This morning, I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Comcast trying to get our cable to work again after they gave us a new digital converter box. Long story short, I did not get our cable working (whatever...I don't really need TV anyway)...but I did speak to a lot of different technical support people, who apparently are not in contact with one another when they transfer me...AT ALL.
I got a laugh when one of them (I believe it was technical support person #2 or #3) asked me for my address. I told her, and then she said something along the lines of, "I can't find that address in our system. Are you near any cities so I can transfer you to another technician in your area?" Haha. Clearly, she is not familiar with Pennsylvania geography, or with the location of State College. I am about as far away from any cities as humanly possible, I think. State College is, at best, a small town. And at best, Pittsburgh is the closest city...about 2.5 hours away. Maybe Harrisburg counts...it's a little closer at 2 hours.
And I love it. I love the small town feel. I love being able to walk home from work on a beautiful day instead of taking the bus. I love eating ice cream while gazing on a large cow pasture that provided the milk to make that ice cream. With the mountains in the background, of course. So beautiful. I never would have guessed that I would have fallen so in love with State College, Pennsylvania.
I have an interview in DC in 2 weeks, and the thought of being thrust into the big city scene of traffic and people slightly frightens me. I will probably get lost trying to find my hotel, like I did in Hartford CT. Oh well. Cities are fun though, too. I did enjoy visiting NYC and Cleveland and Philly and Pittsburgh the few times I have. Heck, Erie is even kind of a city, and I loved it there. Cities also provide lots of unique ministry opportunities that are harder to find in small towns. But it's a high-stress, high-paced environment that I'm not quite ready for full-time. In Erie, I could retreat to my little suburbs and avoid the inner city for weeks at a time. And I can certainly do that if I end up in DC, too. But it'd be harder. And expensive. And lots and lots of traffic. Ugh.
On the other hand, living completely in the middle of nowhere would also stress me out. I like having neighbors, and stoplights, and things to do on the weekends.
I think that's what I like so much about State College...it's a perfect balance of those things. The college town atmosphere gives the town life and vibrancy and things to do. But it's not a city packed with people (except on football weekends...at which times I avoid a 2-mile radius that surrounds the stadium at all costs).
What do you like and dislike about cities?
2 comments:
Molly,
you do not need to be afraid of living in a big city. Having lived in one for the past two years, I think big cities are great in that you can find parts that 'feel' like Erie, parts that feel like a small village, parts that feel urban. In Atlanta, I live in a neighborhood that looks like the 38th street area (closer to the zoo) in Erie, with old houses and beautiful gardens. A very long and well-kept bike path is a mile away. 24/7 CVS is across the street, village-downtown-like small shops and boutiques are around the corner. Shopping is super convenient. I walk to school every day without a problem because there are always people walking around. Having a major airport close by (20 mins on the interstate) is another advantage of a big city. When people come and visit me here, i can always take them to see something interesting (museums, zoo, aquarium, parks, etc.). That's what I like about the city :)
I admit I dislike the traffic, but I drive only once a week to church - and now I bike there. True, it is not as quiet as a certain rural PA farm, but the closest grocery store is 2 minutes away (there it is a 30 minutes' drive). I hope that you find a good place to live after you graduate.
One last note, the technical assistance does not get any better in the cities. I had a similar incident (spent a total of 5 hours calling AT&T) trying to get my connection set up. It reminded me of the 'hot potato' game. AT&T's headquarters are in Atlanta.
Erie is a great sized city. And very close to lots of larger cities to visit!
The only support I've liked (other than GameTap for its retro video game hold music) is Apple. Not only did the new person know what was going on when I was transferred, the person I was talking to stayed on the line for a three-way conference call to get my issue sorted out.
I think I'm on my fifth person this week trying to get my Time Warner Cable Internet working...
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