My favorite child

I’ve passed the one-year mark since moving back to California.

Sometimes it feels longer, sometimes less. The sharp edges of my initial impressions of California – the homeless, traffic, impersonality – are wearing smooth as I find new friends and friendly roads to travel.

It would be easy to get lost here. Moving to a new place when kids are grown and the working world is behind me means I have to create an entirely new life from scratch. Make new contacts, develop new friends. There’s been a new house, new neighbors, new doctors, new roads to travel. I’ve learned the hard way to pay close attention to parking signs and the fine print that lists street cleaning days. Beware the $50 parking ticket!

Fortunately, I’ve found a couple of niches in writers, outdoor lovers and other women with similar interests. I’ve found a book club and attend museum events with others. Gone to plays and movies. It takes a little effort to restart a life but finding these groups has made all the difference in feeling a sense of belonging.

Being a bit of an introvert, I cherish my alone time too. Walking through my neighborhood, along paths and trails with my little dog as company, I feel recharged. I walk farmer’s markets and explore new cafes. I find new favorite haunts.

I’m frequently asked if I like California more than my previous home in Idaho. Like asking which is my favorite child, it’s the wrong question. They are both great places for different reasons.

I love my visits back to Boise, the relaxed highway driving, the rolling hills hugging the edge of the city, the friendliness of strangers. Those high mountain lakes, jagged peaks, first-of-the-season snowfalls, whitewater rivers, wilderness that seems to have no end. There’s a sense of the old West there which is kind of cool.

California has the beach and the weather, mountains and redwood forests. I like the vibrancy in California – there’s a buzzing undercurrent in the cities that is stimulating. This place feels fresh and new, not afraid to change, adapt, make mistakes, and change again.

One place is serenity, the other is electric.

Each place also has its own unique downsides. They’re incomparable and I like this too.

The truth is that a place means nothing unless you get out and experience it. I still have a long list of places to visit ahead of me. And I’m still having to work hard at finding my niche here. California is keeping me busy.