What’s the biggest factor for you in deciding where to live?

I know I haven’t posted in quite some time… partly because I’ve just been plain TOO BUSY to sit down and write… but I’ve come to realize that I honestly need this place to just vent sometimes… But that’s not really what this post is about… It’s more of a “let’s get back into the swing of things, shall we?” post… You see… I’ve been away for so long that I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to write?!? Thank goodness for Plinky.com who kindly sends me some writing prompts each week to choose from… This ought to kick me in the pants, right?

What’s the biggest factor for you in deciding where to live?
Back before I had children, there really wasn’t a biggest factor at all. After enlisting in the Air Force, I traveled to a few states including Texas, South Carolina and Arizona without really thinking about where I would settle down. After I had Jimmy and moved back to Maryland, I started thinking about where I wanted the kids to grow up. Granted… finances didn’t always afford me the opportunity to live where I wanted to live but I was able to stay in the country where the schools were small and families looked out for each other.

After Ahole left and I met B, I moved to Wilmington which was an absolutely incredible step for me. Moving away from family and into a larger city had mixed results. Moving away from my family didn’t really make any difference at all since we never really frequented each others doorsteps to begin with… so no great loss or gain there… However, there was a definite difference in scholastic results with regards to the children. The oldest immediately benefited since the city offered him a much larger opportunity for transitioning education for those that are mentally handicapped. The second born didn’t fair so well and chose to start hanging with a “rougher crowd”, skipping school and smoking dope… he eventually moved in with his dad instead… The girls started school in what is termed a “feeder school” where they ended up the only children of their color and ended up tops in their classes even though they weren’t doing so well academically compared to their peers elsewhere…

It was over the summer that I decided to move the family back to the country and I haven’t had one regret since… In fact, even though I’ve had a few job opportunities outside of this area AND I work almost an hour from my home, I still wouldn’t move from this area for the simple fact that the girls are so very happy where they are… Their academic success is my biggest deciding factor in staying where I am right now. I love the house I live in even if it isn’t quite big enough for everyone. I love the neighborhood that we are located in… everyone looks out for each other and I know that I don’t have to worry that the girls will get attacked if they walk outside. I love the school district… they truly care about the kids and really push parents to stay active participants in the learning process… And I promised the girls I wouldn’t move them out of the school district for the next ten years…