I'm yanking the concept from another blog, but it really seems to fit my situation right now. In just over three months our plane will be landing in Frankfurt, then we will catch a train to Jena. It's hard to imagine life in Germany, and I'm looking forward to it. But for now I'm going to tell you why I've come to love Winston-Salem (in no particular order).
- Traffic. Winston-Salem is relatively small (~ 220,000 within city limits), thus traffic is manageable. We live right smack in the middle of downtown, which means we can get anywhere within the city in 18 minutes. Jason is from Houston and I am from Atlanta, which meant the concept of getting anywhere within 18 minutes was quite foreign to both of us. However, now we are spoiled and have trouble thinking of reasons to go to Greensboro, only 30 minutes away, since it takes SO long to get there.
- Work. I work for the city's largest employer, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. "Baptist" is less than 2 miles from my house and has a fabulously cheap pharmacy. Buy two months, get one free. Additionally, I have fabulous bosses. Yes, bosses, not just boss. The Plastics general manager loves me, and frankly the feeling is mutual. When my godfather unexpectedly passed, he asked me how many days off I needed and then sent me home. Godfather, not grandfather. Pretty amazing. The same thing happened when my step grandmother passed. A little higher up the totem pole is a professor, who said "Yes, I think I know you well enough to write you a recommendation for a PhD program," and then spent half an hour going over who else I should get recommendations from to make my application as strong as possible. Then there is our department head. That's not his official title, but that's how I view him. Let's put it this way, the local Humane Society is named after his dogs. He's great. Did I mention that I work for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Read: free laser treatments. I got my first few rounds of laser hair removal for free. Then, we got a new laser that the doctors needed to try out so I got to be the guinea pig. Which means the pores on my cheeks are a bit smaller, and the scars on my face are a bit flatter. Yay! If I stay here another 3 years I could get major surgery for free...
- Wine and Beer. Not for everyone, I know, but it's a big plus for us. North Carolina has tons of farmland, mainly for tobacco (as you can probably tell by the name Winston-Salem). As we all know, tobacco is no longer appreciated today the way it was in the 1950's. With demand slowing, farmers have turned to grapes as their new product. Thus, the Yadkin River Valley Appellation now exists, and it boasts 23 vineyards within a 30 mile radius from our house. Rag Apple Lassie Vineyards is our favorite to visit; it's just a big old barn and the owner may actually take you on a tour of their factory (which is in the same big barn as the gift shop). Our city hosts Salute, a large wine festival every year (it began the year Jason and I lived in the YMCA building and were 20 feet away from a vineyard's tent). Winston-Salem has its own small wine shop with free wine tastings every Saturday, Wine Merchants Gourmet (they also have fabulous cheeses). We actually won the "big bottle" raffle there at a fund raising event. Behold the size of a 3L bottle of wine:
WMG is still my favorite store in the area, but Jason now loves City Beverage even more. City Beverage carries homebrew kits for beer and wine, but right now Jason is sticking to wine and LOVING it. He's finally found a use for biochemistry! Winston-Salem has its own homebrewing association Wort Hogs (our baseball team was the Warthogs until 6 months ago). Unfermented beer is called wort, so the name is quite cute. Anyway, it's a community which fosters homebrewing and a love of beer, and we both have a love of beer.
- Cost of Living. Jason and I are currently living in a house that costs less than my brother and sister-in-law paid for their first 2-bed apartment together. Granted they had an additional bathroom, but we have a whole house. Of course, we live within the city so prices for utilities would go down if we lived in the county, but who wants to drive that far?
- WFDD. We have a fabulous NPR station. WFDD (Wake Forest Demon Deacons) resides on the campus of Wake Forest and has a great lineup. The national programing is great, and I also enjoy Triad Arts Up Close, Sports Commentaries (and I'm not a sports fan), and Voices and Viewpoints.
- Downtown's Revival. When we moved here back in 2003 (Jason) and 2004 (me) downtown was not the place to go. However, that has changed greatly. Restaurants are opening up, one of our favorites being Hutch & Harris. Recreation Billiards also reopened while Jason and I were living in the YMCA building, and we love the atmosphere (except on Friday and Saturday night when it is WAY too smoky to consider even walking by it). We also have music festivals every Thursday-Saturday throughout the summer.
- The City of Arts. Winston-Salem is also know as the City of Arts. We are home to North Caroling University School of the Arts and a vibrant arts district. Every First Friday of the month, all the galleries on Trade and Liberty stay open late. Most galleries will have hors d'oeuvres and some will even have wine.
- Location Location Location. Winston-Salem is a short drive to the mountains. We love hiking, camping, and visiting Grandfather Mountain. We like to stop at the Danl Boone Inn for a fabulous lunch/dinner before heading back to Winston-Salem. It's also just 4 hours from the beach, but seeing as how I haven't been there since I moved here, I don't think I'm a suitable source to comment on it. Did you know that North Carolina has a Stone Mountain, too? And this one doesn't have Confederate Soldiers on it!
- Book Club. I joined a book club in October 2006, and it was the best social decision I've made here. I was nervous to join since I only knew one person in it, but now I have many close friends with which to chat, eat, and drink wine. We meet once a month and everyone brings a dish to share since we start at 6:00pm. I thoroughly enjoy coming up with a dish to bring, and it has really peaked my interest in cooking (eg. I brought Hungarian crescent rolls when we read Ballad of the Whiskey Robber and pupusas when we read Enrique's Journey). In May, the book club celebrates completing its third year!
- It's a small city after all. It only took 3 years for our groups to start crossing. Jason joined a poker group about a year and a half ago. He told me the general directions to where the group met, and my thought was, "Huh, that's near where I had my first book club." Turns out, the poker group met at the same house, and thus was hosted by the same person, as my first book club. We love this city!
When I first stared this post, I was worried I wouldn't be able to identify ten things, but at this point, I realize this list truly is a "top ten," and I have many more reasons vying to be added to the list.
But what stands out to me the most is my use of the word "we." Most of the entries include Jason, which means I'm going to be just fine in Jena with Jason by my side. I'm excited about the next chapter of our lives.
See how HUGE?? Look at the penny for scale!
