Occasionally I get asked if I miss the east coast.
I miss my family and my friends. I used to miss some of the food, but that’s been easier to get over lately. Virace (Ballard) and Pallino’s (Redmond) pizza is on par with New York pizza. Machiavelli’s (Capitol Hill), Vince’s (Renton,) and Pasta Bella (Queen Anne) have good Italian and I’ve been quietly perfecting my own pizza and red sauce over the last six months. Sure, I miss Dunkin’ Donuts, but I’ve found that a regular cup of drip coffee with Cremora (or whipping cream) fills the niche. Not to mention all of the west coast only things: Vivace coffee (Seattle) and all of the Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese food that spans from Chinatown to Redmond and back again. Sure, some Asian fusion places have caught on in some part of Connecticut and there’s other pockets of cuisine in New York City, but it can’t compare…
Ultimately, it’s when I look at Facebook on days like today – when two-thirds of my friends list has a weather related complaints – that I know I don’t miss the east coast. We had some traffic issues in my area today… we had around an inch of snow that had melted by 10am. Connecticut got 30 inches. On top of the 18 inches they picked up a couple of weeks ago that haven’t melted yet.
*snort*
Was there a question there, really?
For me, home is where your family and friends are, regardless of weather. I’ve never lived more than 75 miles from where I grew up.
I have a home in Japan and a home in Seattle. I consider both of these places my homes. Still, I get the same kind of questions from many people (where do you live?), and I say 6 months here and 6 months there, and I get funny looks…