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Community Corner

Home is Where . . . .

Can I call two places home?

Visiting my former hometown of Houston as I do each summer always used to leave me with feelings of longing and nostalgia, oddly mixed with a solid confirmation of my pleasure in my new home in Connecticut. 

We loved our new hometown in Connecticut immediately, but when I visited Houston, it still felt like Home.  People described Houston as ugly, boring and hot.  I couldn't dispute many of those claims, but it was my home from the time I was a toddler until I headed off to college, and so I loved it for what it was.

On my visit back this summer, everything changed.  I still appreciated what Houston has to offer me, but for everything that I looked forward to doing in Houston, I countered it with my solid appreciation of the separate-but-equal (or better?) benefits I derived from living in Connecticut.

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Texas has friends, beautiful new spacious homes that are available for some of the lowest values around for a metropolitan area.   Our Connecticut home is smaller, older and more expensive, but it's placed on lovely green acreage on a picturesque country road, as opposed to a postage-sized lot in a concrete jungle.

Texas makes us drool over the smoky spicy barbecue and delicious Tex-Mex food – both cheap and plentiful – along with great fast food such as Sonic Drive Inn and Chick-Fil-A. 

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Connecticut has escaped the lure of the chain restaurant and boasts smaller more unique family-run restaurants, delis, and diners.  We love the authentic homemade New York style pizza.  In fact, we love New York in general.  We take advantage of our proximity to the Big Apple frequently.

My oldest daughter remembers our in-ground pool in Texas and bemoans the short Connecticut swimming season, but when we visit Texas in the heat of the summer, that which was routine when we lived there is practically unbearable now.

In Connecticut, I drive scenic winding roads, and the worst traffic I experience in my routine is an occasional back up at exit 9 as I travel east, or the morning and afternoon rush on 34, which might force me to sit through two traffic cycles before continuing on to my destination.  Two traffic cycles?  I experienced this kind of headache and much worse on almost any trip out of my busy suburban Houston neighborhood.

We've always felt like we'd return one day to Texas, but I think that when we do, we'll feel as if we are leaving our home in Connecticut, and not simply returning to our home in Texas.

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