Monday, September 17, 2007

Come on Over

Not sure how many Indiana "locals" are reading this blog, but . . .

we're having a big pot-luck meal and hang out at our place this Sunday (9/23) starting at 1PM. Bring some food, we'll provide the drinks. The grill will be available. Just let us know if you're coming -- it's open invitation.

(If football fans want to, we can put the Colts game on the big screen!)

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Cultural Differences

With each passing week I'm noticing the cultural differences between life in Las Vegas and life in Indiana. It takes awhile to really see it. I am amazed at how differently people understand life, all within the same country. It's pretty drastic, really. Not that one is good, and one is bad. I believe all cultures are a mixed bag of good and bad. It's just different. And it takes some real "paying attention" to really see it.

Here's someone else's similar impressions (though a bit biased towards this culture over the other) from a recent blog entry:
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Back from West Coast to Indiana’s simpler life
By Kelly Corbray, Indianapolis

I lived in Indiana the first 18 years of my life and couldn’t wait to move to California, where I lived for six years. My naive 18-year-old brain assumed that every state was like Indiana. I returned to Indianapolis in 1990. I have raised two children here and recently adopted two of my foster children and am working on adopting a third.

I’m 42 now and the picture is a whole lot clearer. I can greet people I pass on the street with a smile and a “good morning” without being looked at like I am crazy.

I can afford my own home even with the rising taxes. In California, my meager five-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot house would sell for $750,000. Here, I bought a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development home for $79,000, and with little fixes it is now worth $114,000.

Indy’s crime is not nearly as bad as California’s; our gangs and project areas look like preschoolers and playgrounds compared to what I have seen.

People complain that there isn’t a lot to do here other than sports. That just gives us more time to spend with our families and our kids and in our homes.