After another round of Mental Mathematics in my head, I have come to the conclusion that living in the Great State of Oklahoma is probably where I'll be until Jesus comes back for me. Now, after the Tribulation, when we all come back with Christ, I may decide to settle near Edinburgh if it is still standing. I can't imagine Arthur's Seat going anywhere, but you never know, it could blow and there goes the neighborhood! After putting the pencil to it, and doing the whole Ben Franklin Pro/Con type lists, I just can't justify leaving Oklahoma on a permanent basis for Edinburgh Scotland, or anywhere else for that matter. Boomer Sooner.
I have gone over this a thousand times in my head and I have to be honest, I like driving my car to the nearest Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Store. I like being able to drop what I'm doing and drive the said car to the Big Lot store to pick up Dr. Teal's bath supplies, or to Winco to pick up chocolate turtles in bulk. Can you believe they're only $4.98 a pound? Seriously, you can't expect this sort of thing anywhere else. Also, and this may or may not have much to do with anything, but so much to do with mental health, Oklahoma has (on average) more than 40 more days of sunshine than what the folks in Edinburgh receive. That's more than a month! There are another (over) 40 days that have more sunshine through partly cloudy days - - so another month or so with partly sunny days when the skies of Edinburgh seem to be overcast with grey clouds. It really is a big deal.
Although I HATE the heat in Oklahoma, and will likely visit my beloved Scotland during the summers, Oklahoma has warmth from April to November and we have more outdoor activities because of it. I tend to walk more than 7 miles a day in the summertime and the only way I could do that in Scotland is to go to the mall or something. I would have to be near one in order to do that, and I can't guarantee I would be able to find a place. Just finding a place is harder too. You have to pay way over the asking price to outbid someone else, and if the landlords don't want to remove their furnishings for whatever reason, you have less of a chance of being chosen to rent their lettings. It's just so different. Here, if the place is open there is a fee to pay down, and you fill out the application, you're approved, and you move in the same day you're approved. You could wait weeks to move into an apartment in Scotland simply because landlords want the most money possible and tenants are in bidding wars; giving the landlords all they want in order to be picked!
Without trying to complain too much, and in doing so, I'll even place the blame squarely on myself, I will not live in a place that doesn't have a bathtub. I won't live in a place that has tiny refrigerators, no dishwashers, no dryers, and/or where people don't understand the marriage between peanut butter and jam! Seriously, did you know that the average Scot does not (on any regular basis if ever) eat PBJ sandwiches? You mention that you do, and you're stared at. This is a minute and tiny reason not to go there on a permanent basis, but it is something to think about. (Not really, but we all deserve a bit of levity)
No, I think what it is (is) that I am really quite spoiled, and I'm so used to doing (going) what I want to do when I want to do it. If in Scotland I won't be driving and I would have to rely on public transport. For example, here I have lizards and need to run up to PetSmart to get a bunch of crickets. I get up, go to the car, crank it over, drive to the store about 1.5 miles away and I buy the crickets. I drive back home, it takes a total of 15 minutes if I just do that. Of course, I rarely ever just do that, I always buy a tea somewhere, or pop into another store to pick up something I may think I may need.
Let's pretend I just pop into PetSmart for the crickets to feed the lizards. Fifteen minutes tops is the amount of time it would take. If I were to do that same thing in Edinburgh I would have to go to the bus stop (maybe 2 blocks away) wait on the bus (they aren't usually on time) ride the bus to the store which may or may not be on the route, get out and walk to the store from the nearest stop, get the crickets, leave the store, walk to the bus stop, wait on the bus, ride the bus home, walk two blocks home - - seriously, the day is wasted! (OK, I'm exaggerating) It could take well over an hour if the store was close! What if it were further away?
By the time I got to my apartment, the crickets could be dead if I didn't take their carrier with me; in Oklahoma, I can drive home with them in their little plastic bag because it's only going to be 5 minutes from the store to my house. I have used the same type of scenario with me wanting ice cream, me wanting a burger, me wanting to do anything really - - I do things on the fly here - - I don't know that I could stop doing that. I don't know that I would ever want to stop doing that. I could get a car there, but they drive on the other side, gas is higher, insurance is higher, and I'm not going to trust myself to parallel park -- it's never going to happen! I suck at it.
There are other reasons that involve more Math. My cost of living is lower here. The size of my house/apt for what I pay is an enormous difference and not something to be overlooked. My 1200 sf 2 bed 2 bath apartment with 2 walk-in closets is $680.00 a month, the same size unit in Edinburgh would likely not have closets, possibly not have a tub, but just a shower and a random toilet in the hall, and it could possibly be on the 4th floor without a lift to get the price down, but the price would still be twice that of what I am paying now! No thank you. This news should make one particular Scot smile -- smile on, Tex...smile on.
Don't get me wrong; I love love love Edinburgh. I just don't know that I could trade Oklahoma City for it on a permanent basis. Our laws are so vastly different, our expectations, our politics, our world views, and the fact that I really won't compromise my opinion, or refrain from giving my opinion if challenged. I think it's a good thing that I just want to visit a few times, maybe even for a month each year until Jesus comes back, and then maybe, like I said, after the Tribulation, if it's still standing and I can manage the correct VISA (that's a joke) I will do it. I may even ask Jesus if I can run a doggy daycare or something relaxing - - then again, I could see myself teaching Ethics at the University of Edinburgh too. Just sayin'.
So, that's it then. My plan to move has been squashed and replaced with my new plan to stay put, teach, invest, buy and sell on Forex, probably buy a house, and write that murder book - - you know, the one where I throw the handsome Scotsman off the side of Arthur's Seat but I spare his guitar. I don't do it, I'm the author, but I do know who will do it - - trust me, the boo bear could use a bit of tumble down the hillside. I just haven't decided if he actually dies or if he's found three days later by a wandering Jack Russell terrier. So many decisions to make about this book! OK, yep, I gotta go. I have to feed the lizards! Num num!
Photo Credit: wallpapersdsc.net (Blue Tongued Skink)
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