taqueria should be #1

Watsonville. Its the new Bend.

I'm a happy girl. Because some of my favorite people have decided not to move to Bend. They've decided to move to Watsonville instead.

Yay.

Because I ain't moving to Bend. It doesn't make the cut. Bend loses on #9 and a little bit of #13

Michael and I sometimes talk about our criteria for a place to live, in case wanderlust overcomes us and we want to see other places. So far its come to this.


1. No cities. Neither one of us like people all that much. At least not that many people all stuffed into one smelly place. Being around too many people gives me panic attacks. I fainted at a crowded kegger party once (and not because I was overly drunk) and my mom fainted at a crowded Julio Iglesias concert once (and not because she was overly smitten). Anyway, no cities.

2. No backwoods. As much as I don't like cities, I also don't like ultra boonies. I need a Trader Joe's and a place to go Salsa dancing, and a movie theatre that shows indie films.

3. No suburbs. Their homogoneity scares me. On a very deep level.

4. No states/counties with retarded liquor laws that have you driving all over the place in search of the "state" liquor store. No goofy blue laws either.

5. No states with existing or pending anti abortion laws or severe family planning restrictions. Not that I plan on using these things but I want no part of such a backwards state. (no on 85)

6. And I probably won't be a happy camper at anything within the bible belt. No offense to those bible beltians that don't force schools to teach dogma in science class. (Parenthetical confession - I honestly have no idea where the bible belt actually is)

7. No states where the highest elevation is a freeway overpass. I can't stand looking off into the distance and not seeing hills on the horizon. How do you Floridians even orient yourselves?

8. Speaking of Florida, no areas that have bugs so big and nasty that you have to screen in your backyard. Screened in backyards...kid you not, people live with this.

9. No daytime temps below 40

10. No temps above 100

11. More than average number of sunny days. I am a fair weather rider through and through.

12. Proximity to an ocean. Even though I never do ocean things, its always nice to know its there. On second thought, I might be able to forgo this.

12. Proximity to taquerias. Unlike the ocean, this is an essential in my life. Besides liking, no..needing, the food, the lack of good taquerias says a lot about a place. And Baja Freshy places, which will do in a pinch, does not count. I want to see birria or lengua on the menu (although I never order either) and soccer on the tv in the corner.

13. Diversity. Nothing against white people, some of my best friends are white...

14. Access to good mountain biking. Duh.

15. Access to good, and relatively safe, road riding where people are less likely to throw Coors cans at you.



16. Not so expensive that we can't afford to do anything. And I suppose I'll need a job that I don't hate.

Watsonville is far from perfect. The drive to Santa Cruz sucks like a million times, and there's always farm mud on the roads and the smell of manure in the air. And the redwoods, for all their tree hugging grandeur, are actually kind of annoying. But as more of my friends move here, its looking pretty darned good.

For now.