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The Shoutbox
Originally Posted by John McClane
If you ain't farting off beans you ain't living. 
If you ain't fighting off bears you ain't living.
Myself, I live in a van down by the river 
We live on the "main drag" of our small town (surrounded by other small towns). But we're about three blocks down from the business district, which is a lot of small independent shops with second-floor apartments above them. None of the buildings are more than about two stories high.
But since our house is technically on that main street, we got it for a steal back in 2012 (when it was also a buyer's market here). Half acre, 3,000 sq. ft. (well, 4,500, but the third floor needs work to be livable again), a restored Victorian circa 1880, triple-brick construction, original slate roof, seven marble fireplaces (now just decorative, though). If this house had been situated in the next town over, it would have cost three times as much.
But I love living within a half mile of the post office, the local grocery store, several gas stations, the bank, the library, and the police and fire stations. If I want bigger vendors and stores, I am only a few miles away from those in a neighboring town.
Despite being semi-urban, I regularly feed and see on my back porch all manner of birds (including hawks!), squirrels, raccoons, an opossum, a skunk, and even a crazy groundhog. The squirrels are almost like pets. Christmas Eve day I had seven of them vying for my attention.
Oh, and downtown Pittsburgh is less than 30 miles away. Best of both worlds to me. Small town charm but access to anything we need within minutes.
But since our house is technically on that main street, we got it for a steal back in 2012 (when it was also a buyer's market here). Half acre, 3,000 sq. ft. (well, 4,500, but the third floor needs work to be livable again), a restored Victorian circa 1880, triple-brick construction, original slate roof, seven marble fireplaces (now just decorative, though). If this house had been situated in the next town over, it would have cost three times as much.
But I love living within a half mile of the post office, the local grocery store, several gas stations, the bank, the library, and the police and fire stations. If I want bigger vendors and stores, I am only a few miles away from those in a neighboring town.
Despite being semi-urban, I regularly feed and see on my back porch all manner of birds (including hawks!), squirrels, raccoons, an opossum, a skunk, and even a crazy groundhog. The squirrels are almost like pets. Christmas Eve day I had seven of them vying for my attention.
Oh, and downtown Pittsburgh is less than 30 miles away. Best of both worlds to me. Small town charm but access to anything we need within minutes.
Living on the outskirts. 15 minute drive in, all the stuff you want, 15 minutes back out to bulldawg pickups and Dollar Generals.
I wouldn’t trade the simple country life for anything. Cities make me nauseous.
denim logic drifts toward, “I have a really nice pair of kitchen boots. How many pair of wool socks would I have to wear...”
Or you buy warm snow boots and don't get a lick of snow all season.
I romanticize that Blue Ridge life. The scenery, the air, the magic at the edge of your grasp.
Then you wake up on a day when it’s 9* and you realize you haven’t invested in a proper set of boots.
Then you wake up on a day when it’s 9* and you realize you haven’t invested in a proper set of boots.
Shoutbox traffic during the holiday weekend 
What the hell are these people doing, talking to their families?
What the hell are these people doing, talking to their families?