You Wanna Be Where Everyone Knows Your Name.

Cheers!
Originally uploaded by erickpineda527.

Whenever I go to Charleston, it's always with mixed emotions. When I Ieft years ago it was with the intention of never coming back, but to visit. There's definitely pros and cons with Orlando vs. Charleston.

While my sister, Cher, and I were driving downtown to kill some time I mentioned how it was nice to be anywhere in Charleston and see someone you know. Not even an hour after that we're walking on King Street to get some coffee when honk! honk! "ERICK!". My buddy Carl drives by on his way to class. Even running into Derek and catching up at the hospital was cool. Back in the day it was always nice to see friends along the way and chat for a bit. Hell even Savannah, very similar to Charleston, was that way.

In Orlando, everyone is out for self and for the most part lacks some sense of common courtesy. People drive like asses and are rude. It's definitely made me more of a cynic. The southern mentality is certainly a very real thing. People are just NICER in the south (Florida doesn't count eventhough technically they are further south). There are times when I just want to ram my foot up someone's ass over here.

What keeps me from moving back? Oh just the standard materialistic things - money, lack of jobs in my field, slow pace (although sometimes that can be a good thing), not enough to do or see. The one thing that always stuck in my head was that when I left it was because it felt like Charleston was the Town That Time Forgot. Oof. It was like living there meant just living for the weekends.

The things I certainly loved about Charleston was, of course, old friends and family. They say that the friends you make during your formative years are the ones that you bond closer and later on it becomes harder to find people you click with. I believe it. I also love the wide variety of events that happen each year - Spoleto Festival, Southeastern Wildlife Expo, etc. I REALLY miss being fifteen minutes from the beach. I miss the smell of diesel fuel from the marina and oyster beds as weird as that seems. The city is also well known for their cuisine. Doesn't sound too exciting, right? But as a foodie and aspiring restauranteur I dig it. Now if I managed to get my restaurant going there and move closer to the beaches...