As a Midwest transplant who has lived here 8 years I’m still sickened by the way people drive in San Diego! 6 months ago I merged into a right lane and a guy with his family in a Mercedes followed me into the Home Depot parking lot! I parked and he got out and threatened me as I walked towards the store. I stopped and we nearly threw down in front of the store and his kids! When I pointed out his stupidity and the fact that his kids where there he left. What a piece of work…
On another note, allow me to share a passage from a short commentary I recently wrote:
“…Trucks passed me at breakneck speed near inches from my Honda Odyssey that had delivered me safely over 2000 miles from Iowa. Listening to the purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, I started to think about all of the great places that I had been in my life and the wonderful cities I visited on my trip to Iowa and back. I entered San Bernadino County, picked up speed, and descended from the mountains into the valleys of Southern California. It was now past midnight but traffic swarmed around me from every direction. Cars passed me at over 100 mph and some swerved recklessly in and out of traffic. Not only was I physically tired, but increasingly mentally and spiritually exhausted. Tired of viewing the people in the cars next to me as faceless objects to deal with in traffic. Tired of competing with them for limited resources in an overpopulated region, and tired of seeing the problems that the trappings of wealth and status cause in the community.
San Diego is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and many people who have ‘headed west’ have settled in Southern California and are living perfectly content and prosperous lives. For families like ours, however, the cost of living and overcrowding have created a strong desire to find another ‘best place.’ Thankfully, we are blessed to live in a vast country with endless great places to lay down roots. My only regret is that I was only able to drive through a select few cities and not tour the entire country. What I saw were small and medium sized cities with good schools, low crime, plentiful job opportunities and housing costs that are a fraction of those along the coasts. For those willing to trade in their surfboards for skis, the opportunities are endless. My only request is that only a few people follow in my footsteps. These cities are already showing the strains of rapid growth, and I would hate to have to begin my search anew to find another best place!”