In February 2007 we left the village of Saltaire, Yorkshire for Texas, the plan was to be in Dallas, Texas for around 3 years for my partner in crime to complete his post doctoral research position. 4 years and 8 months later we have finally made the decision to leave, when we do leave we will have lived in Texas for 4 years and 10 months!
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| Saltaire, Yorkshire |
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| Dallas, Texas |
What a ride it has been! Not that it’s over – there are still 8 weeks left! A lot to do in 8 weeks…….an apartment to clean out and pack up for home, good friends to say au revoir to and Tex Mex to indulge in. In the time that we have lived in Dallas – much has changed for us and those around us; I now drive a Volvo station wagon and I ride a bike, we have good friends from Dallas who themselves have made big moves to different parts of the US, at home in England; we have two new nieces, a younger brother who is now an eye Dr., a sister who is married and a sister who is engaged and lots of friends on both sides of the pond with new babies, jobs, careers, hobbies, stories and partners!
The adventures we have had have included trips to various parts of the USA – New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Austin and the adventures in Dallas have been just as exciting. (Our annual trips home to England have also been fun, returning home as a "visitor" is a very different experience!) We have met so many interesting and different people, some of whom have become good friends and we hope to see them in London soon! We love being able to say to people who can be negative about the lack of culture in Dallas, that they are wrong – it may take a little longer but when you do find it – Dallas has a little and (sometimes a lot) of everything you could want and it is made all the more special because you have had to try that little bit harder to find it. During our time in Dallas; Dallas has changed so much, the Dallas Bike Plan, the food trucks, the deck park, Main Street Gardens – it has been a real joy to see such positive changes in the city in the short time we have called Dallas home.
Now that we feel like Dallas could be home for us, we are leaving – ahh the irony of life! That was always the plan – the family ties for myself and the love of my life were always too strong for us to be far from them for too long. As we embark upon new adventures, I do so with the knowledge that I can do it, whatever “it” will be – or at least I can try! If our adventures in Dallas has taught me one thing; it is to just jump in with a smile and mostly it will be okay, it may even be great and sometimes it will be crappy; that is when you pick yourself up; make a mental note (or write a blog, update your status or tweet) and try something new or just less crappy. The other thing Dallas has taught me is that I do like Tequila, again.
Now that we feel like Dallas could be home for us, we are leaving – ahh the irony of life! That was always the plan – the family ties for myself and the love of my life were always too strong for us to be far from them for too long. As we embark upon new adventures, I do so with the knowledge that I can do it, whatever “it” will be – or at least I can try! If our adventures in Dallas has taught me one thing; it is to just jump in with a smile and mostly it will be okay, it may even be great and sometimes it will be crappy; that is when you pick yourself up; make a mental note (or write a blog, update your status or tweet) and try something new or just less crappy. The other thing Dallas has taught me is that I do like Tequila, again.
Our adventures have failed to bring us big financial fortunes yet that was never the plan, we are experience rich and wealthy with the love of new and hopefully life long friends. Our memory banks are bursting with wonderful memories; here are a select few; queso is not cheese soup, a supreme vegetable pizza comes with meat, tipping is a MUST, you don’t have to indicate when changing lanes, you cannot kill a cockroach with a tennis ball, portion control when dining out in Texas is an important skill to develop, you don’t have to tell the truth when someone asks how you are, you have to say “you are welcome” when someone says “thank you”, closets and cars and pretty much everything else is massive in Texas, ice storms and snow storms are two very different things, tornado warnings are scary, when someone from the South says “bless her/his heart” it is almost always not a compliment, every major, minor and everything else in between US sporting/event pauses for commercial breaks and begins with the Stars and Stripes, table service in a bar is the best thing ever as is Tex Mex, Shiner blonde light and margaritas!
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| Cheerio Dallas, its been fun! |
