I'm fascinated by the perspective of someone who, having been away from America for so long, comes back thoroughly UN-Americanized. Time was when I had a similar experience, and the re-acculturation process was excruciating.
Houston, IMHO, represents everything wrong with America. Too big, too hot, too humid, too full of itself, and too unwilling to acknowledge the race-based inequity that is the day-to-day reality of life in the Bayou City, it's the closest thing to Hell America has to offer. And I've been to and through Kentucky and West Virginia.
The problem is that very few Americans have any experience outside our borders. They simply don't know that there's anything different out there, and so they meekly acquiesce to our capitalist hellscape. If it's all you know, it probably feels like Paradise, but for those of us who've experienced living overseas, America too often feels gross and overdone.
The worst part are the America Firsters, those who honestly believe that America is so far superior to the rest of the world that they can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else. Me? I'd move to Norway in a heartbeat. Or perhaps Italy. Or maybe even back to Cyprus. As I get older, getting off the merry-go-round sounds ever more appealing.
I'm glad you're back where you feel at home. You may be separated from friends and family, but as our world gets smaller, that will become less heart-wrenching. Hopefully. :-)
I certainly see no way out for myself. I'm pinned like a butterfly in a museum display case in Little Town So. IL, which has all of the vices and none of the virtues of a city. The house next door to this property was literally gutted by fire about 10 days ago, but there was not a word about it in any of the local so-called news outlets. (They wonder why their business is failing when they focus on competing with WaPo, NYT, and WSJ, but don't bother to even mention local news?) For all I know, the house was abandoned, as I've not seen any people there since the pandemic hit.
I don't speak to any of my neighbors, in point of fact, since every last one of them is a neo-fascist Christian dominionist who believes God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit means Trump, Don Jr., and Ivanka. Same is true of the online dating sites as long as I stay age appropriate, and absolutely no one younger than I has even a pretense of interest in anything I can offer.
I can't leave because I have to take care of Toni's house and dogs. 2 1/2 years since she died the place is still in probate limbo. The house itself is both physically and legally uninhabitable: legally because w/o an owner of record it can't be insured, physically because even before she died the dogs had ceased being house trained; plus there's a hole in the roof you could drop a softball through. (The 30' X 8' travel trailer is infinitely superior as an abode. And it has fallen apart to the point where the only option is to junk it.)
If it were possible to go somewhere, I suppose my best options would be Mexico (away from the big cities and cartels) or Belize. I could pick up Spanish readily enough, and if you live like the locals rather than an American retiree it is reasonably affordable.
I'm fascinated by the perspective of someone who, having been away from America for so long, comes back thoroughly UN-Americanized. Time was when I had a similar experience, and the re-acculturation process was excruciating.
Houston, IMHO, represents everything wrong with America. Too big, too hot, too humid, too full of itself, and too unwilling to acknowledge the race-based inequity that is the day-to-day reality of life in the Bayou City, it's the closest thing to Hell America has to offer. And I've been to and through Kentucky and West Virginia.
The problem is that very few Americans have any experience outside our borders. They simply don't know that there's anything different out there, and so they meekly acquiesce to our capitalist hellscape. If it's all you know, it probably feels like Paradise, but for those of us who've experienced living overseas, America too often feels gross and overdone.
The worst part are the America Firsters, those who honestly believe that America is so far superior to the rest of the world that they can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else. Me? I'd move to Norway in a heartbeat. Or perhaps Italy. Or maybe even back to Cyprus. As I get older, getting off the merry-go-round sounds ever more appealing.
I'm glad you're back where you feel at home. You may be separated from friends and family, but as our world gets smaller, that will become less heart-wrenching. Hopefully. :-)
I have seen Hell...and I-10 runs through it.
I certainly see no way out for myself. I'm pinned like a butterfly in a museum display case in Little Town So. IL, which has all of the vices and none of the virtues of a city. The house next door to this property was literally gutted by fire about 10 days ago, but there was not a word about it in any of the local so-called news outlets. (They wonder why their business is failing when they focus on competing with WaPo, NYT, and WSJ, but don't bother to even mention local news?) For all I know, the house was abandoned, as I've not seen any people there since the pandemic hit.
I don't speak to any of my neighbors, in point of fact, since every last one of them is a neo-fascist Christian dominionist who believes God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit means Trump, Don Jr., and Ivanka. Same is true of the online dating sites as long as I stay age appropriate, and absolutely no one younger than I has even a pretense of interest in anything I can offer.
I can't leave because I have to take care of Toni's house and dogs. 2 1/2 years since she died the place is still in probate limbo. The house itself is both physically and legally uninhabitable: legally because w/o an owner of record it can't be insured, physically because even before she died the dogs had ceased being house trained; plus there's a hole in the roof you could drop a softball through. (The 30' X 8' travel trailer is infinitely superior as an abode. And it has fallen apart to the point where the only option is to junk it.)
If it were possible to go somewhere, I suppose my best options would be Mexico (away from the big cities and cartels) or Belize. I could pick up Spanish readily enough, and if you live like the locals rather than an American retiree it is reasonably affordable.