Just wanting to say Hi to all the mamas.
Hi wonderful Hipmamas-
It's been a long time since I have written but I have been reading and trying to keep up with everyone. . I was away for a while, I went to California. YOU LUCKY WEST COAST MAMAS!!! I was in San Francisco, Monterey and San Luis Obispo. What a beautiful place. Since I got back, I have just been trying to get my head above water, get some things done at work.
A question for you all: Is there anyone out there that grew up in a secluded location and liked it?
Or, if you had the choice between a very small old but sweet 800sq ft house on a dead end street with a stunning, peaceful waterview but on a crappy street and school district (ie. three houses on your block are abandoned, you have no one you could go to for a cup of sugar...) or a larger house near a great school, walk to park but on a pretty busy street, which would you choose? I live in the little house on the water now and we love it, but with two kids its getting a bit tight and I am longing for more of a community than the seclusion I once wanted. The other house near the school for my kids - there are two playgrounds within walking distance. It would be tight financially, but I am leaning toward leaving so that my kids will have friends around, go to good schools, etc. THe thought of leaving this places makes me want to cry. And then I think -maybe the girls would like to grow up out here, the way I like it. So, I would be happy to hear from anyone who has thoughts on growing up in an out of the way location with no friends nearby.
But if you don't respond, don't worry. I 'll try again. When you are untiered, theres no where to go but up 
Boomer is so 2005.
OK, wanted to respond from my husband's point of view. He grew up in the country and hated it until they moved into the whopping town of 850. He had siblings, but really wanted to be near friends, too. Also, if you're thinking public schools, I'd go with the better school district.
Finally, 800 square feet is very tiny. Can you add on? I'd hate a busy street and hate to leave a house I grew up in with a stunning, peaceful waterview.
Guess I'm not much help.
Hee hee - Ds and I moved from a city of 6 million to a town of 142 (including us) 25 miles from the nearest "big town" of 600!
"Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system." - Dorothy Day
"Step off my big ass."
- Anthromom
.
Handsome says we will never move somewhere isolated.
Stranger still - I really liked it. We're in a more "metropolotan" (ha ha) town, now. But for 4 years I really loved being totally isolated - it was good for my soul. Kind of like a big ass summer camp where you HAVE to make an effort to get along with people because there ARE no other people.
BTW - according to the 2000 census, our town was also 75% people OVER the age of 75. THAT was an interesting life perspective also.
"Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system." - Dorothy Day
Missed seeing you. I heart San Luis Obispo as well.
I grew up in a secluded coastal area in Delaware. I think it was the ideal place to grow up. My best friend (a little boy named Frankie) lived right across the street next to my Grammy. I could ride my bike to the beach and explore the woods. We would hang out at the dirt bike track down the street, although my parents didn't want me to because of the pot smoking teenagers (my brother and his buddies). I was outside everyday until mom rung the dinner bell. I stepped on hundreds of bees, caught thousands of fireflies, flung horsehoe crabs back into the bay and dreamt of riding wild Chincoteague ponies. I remember when the 4 streets in out "town" were paved and when most of the homes were demolished by a tornado while I was in Kindergarden.
Last month when I visited my sister, I drove the kids to see the old hood. It really hasn't changed. Same cornfield whose fall corn stumps ate my kite, same shack that the Fouracres lived in, same row of mailboxes lining the blistering stretch of tar. I would not live there now for a million bucks. I am so glad my Mom moved us to the burbs of DC when I was 8 for a better life for us(thanks, Mom!). Looking back now, I see very few opportunities for people living in that area(unless you're in the air force or a chicken farmer) but, Little Heaven was just that for me when I was growing up.
Personally, I would choose the bit larger house, walk to park, nice school, friends to play with scenario.
We need to feel the cheer and inspiration of meeting each other, we need to gain the courage and fresh life that comes from the mingling of congenial souls, of those working for the same ends.
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin
dh and I are organizing our CRAZY eco-friends (we've got 6 now), and we're gonna find a secluded piece of land, build cob co-housing and try and get a sort of physics boarding school for high schoolers. we'll have a bunch of teachers, and just a few kids who can come and live with us and learn how to build with cob, use solar panels, windmills, recycle sewage through a greenhouse system, and all kinds of cool stuff.
So, I guess I say that I like the smaller house with peaceful waterview. Can you homeschool, or do something else besides send them to the school you don't like?
"Fundamentally the markswoman aims at herself" DT Suzuki
i can cook & garden real good
"i have a dream, one day we hipmamas will change the world, {not just one diapie at a time} for a better tomorrow"
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"Do not speak--unless it improves on silence." ~ buddhist saying
(wow - my email on file was so old - it was from the old hipmama email!)
*rolling my eyes at the slim possibility
We were thinking about some land along the Columbia Gorge. We need water. And gardeners!!! It's gonna be a few years, so we have some time to prepare. Come up with ideas, and research bulding and eco-friendlier energy sources. We want to try to be as self-sustainable as possible.
Ah! This is a long time fantasy of mine, too. Seriously.
No Way! I'm just in school for it. dh got his masters in phy, but now he's working on a teaching degree so he can work with high schoolers.
I've never been to private school, but can't they ride bikes with those kids? I guess it's kind of different, huh? I'm not sure why though. I've known people to go to catholic schools...are those private schools religious? I think mamanopajamas had a great comment.
I didn't mean that they couldn't ride bikes with private school kids I just have this vision of them getting off the bus and playing with the kids that live in the neighborhood. And here, there are no kids.
I loved physics! I majored in chemistry.
And it's nice to know about the chemistry. You just became a prospective answerer of questions.
almsot everyone i've know we lived an extreme like you are talking about either unique, adventerous & different OR mainstream grew up to wish they'd had the other!!
a compromise is my solution!
stya where you are and brng stuff to you &your kds!!! if schools are crappy, hoem school, of course that leads to more isolation in soem ways, but you then havethetime to drive a bit further to parks or places kiddos hang after regular school hours...becuase you aren't tied down by a "bell schedule"
you might have to work a little harder to create a "communty" for your kids, but do stuff like jing art/ballet/etc classes at he Y or community center even if it's a town away cause again you havetiem to drive a little farther...you can put your kids in socila situations easily...
and you can incorpoarte the two worlds w/o giving up your very swet sounding existence
"i have a dream, one day we hipmamas will change the world, {not just one diapie at a time} for a better tomorrow"
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/backontrackcarepacks/
"Listen up you quarks...stop messing around or I'll have to take care of ya..." YoftheV
and i am homescholingthe oy-child preschooly stuff now & think i might do it long trem, so i can help you with stuff liek thta
"i have a dream, one day we hipmamas will change the world, {not just one diapie at a time} for a better tomorrow"
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/backontrackcarepacks/
I have no input as I grew up in a city but just wanted to say your current home sounds lovely! Just lovely. But there is something to be said for good schools and community and having friends around.
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Thank you. It really is.
I drove by the "new" house five times today and stopped at the park nearby and played with the girls. Then I came home an cried when I got home. I think we will just kind of lurk in the town for a few weeks before making any decisions. We are going to go trick or treating in the neighborhood to see what it is really like. And get some free treats, of course.
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Town of 850! Now thats small. And you are helping. The street is not that busy and it is in a school zone so the speed limit is 20mph. So maybe it wouldn't be all that bad.
We could add on to our house and that is one thing we are considering. But then we are still in a place with no real community but maybe like mamanopajamas said, I could create my own community here.