suburbs

I figured out what's been driving me nuts, and it's that there's not much close-by that I can go do.

In Taipei, there was something to do everywhere. Literally around the corner from my apartment were clothes shops, tea stands, a mall, a movie theater, a gym, and two bus stops. I couldn't run out of places to go in Taipei if I tried. Plus, everything was in very easy (and cheap) reach.

Here, in the suburbs, it's not like that. I have to drive places, and Lord knows I'm not a fan of driving. Plus, I don't have a GPS, so if I get lost... I'm lost. So I'm not doing much exploring. I can't tell which places are closed and which are open, or what kinds of businesses they are, or what their hours of operation are because it's often in Japanese. In Taipei there were hundreds of coffee and tea shops nearby for me to just go to, places I could sit down, log into the wifi, order a cheap and yummy drink, and sit around writing or web-surfing for just hours. Here, I've yet to find one coffee shop that fits any of those requirements. At least in Columbus I knew my way around enough to find the nearest Starbucks.

It's gotten me a bit down. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed the constant stimulation of the city until I was mobile and had to really seek out any kind of entertainment.

Advantages that Hitachinaka has: my apartment is bigger, and cleaner. I'm not being woken up at odd mornings because someone, somewhere nearby, is doing loud construction that vibrates my head. Also, I'm not being suffocated in heat and humidity every time I step outside my door. I do like many things about Hitachinaka, and the suburbs in general, over the big city--any big city.

But the drawbacks I'm growing annoyed by now are those of living in a residential area. Moreover, a residential area I'm hesitant to explore because if I get lost, I'm in a car with no GPS and no definite way to get back home. I desperately miss the accessibility of Taipei, and the mobility I had via the bus and MRT systems. I miss being able to go places without having to think about how to get there, at least beyond "Take the 235 bus to Fu Da MRT Station and go from there."

I'm in Japan. I'm living the dream. I'm happy. But I need to get my hands on a GPS soon and figure out where things are here before I've spent all of spring indoors, marathoning Game of Thrones and Project Runway.