Life In Lake County: The One Year Mark

Tomorrow will be the one year mark of when we loaded up our belongings, left Las Vegas and started our new life is Lake County.

And now I'm here to give my official review on this place we call "home".

To be honest, I feel pretty much the same that I did after our first month of being here. Some days I love it and some days I don't.

I'm sure you've heard people say the following about Las Vegas: "it's a great place to visit, but I'd never want to live there." Well I would second that notion, but sometimes I feel like it applies to this place as well. I LOVED coming out here with Jake to visit his family when we were dating. I was in love with this place the second I arrived. I loved that it was beautiful, and peaceful, and that it just seemed so perfect. I held this same sentiment for many years, and then it became my permanent home. And that's when the blinders came off.

I remember when we first arrived I searched and searched and then searched some more for a job. I felt hopeless and discouraged and thought this move was a horrible mistake. And then I found a part time job, and still wasn't sold on the idea, but we made do. Then I found another part time job and things started to look a little better. Because let me tell you, no city in this world is going to seem appealing when you can't afford anything! So we settled into our lives and things got a little more comfortable.

Jake's business has been doing great, and even though I very rarely see him, I remain hopeful that one day the business will be booming even more and he will be able to hire more people to take some of the load off. And as of yesterday, I was able to quit my job at the furniture store because my other job is going to be full time! So on the job front, things are looking up and I'm so grateful for that.

Another positive is that we have Jake's family nearby. They are all so wonderful and have done so much to make the transition easier for us. I'm so grateful for this as well, but there are times when being around his family makes me jealous that I'm not around my family. I know that I'll probably always feel this way, but I also remain hopeful that we'll eventually be in a place (financially) that will allow me to travel home more often.

Another complaint I have is the lack of people our age in the area. To go from college where you're surrounded by people your age, and then to have jobs that employ a lot of people in your age group, to then move to a place where people in their mid 20's are the minority, well, it's hard. I'm not saying we're the only people in our age group that live here, but there really aren't a lot. Yes, we've met a few that are very nice, but you don't become friends with someone just because they're the same age as you. There has to be chemistry. Like dating.

Let's also discuss the lack of retail and food establishments in the area. Safeway and Kmart. Those are the only two places I frequent on a regular basis. Kmart has been making me angry though with their high prices so I'm considering switching to Walmart. It's a little farther, but I think I will end up saving money in the long run. I'm getting off track though...the point I'm trying to make is that while I might not be a big "purchaser", I'm definitely a "looker" and there is nothing to look at in Lake County. I also dislike that I don't have easy access to a craft store. I could spend all day in a craft store. And now for the restaurants....well I'm sure this doesn't require much of an explanation. If the only stores we have are Safeway and Kmart then I'm sure you can imagine what we have in the way of eating choices. One good thing I can say though is I'm sure we've saved a lot of money by not having anywhere to shop or eat. So maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Once we're rich though I'm sure I'll be even more annoyed with it ;)

Alright, I'm pretty much out of things to say, but don't want to end it on a negative note, so I'll reiterate how beautiful it is here. Because it really is gorgeous. Sometimes when I'm running in the morning I feel like it's not even real. Mountains, vineyards, orchards and overall beautifullness, but could someone take care of all those prickly plants that line the sides of the roads? Because they're annoying me like no other!

P.S. don't expect to hear from me for a while, because even though tomorrow marks the anniversary of making Lake County our "home", I'm leaving on Sunday to go back to the place that will always really be home.