I just bought a pair of precious extremely comfortable half-boots for a price that made me very confused – $10. I didn’t even know that anything could cost ten dollars any more. I can guarantee to you that in Montreal I’d be lucky to find them for $80.
I can’t stop staring at the receipt because this price is just too bizarre.
I will pay $80 to not live in such a small town that everyone is so bored all they do is gossip about one another. I hate this.
And yet I celebrate your $10 boots. That is totally bizarre. Maybe they were $100 but mispriced? Doesn’t that seem more believable? Isn’t it sad that I think so – being so used to things being outrageously overpriced? I can barely get a tube of mascara for under $10.
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“I will pay $80 to not live in such a small town that everyone is so bored all they do is gossip about one another. I hate this.”
– Please don’t be cruel. 🙂 I have suffered from major depression (suicidal ideation, the whole shebang) for years, when I realized I was destined to live in small towns. It is a very huge step for me to say that there is something positive about it. I’m working like a horse on accepting this small-town reality. Of course, you are not expected to know about this. 🙂
“And yet I celebrate your $10 boots. That is totally bizarre. Maybe they were $100 but mispriced? ”
– No, I asked several times. They had several price reductions one on top of the other.
“Isn’t it sad that I think so – being so used to things being outrageously overpriced?”
– Where do you live?
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I am from California, which has suddenly become incredibly expensive, but I live in a small mid-Western town now.
So sorry! I actually, seriously and sincerely suffer from clinical depression, suicide ideation, and so on myself – and it is not entirely disconnected from the living situation.
Okay. So, good things about our situation. Friendliness, kids actually play outside, you can go for walks and talk to people, beautiful sunsets, reasonable costs of living, a chance to be sort of mini-anthropologists by living in a very different culture than we are used to. A slower pace of life. People are often more likely to be sincere, complimentary, less rude, etc. I find so many of the relationships I may with colleagues to be very endearing and I’ve learned a lot about myself from being around others who are so different. Intense seasons. And you, unlike me, love the snow so generally (not this year) there is that. And some foods and drinks – have you found anything you like to eat out here? Now that I’ve depressed you, what are four of your favorite things about living in the midwest?
And, affordable footwear!!
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“I actually, seriously and sincerely suffer from clinical depression, suicide ideation, and so on myself – and it is not entirely disconnected from the living situation.”
– I’m very sorry to hear that! Really, I am. I moved from Ukraine to Canada and it went seamlessly. And then I moved from Montreal to New Haven, and hello, depression.
” Friendliness, kids actually play outside, you can go for walks and talk to people, beautiful sunsets, reasonable costs of living, a chance to be sort of mini-anthropologists by living in a very different culture than we are used to. ”
– What really bothers me about my town is that kids don’t play outside. I know there are kids on my block but I only ever see them when they wait for the school bus in the morning. It’s super safe, it’s always warm. why aren’t they playing or riding bikes or shooting hoops? I’m really bugged by that.
“And some foods and drinks – have you found anything you like to eat out here?”
– There is the Global Foods store. 🙂
“Now that I’ve depressed you, what are four of your favorite things about living in the midwest?”
– It’s OK, you haven’t depressed me. 🙂 People are quite amazing around here. I’ve never met such fantastic people anywhere. And everybody sees me as super sophisticated and exotic. And I feel like the most fashionably dressed and well-traveled person for hundreds of miles around. 🙂 This feels kind of good. 🙂
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Were they new? That’s a great price.
If you don’t mind wearing slightly used clothes/shoes, there are some awesome bargains to be had at thrift stores. I’m talking Ermenegildo (I know you like the name!) Zegna ties that go for like $150, selling at $1, or regular priced $2000 suits selling for $30. Of course, you must know exactly what to look for, know your size perfectly, etc. The quality of the clothing at thrift stores mirrors the demographic of the area, so thrift stores in big cities are much nicer than their small town counterparts. You don’t expect people in small towns to earn the kind of money that allows them to *donate* $2000 suits.
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“Were they new? That’s a great price.”
– Completely new! And I can teach in them, which is super important. On my teaching days, I walk between 5 and 7 miles just while teaching, so comfortable footwear is extremely important.
I have only found a used-clothes store for baby clothes. And that was kind of weird because babies do things in their clothes that adults really don’t. 🙂
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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