Take me back to the 'Burbs

or even a little farm out in the county.

I have no desire to live in Charlotte any more. I love Charlotte, I really do. I love U-City, I love Uptown, I even enjoy the dirty hippies in NoDa. I appreciate the fact that I can buy anything I could possibly want. Its fun to hang out with diverse people. Its great to be able to go to Blumenthal. There are a dozen restaurants that I can't live without. But my desire to actually live within the Queen City is close to zero.

Why? A few reasons. First, traffic is terrible. I can drive from Concord to the University in less time then it takes to drive from North Tryon to the University. In my old apartment, it took thirty minutes to drive to UNCC. I can WALK from their to UNCC in thirty minutes. And I did most of the time, I only used my car at night.

Second, its too loud. I understand that when you live with 800,000 other people, sometimes they get sick, or their houses burn down or they get shot. And that sucks. And I feel for you. But I want to be able to sit in my house with the windows open, without hearing an ambulance.

Third, its way too expensive. Being the economist junkie that I am, I realize that living in a city just isn't a good deal. Even Kravchuk lives in the County. I can't stand paying so much for housing.

Fourth, I have a car. I can drive to the city. I love Charlotte, and I'll just drive. Its fine. I'll buy a hybrid and that will make me feel less guilty. Besides, I don't think driving my car down 49 is worse then being stuck in traffic on Tryon.

And finally..............I want a yard. I want my hypothetical children to be able to play in a yard. I want to be able to put a swing set or whatever I want in my yard. I want to be able to, God forbid, put a Barack Obama sign in my yard without having to deal with a bunch of crap.

It would be so nice to buy some land off 49 and build a house.....