I was driving home yesterday after running some errands around Raleigh and I saw my first redneck limousine. It was a stretch limo with a 4×4 pickup bed at the rear. To top off the hideousness of this beast there was a cap on the bed. It was so ghastly it actually knocked the wind out of me for a second and I had to slow down to gawk. I guess I learned that hideousness knows no bounds. I would love to know how much gas this monster consumes and what kind of people would pay to ride around in such an inefficient eyesore.

My name is Elise Hines, and I’m originally from Flushing, N.Y. Growing up in Queens did a lot to shape me as a person, and it’s inextricable from my personality. I love everything about Flushing, even the way its ethnic makeup changes every decade or so. I’ve heard every joke in the world about Flushing, and there’s no point in getting flustered anymore. I’m proud to have lived there, and if I could ever afford to move back, I definitely would. They say you can never go back home, but after spending more than a decade outside of NYC, would it really still be the home I knew?

I attended the Lutheran School of Flushing (which is now the Lutheran School of Flushing and Bayside). I met a lot of great people there, and learned a lot of things, the most ironic being that I don’t believe in God. I have nothing against a parochial education, and I don’t hold anyone’s belief in God against them. In fact, I think that parochial education done the right way can create charitable, intelligent young people who are active participants in their communities. I even capitalize God in deference to the beliefs of religious readers. I am just frustrated that every religion thinks they have the lock on morals and ethics. You don’t have to be Christian, Catholic, Muslim, or participate in any other religion, to lead a good life and be a good person. The basic tenants of most major religions amount to common sense, and I don’t think that any religion has cornered the market on it, or peddle it as wares of their own design.

My disdain for organized religion and the concept of an all-powerful God has led me to exploring Buddhism. It’s more of a way of life or philosophy than a religion, and it is independent of one’s belief in God. I’m just a novice, and still wrapping my brain around the basics, while trying to learn the differences and similarities among the different branches of Buddhism. It’s difficult to readjust my way of thought after being forced through a Christian-based school system during my formative years. So far the thing that’s made the biggest impact on me is the encouragement to question and discuss the interpretation of various aspects of the philosophy. It is a far cry from the restrictive thought I experienced in Christianity, and some of the fundamentalist drivel (Christian, Catholic, and Muslim alike) that I have heard and read throughout my life. I’ve always been wary of people and organizations that encouraged literal translations of religious texts.

At any rate, I attended Townsend Harris H.S., which was both a blessing and a curse. To say that this school was academically challenging would be an understatement. I don’t agree with some of the curriculum choices, because I think that the funding for Enrichment, Latin, and ancient Greek could be reallocated to bolster some of the weaker programs. Other than that, I did meet a lot of excellent people, and I still talk to a few of them today. I can also say that the teachers there are some of the most dedicated educators I’ve ever met with few exceptions. I also enjoyed doing community service through various THHS programs, and I have fond memories of the science teachers and courses. If I were given the opportunity to go through H.S. again I would definitely choose a different path, but hindsight is always 20/20.

I bounced around and attended a couple of colleges. I settled at Penn State and finished my B.S. there. My experience at Penn State was largely a positive one. I have to be careful to separate my memories of PSU from my memories of living in Central Pennsylvania, because living in Pennsylvania was a racist nightmare for me. I never experienced such a high level of ignorance and racism as I did while living in Pennsylvania for five years. I am loath to even return for a visit. I refused to participate in Penn State’s marketing for their Diversity program, because to me it was a boldfaced lie. On the other hand, I met a lot of great people, and forged some great friendships while I was there. Obama’s recent comments on rural Pennsylvanians clinging to guns and religion may have been harsh to hear, but I can say that it is absolutely true from personal experience. I don’t think less of any Pennsylvanian for it, but I think that it is time for a paradigm shift there.

After 9/11, when I woke up and found that some rednecks in my apartment complex had hung a very large rebel flag in their window, I decided that it was time to get out of PA. There was nothing left there for me, and you could argue that there was nothing there for me in the first place. I moved to Orlando, FL where my parents had retired to. Things definitely went from bad to worse. My advice for anyone who doesn’t work in the Tourism or Food and Beverage industries is to flee. Although I did get my M.S. while I was down there, I suffered through four or five hurricanes, a plethora of illnesses, and heat that you would not believe. Being near family wasn’t worth letting my social life and career stagnate. I chose to exit stage right after four and a half years.

