bank. If you have family here... well that's one way to start in a new city. Have you considered Atlanta, GA? I'm sure "Hotlata" would offer all you're looking for and more.
Thanks for the response, aaron8. I work with at-risk youth in an inner city high school and would definitely love to continue that. My degree is in social work/sociology so I'm not sure about what kind of work I would find there in Nashville. I have a couple friends that live there and some that went to Fisk. They seemed to like it. I'm not too crazy about Atlanta, as far as living there. Visiting I think would be okay but not staking territory. Thanks for the advice.
I live in Nashville, and love it. It's great - big enough to have stuff to do on the weekends, but not too big that you feel like you're drowning in the masses. You should come visit over a weekend or something and check it out.
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