Pros and Cons

Since moving to California, one of the things I’m asked most often is which place I like better, the town we moved from, Greenville, SC, or our new home here in Bakersfield.

My answer?

Columbus, Ohio.

You just can’t beat the Midwest. It has all four seasons in perfect balance, and it really snows during the winter. It has culture, like symphonies and ballets. I can be in the middle of a big city or out in the country in half an hour, and the Amish live close by, so there’s always good cheese. People are nice, but not too noesy. There are no poisonous snakes anywhere, and ants don’t bite. There huge libraries and lots of museums, but not a lot of tourism. Columbus will always be home home, if you know what I mean.

But Columbus isn’t one of the options.Ooops. 🙂

I’ve lived in Bakersfield for almost as long as I lived in Greenville now. (My first two years in South Carolina I lived at college, which was technically in Tigerville. So I went to Greenville, but I didn’t really live there. If you care.) It pans out like this…

Greenville Pros:

– Real seasons

– Nice mountains

– Accessable Krispy Kreme donuts

– Shrimp sauce at hibachi restaurants

– Real BBQ

– Nice downtown area

– Know more people

– Good air quality

– Family with-in a days drive

– Good southern food (Meat and three, anyone?)

– Sweet tea everywhere

– Fake Mexican food/liberal use of queso. Mmmmmmm.

Greenville Cons:

– Red Necks

– Humidity

– No Hingepoint Church

– Far-ish away from family

– Rains too much

Bakersfield Pros:

– Hingepoint Church

– Moo Creamery/Rosemary’s/etc. (Basically, better ice cream.)

– Pretty mountains

– Quick drive to the beach

– Real Mexican food (Do half of these really have to do with food? Am I really that pathetic? Yes. Yes, I am.)

– Fewer but closer friends

– No rain

Bakersfield Cons:

– Smog

– No sweet tea (except Jeri’s. Which is always great:)

– We’re in the desert

– Bros

– Hot hot heat

– Not-real seasons

– Farther away from family

Total Score: Greenville: 7, Bakersfield: an even 0.

And as a city as a whole goes, I really do like Greenville better. But I’m happier and more peaceful in Bakersfield than I ever was in Greenville, or than I would be in my beloved Ohio, or anywhere, because this is where God has called me to be. And I’m content. Also, it’s nice to be warm when everyone else is cold in April, and also in October. See. Win- win. 🙂

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