It kills you to see them grow up.  But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't.
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Winter! Please go away!


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Published March 11, 2009 @ 23:23 by Tania in

Enough is enough already. Minus 17 with the windchill? I am so tired of winter! The cold. The slippery sidewalks. Snow. Ice. Cold. Wind. Grey days. Long nights. It sucks!

Not that I am any happier in the middle of July. I never claimed to be a summer person. Toronto summers are too hot and humid for me. I have asthma, so the smog makes it hard to breath. I like to run, but I am not supposed to when the humidex reaches 30.

Winter is just as bad. It is dangerous and slippery, and the cold can set off an asthma attack as well. Shoveling snow once every few weeks is OK, but any more often sucks. And where to park in the city with snow banks larger than the SUVs?

What to do, what to do.

Any ideas on nice, temperate climates? I want a city with no snow, but pleasant skiing somewhere nearby. Sun is good, but no smog or humidity: and I want a nice hot beach a few hours drive away. I am actually thinking Paris, but it is dirty and French.

My other big considerations are bugs and vermin. Don't like 'em. Raccoon, alligators, mosquitoes, spiders - anything that bites, has the potential to bite, or makes a mess.

I like ethnic food, and I will need diverse cuisine (at least good Indian, Italian, Thai and Sushi). I also like to shop, need good doctors and hospitals, good public transport and schools (assuming I bring the kids). Housing prices should be reasonable, since I likely won't be working.

If I bring the kids to live with me, I will also need sporting facilities, dance studios, and other child friendly entertainment.

Please, if you know of a city anywhere in the world that meets my criteria, let me know!

In the meantime, I may just stay inside for another few weeks. At least until my tree buds and my lawn is free of snow and ice.


Steph
March 12, 2009 / 11:11

Paris is "Dirty and French"????

Ummm... not that dirty and the French thing is a good thing actually.


Tania
March 12, 2009 / 12:49

Uh oh. I think I offended. Look, I love France. In fact, my dream is to one day spend a year living there. The food, the wine, the history.

However, it isn't a secret that the French aren't very welcoming and tolerant of those who are not French. There is also the crazy bureaucracy and the superiority complex (or maybe the rest of the world just has and inferiority complex).

The last time I was there, they did turn the hydrants on in Paris in the middle of the night to wash down the streets. Actually - maybe that would leave them cleaner in the morning than Toronto streets. Maybe David Miller should consider that.

Highlights of my trip to Paris include:

1) Tear gas being shot to disperse the crowds on Bastille Night on the Champs Elysees.

2) Fire crackers being thrown at our sandaled feet by street kids because we didn't buy what they were selling.

3) Metros that didn't run past 11:30 pm - how to get home?

4) A man offered to buy my sister on the Metro (really, my mom should have found out what he was offering before answering with, "We are Canadian. We don't sell out children.")

5) Servers that pretend not to understand what you are ordering if you accent isn't perfect (yes, I have only high school French and probably butcher their language, but come on! Points for trying, please.)

5) Fire crackers being thrown at our sandaled feet by street kids because we didn't buy what they were selling.



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