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Our stay in LaBelle was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, we went back to that BBQ restaurant last night and I had the best fish I've ever tasted. It was breaded and fried, and it has a marvelously delicate taste. I have no idea what kind of fish it was. I think the real point is that Southern Cooking at its best is delicious. Anyhow, all that enjoyment started Libby and I talking about places we like and inspired this blog post.
After discussion, Libby and I narrowed our list of favorite places to live. Note that many places are fun to visit, Burlington, Whitehall, Waterford, Elizabeth City, Oriental, New Bern, Fernandina, Vero Beach and Marathon just to name a few. But a smaller list of places strike us as ideal places to live. Here's our short list, all dating to our 7 years of cruising.
- Belfast, Maine
- Vergennes, Vermont
- Newark, New York
- LaBelle, Florida
At first, these places seem to have little in common. But in our view the common thread is strong -- the people. In each of those places we felt that we would fit right in with the townspeople. That we would be welcomed, and that we would enjoy the town and our neighbors. It is the people more than the location that motivated our choices.
Don't jump to the conclusion that this talk is a precursor to us wanting to settle down. In our discussion, Libby and I agreed on two major hindrances to that. First, after 7 years on the go, we are veteran nomads. We have the nomadic life style in our blood.
Second, we are thoroughly spoiled about ambient temperatures. Every fall we go slowly south, following the pleasant temperatures. We stop at 25 degrees North latitude. Every spring, we go slowly north, following the pleasant temperatures, stopping at 45 degrees North. We live year round with no heat, no air conditioning and with the windows and doors open in ambient temperatures 60-80F (16-27C) 90% of the time. and (45-85F) 99% of the time. We know of no place in the Eastern USA, where we could live year round without heat or AC. Perhaps San Diego is the closest such place, and I'm not sure about that. Maybe readers can suggest places we don't know about.
p.s. Tomorrow we plan to cross Lake Okechobee. Then we will be on the Eastern side of Florida.
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I rode my bicycle down the coast of Maine from St John, NB 30+ yrs ago with the purpose of starting anew out of school. Belfast was also my #1 choice. Beautiful old houses, quiet, almost sleepy, but one could sense the potential. A big plus was being at the head of Penobscot Bay. As it turned out, I never lived there and I'm sure it has changed quite a bit since then.
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