Denver v. Nashville

Well, hello friends and family! It's been awhile. Today, a day off from work and most other commitments, is the perfect time to relax my body and mind, and attempt to sum up as much as possible the last month or so of my life. Actually, this blog post would be unbearably long if I tried to pack everything in, so I think I'll just write two or three shorter blogs. I'll write one about random things, one about my trip home, and one about the differences between Denver and Nashville.

The longer I live in Denver, the more I notice the ways it's different from Nashville. Especially since I got to go home for Christmas. Here are some of them:

*There are no bugs in Denver. Okay, at least very few. In Nashville, even the nicest homes will have bugs sometimes. Not in Denver. Not even in old houses. I think I have only seem maybe 3 bugs since I have lived here.

*The types of vehicles people drive are very different. In the South, lots and lots of people have trucks. Guys and girls, young and old. However, when I moved last week to a new home, it was near impossible to find someone with a truck. It was hard even to find someone who knew someone who had a truck. Finally, a guy from work helped me move with his SUV. The car that you see EVERYWHERE here is the Outback. Seriously, they are all over. I guess maybe because they're good in this weather. I'm not sure. But really, the differences in not hard to see...it's pretty extreme.

*Speaking of cars and driving, people drive a lot differently here, I think. A lot more people drive the speed limit on the interstates...it is not uncommon to drive slow. Also, in my opinion, they seem to be much less huried and anxious. Not to mention, they are much better at driving around cyclists. People in the south are sometimes pretty rude and honk a lot when they drive by. Here, cyclists are everywhere, as are bike lines, so road biking usually much safer.

*This is kind of a random difference, but so weird. For the first couple of months in Denver, I lived with two dogs, one of which was huge! Seriously HUGE! When I went home for Christmas, my dog who I previously thought was a medium sized dog, not too small, felt like a chihuahua! (Is that how that's spelled?) Her face felt so tiny to me. She is the best dog ever.

*There are tons of one-way streets here. I live on one now, actually. Denver roads are bizarre, and you can rarely return the way you came. I think it will take a while to really figure it out.

*My hair is prettier in Nashville...haha. Denver weather does a number on it.

*It doesn't really storm in Denver. It rarely rains. Just snows. So when I recently heard thunder, it startled me more than usual. It used to scare me a lot because of the tornado, but I had gotten over it.

*There are more mountains to be seen here, but more green in Nashville.

I think those are the main things I've thought of.

I like both cities for different reasons. Denver is a really cool place to live, and perfect for training for a cyclist. Nashville, though, will always be my city, my home.

Erin