Well, Hello Charlotte

Recently, I was traveling back from visiting my family on the East Coast. Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, to be exact. That’s where I was born and I grew up not far away in New Jersey. I was on my way back to Portland, Oregon, my home for the past 20 years (7 years in Seattle before that). I love it in Portland and hardly ever think of leaving, but of course, traveling by air puts strange thoughts in one’s mind. On my trip back to Portland, I had a short layover in Charlotte, North Carolina and it kind of moved me.

The flight into Charlotte took us over some very flat terrain and I could see the city clearly from above. It looks like a much smaller place than Portland, Oregon – at least from the air. It turns out that Charlotte and the metropolitan area are maybe even bigger than Portland, Oregon. It looked warm and green and full of lots of suburbias. Kind of like the part of New Jersey that I grew up in – Lawrence, New Jersey. 

The airport was also nice. I ended up sitting down at a restaurant and having a meal. Whereas everyone on the plane and in the airport was wearing masks because we’re in the middle of a pandemic, in the restaurant you were allowed to remove your mask which was a relief and a great break up to the day.

When I think about leaving Portland, I often start with what I love about this place. I was just thinking yesterday about Depave which is an organization that helps people organize work parties where we rent a dumpster and pull up all the asphalt and it’s hauled away. I’ve been doing this type of thing even before I moved to Portland. In Seattle, we rented a large truck to do this, but the dumpster route is much preferred. When I rented a truck – we ended up driving to the transfer station – something that’s fun once, but not something you really want to repeat! I’ll never forget how sore I was pushing the asphalt off the truck and into the pit of the transfer station! 

Anyway, does Charlotte, NC have a Depave group? Do they have a Friends of Trees which works to plant trees in the area? I wonder how I’d do moving to a completely new town.  Whether I still have the energy to start new efforts from scratch or whether I’d just settle in and ignore all that needs to be done. These are big questions that I pose to myself as I consider ever leaving Portland, Oregon.

The big reason I moved to the Pacific Northwest in the first place was for better weather. I grew up in New Jersey which had real winters. Snowy. Cold. After living in Germany from 1991-1994 I realized that I really was through with Winter. That’s why Seattle came next. And I’ve never thought seriously about relocated back to the Northeast even though winters there are becoming warmer due to climate change. Charlotte, North Carolina does look like it’s got a little bit of a humid, tropical feel.  I guess my next step will be to gather with my cousins, brother and sister there one of these days and spend a weekend seeing what it’s really like. If you have any thoughts about Charlotte, NC, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. Or, where are you eyeing as the next place to live if you are considering relocating?

Thanks for your thoughts. 

Albert 

PS – that’s me at Breitenbush this summer for the summer solstice gathering 2021