  Roaming I have a book at home called USA On The Road. I love this book. I also love maps, travel books, books about people uprooting their lives and people I meet who have done this. When I get tired of the weather, or irritated at my acquaintances I go to Barnes and Noble and look at travel books. I love the idea that there are people who are living everywhere on this planet in such differing conditions. In this country alone, at this very moment, there are incredibly diverse lifes going on.
Lets consider what life would be like across the nation (based on a mixture of conjecture, experience and stereotypes): 1) New York City, New York New York Ciy! Where the lights are bright and the rents are high! In a city where the necessities of life are always bought, one does not have to expend energy to create a life. One just has to expend energy finding the money to buy a life. The focus of life in New York City is to make money and spend it. To be "hip" in New York City, one must have enough money to buy designer clothes, eat out for every meal and go for drinks with one's friends.
You must also work out, because looking good is a big part of being "hip. " If you choose to not be hip, there is a place for you here too. You can spend your money on books and 5 dollar coffee and shop at the many thrift shops. But if you are poor and unhip then this is going to be a difficult city to live in. Its one thing to be unhip, its another to live with 4 people in a studio and eat ramen off a hot plate. So, if you are poor and unhip, move.
2) Four Corners, Arizona According to USA On the Road, Four Corner Arizona is a place where, left to your own devices, one can be calm. Calm in the desert. This is where an American with significantly less money than our friends in NYC (Or anywhere in the Atlantic Northeast, for that matter) can buy a house, work at a job in the air conditioning and feel close to nature. People who like to hike, who have very good senses of directions (Gerry, anyone? ) and who really like the color red) will be happy. Zen even.
Maybe they even commune with mother nature. Now, this is just a guess, but I bet these people work from 9-5. It takes them 15 minutes AT THE MOST to get to work and its a traffic jam when there are 5 or 6 cars at a light. I bet they have smoky bars and movie theaters and enjoy bourbon and smoke marijuana at their homes. If I lived in Four Corners, AZ I would take up rock gardening and complain about water rationing. Sounds like a slow, easy life.
But for me, probably close to boring since I don't really like to hike, can get turned around pretty easily and like trees and flowers A LOT. 3) Billings, Montana **Note: I literally had to go to google to find a city/town name in Montana. ** As the note indicates, I am by no means an expert on Montana. But I did read the Horse Whisperer and my Mom's best friend's son worked at a dude ranch in Wyoming. So, I think that living in Montana has to involve a lot of solitude. Since the population of the entire state of Montana is roughly 917,000 (which is only slightly more than the population of San Francisco, CA).
There are 6.2 people per 2000 square miles. I think that life in Montana involves a lot of sitting on porch swings, working the ranch, worrying about droughts and cooking. You are probably real attached to your kin. And why not, they are the 6.2 people you know, and the 6.2 people who will come to your rescue if you get caught in a stampede. These are the people who work your ranch, make your food, take care of the children and probably mean a whole lot to you. I would guess that people don't leave their loved ones when they live in Montana- which is why the population change between census taking is .8%.
This place is all solitude and family- and probably WalMarts. I bet there's one movie theater in every "town. " And I bet its never played a movie that wasn't a blockbuster. Except maybe Life is Beautiful. 4) Minster, Ohio Oh, man do I know about this one. Minster.
Population 2,740. Everyone is Catholic and everyone is white, and everyone is happy about it. They eat friend chicken and they eat fish. They have a movie store and bowling alley and one, really nice, trailer park. Average home cost is about 100,000 and WOW, they are nice houses. The schools are good, the basketball teams are good, and the kids are.... good.
Life in Minster, OH involves eating ice cream in the summer, working 5 minutes from home (What? a 15 minute drive? What, do I have all day? ) coming home for lunch and respecting your elders. The alcoholics are known and looked at funny. The kid with the purple hair will "come to no good.
" People mean well. Children grown up and go to Ohio colleges and hope to come back and live in their home town. Its a "good place to raise a family. " Chances are you have a few acres of land if you just have a house, and lots of acres of land if you have a farm. Like our friends in Montana you worry about drought, but you probably run your farm for the likes of Tyson. Life is good and simple and hair raising if its not for you.
My mother loves it, she feels like she finally belongs. I am glad for these people, but keep me out of there! 5) San Diego, California All my life I thought that San Diego was smallish town. Then when I was looking for a city that had a population about that of Montana, I realized- San Diego has 1.2 million people!! That's twice the size of Boston, MA! I'll be.
So, for such a large metrropolis it has quite a mellow reputation. City making in San Diego entails tearing down old things and building new things. Out with the old! Even if the old is all of 5-10 years old. San Diego is beautiful and warm, and not LA. Which suits the residents just fine.
Living in San Diego is like living in Disney World. Things are beautiful and new and taken care of. I suppose they have to commute about half an hour, spend the weekends at the beach, have fairly nice cars and failry steep rent. You can learn to surf, smoke pot and get up to no good. Its a mellow place, but not like Arizona. Its not ZEN.
Because it is still California- its still hip. Its like a channel summer suit- well put together, chic and colorful. I think that despite it seeming disregard for history and the politics of affordable housing, I would like San Diego. 6) Little Rock, Arkansas Welcome to the white trash capital of America. Ask anyone who has lived there, visited there or flown over. The crime is terrible, hatred is rampant and views are narrow.
Life involves making no money, being too hot to try to change that, and learning to shoot squirrels. People who don't want to be there buy have to be, turn to self mutilation or Victorian novels. Alcohol is the drug of choice for the old folks, anything they can get their hands on is the drug of choice for the high school crowd. Gangs form and hate each other. There are some wealthy people, but they keep to themselves and don't involve themselves in the plight of the city. Think Detroit, wihtout the sense to know it ought to be better.
Living in America, though seemingly diverse, would look like about as diverse as the Olson twins to someone who lives in Asia, for example or Africa. However I am not Asian or African and I am amazed and interested in knowing how people are getting along in a country as geographically, temperately and socially diverse at this one. United we stand and all that.... I have to get back to work... but your thoughts are very welcome. Especially if you can describe somewhere like Boise Idaho, or Denver Colorado- places I don't understand, but want to! 
