Inferiority complex?
Been a number of commenters, here and on other Durham blogs, slamming D-Town over the past few weeks. For the life of me, i really can't understand what they're saying. Durham is, far and away, the best place i've ever lived. (For the record, that list includes various towns on Long Island, Brooklyn & New Paltz in New York State; Stevens Point, WI; Phoenix, AZ; Stockton & Sacramento CA; and extended visits in San Francisco, and towns in Florida and Pennsylvania. San Francisco had a lot going for it, which i guess explains why it's so damn expensive to live there. But i digress.) I can't imagine spending fifteen years of my adult life anywhere else.
So it was somewhat of a shock to me to discover an aspect of life in which Durham is markedly inferior. Our political scene is nowhere near as entertaining as Atlantic City.
Frankly, i like it that way. But i'm sure there are plenty of folks out there who'd be willing to stir things up even more for a better show.
So it was somewhat of a shock to me to discover an aspect of life in which Durham is markedly inferior. Our political scene is nowhere near as entertaining as Atlantic City.
Frankly, i like it that way. But i'm sure there are plenty of folks out there who'd be willing to stir things up even more for a better show.
Labels: 27701, Durham, local politics
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
2 Comments:
people who don't like durham usually don't live in durham, or haven't taken the time to discover the sheer awesomeness of this town.
agreed - best place i've ever lived all around.
By
Anonymous, at 11:16 AM
I've lived her almost 7 years now, and I don't find it awesome. It's OK.
Maybe I'd like Durham better if I hadn't spent over two decades in and around San Francisco. I have no complaints about Durham as far as the culture, the politics, or the people. Really, my only major beef with it is the trash...it's the dirtiest place I've ever lived, bar none. Durham is OK, but I'm more of an outdoor person than a city person, so I miss having 4 wilderness trails within walking distance of my home, a view of a canyon with the sounds of coyotes howling at night, and my kayak stowed a couple hundred yards from a bay off the Pacific, and the climate to enjoy these amenities year-round. The Eno and Duke Forest are nice, but they just don't compare.
Culturally, the only thing I miss is being able to go to a world-class opera every year. Otherwise, there's plenty of music, film, theatres, museums and lectures, most a lot closer to home than I've enjoyed in the past. Having lived in majority-minority areas for most years since 1979, I take diversity for granted.
Politically? I moved to SF a month after the mayor was assassinated. I voted for a transvestite "nun" for city supervisor. Jerry Brown was voted mayor of the next town. A dog was voted in as a mayor in a neighboring burg, and an ex-prostitute in yet another. Condoleeza Rice ran the local university.
Crime? I lived in East Palo Alto when it had the #1 per capita murder rate in the country. I'd hear automatic machine gun fire every night, and went through an intersection 5 minutes before a drive-by shooting. I'd come home to find that my street was cordoned off while they searched for a murder suspect. I watched police go through my yards with german shepherds on a midnight manhunt.
I guess I have what you'd call a like/dislike relationship with Durham. I know that my friends love it more than I do, but I just have different priorities. But if people hate it, then I can only believe that they haven't traveled enough to know that there's a helluva lot worse places than this.
By
Anonymous, at 9:47 PM
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