Now I live in Raleigh, N.C., and it’s still fresh and new to me. It’s very aesthetically pleasing compared to Florida and Pennsylvania, and they work hard to preserve the trees and landscape here. Every building going up isn’t a strip mall (like in Florida), and though there is a massive influx of people from other parts of the country, the state and city officials are working hard to keep up with the growth. Unlike Florida, the schools here are not surrounded by trailers full of temporary classrooms, and the vast majority of children can read on their grade level. I honestly did not expect much from North Carolina being a Yankee and all, but I was pleasantly surprised. This is the first place that I’ve lived in since I left NYC that I know I will miss if I leave it.

This is yet another post about my pathetic posting frequency as of late. I have been busy here in Raleigh for a while and I’m still trying to get all of my proverbial ducks in a row. The holiday season also brought a visit from the parents and the cats who are all doing well.

Raleigh is a really cool town. The people are really friendly and will approach you and strike up a conversation. Having grown up in Queens and lived in Florida, I am not used to this. It’s peculiar to me but it’s also one of the things that makes me feel comfortable here. When I moved to Pennsylvania it took me months to find decent people to hang out with. Aside from neighbors and friends of my family I never really found anyone to hang out with when I was in Florida. Being in a place where people reach out to you is a blessing.

This area of North Carolina is also really socially aware and is populated with many well-educated people. There is a great deal of political activism and people donate a great deal to charities. I haven’t seen this much political and social awareness since I left NYC. We all know how politically aware Floridians are by now, and the school systems there are some of the worst in the United States, therefore you can draw your own conclusions about awareness there. Pennsylvanians are more politically aware and there are some small pockets of activists throughout the state that do good things. There are even several communities in Pennsylvania that are fighting the invasion of Wal-Mart tooth and nail. I wish they would fight racism with such vigor. I’d have to say that the people in this area are more well-rounded than the denizens of my previous areas of residence with the exception of NYC.

Of course I have a lot more to say about Raleigh and its surrounding areas, but I need the time to put it all into coherent sentences.

I’ve been delinquent in wishing everyone a happy holiday so I figure now is as good a time as any to say Happy Holidays. Enjoy your New Year’s celebrations and remember to drink and act responsibly!

So I’m finally getting out of Orlando! I am moving to Raleigh, NC within the next two weeks. This could possibly be my last weekend in Florida, ever!

I kinda fell off of the radar for about a week because I was out of town making arrangements for my move. Once I’m settled I’m sure I’ll have more to say.

It’s time for me to get the hell out of Orlando. I knew that there was nothing here for me when I got here, but it took me about four years to come to grips with that. When I got here the job market was much worse but you could still afford a house. Now there are jobs (granted most of them are $12/hr or worse, even for degree holders) but on that kind of salary you can’t afford a house. Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country right now:

In Florida, which had the highest rate of foreclosure in the previous two months — there was one property in foreclosure for every 719 households. Texas is close behind. Both states’ foreclosure rates were more than 2.5 times the national average.

A lot of people are quick to say that these growing foreclosure rates are the result of the real estate market starting to collapse. How about the fact that there is a severe lack of jobs in Florida that pay enough to sustain a mortgage payment? How about the fact that a two income family in Florida can barely afford an interest only ARM? If the average starter home in a questionable neighborhood goes for $250,000 (that is a conservative estimate), how are two people making a total of less than $50k annually going to comfortably finance a place to live? I’m no mathematician but these numbers don’t seem to work out well.

There is just not a lot of reason for me to stay here anymore. I can never be truly independent without pissing money away on overpriced rent for years before I save up enough for a modest down payment on a home. By the time I accumulate those funds, what will the average home price be? All of the real estate industry analysts are saying that the market cannot support itself at these heights, but have you seen any decreases in the prices of new homes? Of course not. The only notable difference is that people cannot sell their homes for the insane amounts of money they got this time last year. As you can see, on the home front, there is not a lot of reason to stay.

I could move to Tampa or to another city in Florida where there is a better IT market, but why? I’d still be hot and miserable and subjected to the same incredibly high home prices. Therefore common sense dictates that it’s time to move elsewhere.

All roads for IT people seem to lead to the Raleigh area of North Carolina. I haven’t read anything negative about it. From the population mix, to the average age, to the tech market and the cost of living — it seems that there is no where on the east coast that is more attractive. For a long while I toyed with the idea of moving to Seattle or to the San Francisco Bay Area, but the technology markets there are not what they used to be. Furthermore, I don’t know if I could deal with the big water being on the other side. I’ll stick with the evil I know.