The other day I was looking up the hours of operation of my local library branch in my newly adopted city of Seattle, and I discovered it is open seven days a week. I have to admit I started to giggle. Jacksonville, Florida, with nearly twice the area population, can barely manage to keep its libraries open five days a week, and is constantly threatening to close branches.
My late boyfriend used to call Jacksonville a truck stop that got out of control. I agree wholeheartedly. Jacksonville isn’t a real city. It’s the place Yankees drive through without stopping on their way to Disney World.
Seattle is a real city. It actually has public transportation. Jacksonville’s buses to nowhere are pathetic on the best of days. And Seattle’s mom and pop restaurants outnumber its McDonalds. Jacksonville is actually the home of the very first Burger King, and fast food places seem to crop up over night like mushrooms.
Seattle’s downtown is packed with people. There’s a constant hustle and bustle. In Jacksonville you could fire a cannon down the center of main street most nights after 8 pm and not hit a soul.
I think the reason Seattle doesn’t feel like home to me yet is that I get a city vibe from it, and usually I only get that feeling when I’m a tourist and I’m visiting Paris or Amsterdam or Toronto. I keep expecting to have to head to an airport and fly back to Nowheresville sooner or later. And every time I remind myself that that isn’t the case, I’m thrilled beyond words.
[Image credit: sactrips.com]
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