Couch 53 Bringing it All Back Home

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 06:42 AM

I think that the most expensive place to live in the US would be Manhattan, NY. I know Boston is in the top ten though, and we are cheaper than Boston. Our groceries are quite high because we live on a Peninsula which is actually kind of an island because the only way on or off is over a canal. The trucks that bring groceries here have to pay more in gas because it's not en route to anywhere else, they have to basically drive on Cape, drop the stuff off and drive back off, taking them hours out of their way.

I think the other pricey places are in California, and maybe Washington DC? Not sure.

trdleblue · 07:03 AM

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Originally Posted by My kids are cool

Wow! I pay about $450 a MONTH for my house. Even the more expensive areas for rentals here are no where near that. A thousand a month gets you something really nice.

I really like the D.C. area, but when I hear things like this I feel like moving. I pay $650 a month to rent a room in someones house, and pay another $100 - $150 a month for my share of utilities. Oh well - this area does have it's advantages, and jobs aren't as difficult to come by here.

I hope everyone has a good day. I need to get ready for work. Right before I woke up I was having a dream that I called off and traveled overseas. What a nice dream for a change. Too bad it did not find it's way into reality.

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 06:51 AM

Oh...this is interesting:
Top 10 most expensive cities
1. Tokyo, Japan
2. Osaka, Japan
3. Sydney, Australia
=4. Oslo, Norway
=4. Melbourne, Australia
6. Singapore
7. Zurich, Switzerland
8. Paris, France
9. Caracas, Venezuela
10. Geneva, Switzerland

Top 10 least expensive cities
=1. Karachi, Pakistan
=1. Mumbai, India
3. New Delhi, India
4. Kathmandu, Nepal
=5. Algiers, Algeria
=5. Bucharest, Romania
7. Colombo, Sri Lanka
8. Panama City, Panama
9. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
10. Tehran, Iran

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 06:59 AM

Ha...there is a large dog sized bite going thru the whole lb of sandwich meat. H must have left it on the counter after making his lunch. LOL. If it was a human bite, I'd throw it out, but since it's just canine we'll keep it.

mixedup_emotions · Jun 20, 2013, 06:59 AM

A friend of mine who lives in my town pays $1350/month for a teeny-tiny one-bedroom cape cod. The living room is too small for a couch. The kitchen is too small for a table. It's really tiny. And she has to pay for all of the utilities in addition to that.

My mortgage is only a couple hundred dollars more than that - for a 3-bedroom, 2-story house in a better part of town, which makes the idea of moving into a smaller place not very appealing. Of course, had I not put so much down on this house, my mortgage would be a lot higher. My sister paid less for her house than mine (although it is MUCH bigger and has an inground pool - but is in another town), yet her mortgage is $2900/month.

Jun 20, 2013, 07:00 AM

That doesn't surprise me. We left Sydney because it was so expensive. I miss the Coathanger (Sydney Harbour bridge) though.

mixedup_emotions · Jun 20, 2013, 07:02 AM

Good morning, couch peeps.

The kids were up bright and early this morning. I'm feeling a bit anxious about seeing T today, although I don't know why. Maybe because it's the first session after I disclosed so much. Yuck.

My aunt/cousin will be coming over to go to the swim club today. After I get them there, I have to go to my T session and then come back. I hate the idea that I have to be all happy-go-lucky right before and right after my session. I hate that this is the day they scheduled to come over....but it is what it is. There was no other viable option. So, I'm just gonna suck it up and make the best of it.

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 07:12 AM

Sidney is definitely in my top 5 of places I want to visit.

1) Ireland
2) Alaska
3) Budapest
4) Prague
5) Sidney

Of course, since I am petrified of flying, and don't like to travel, I am not sure if I'll ever get to any of these places.

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 07:14 AM

Perhaps Star Trek's Holo-Deck will become a reality before I die?

Jun 20, 2013, 07:15 AM

Sydney? If you want to see a really beautiful city go to Adelaide. The archtecture is amazing. Not all convict like Sydney. Francis Greenway was the convict who designed most of the buildings in Sydney.

Jun 20, 2013, 07:19 AM

Maybe you'll have to try one of those virtual 3D travel tours... or some exposure therapy...

Jun 20, 2013, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WikidPissah

Sidney is definitely in my top 5 of places I want to visit.

1) Ireland
2) Alaska
3) Budapest
4) Prague
5) Sidney

Of course, since I am petrified of flying, and don't like to travel, I am not sure if I'll ever get to any of these places.

I hope you will, wikid. I've been to three of those and would love to go back (well, I am actually going to Budapest next week), and H and I have been talking for years about visiting Prague. Alaska would be amazing, too, though I'd probably prioritise British Columbia which also seems sooo beautiful.

Wi nøt trei a holiday in Sweden this yer?

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 07:35 AM

Yea...exposure therapy....NOT! lol

How are you this morning Ready?

Jun 20, 2013, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bipolarartist

Sydney? If you want to see a really beautiful city go to Adelaide. The archtecture is amazing. Not all convict like Sydney. Francis Greenway was the convict who designed most of the buildings in Sydney.

Oh, I didn't know that... H and I visited Australia a few years ago, and fell in love with Melbourne (Sydney was great too, but Melbourne was wonderful). We didn't go to Adelaide, though.

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 07:40 AM

Apt, I've never even had a passport! How pathetic is that?

I was in Mexico in the 70's, and I was in Quebec in the early 80's...but that's the only travel outside of the US I've done. I've been lots of places here though, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Missouri...so not UN-traveled.

Jun 20, 2013, 07:40 AM

Ireland and Alaska are on my list too.

My neice took an AmeriCorp (like Peace Corps) job in Alaska for a year. She leaves in August. She is very brave. She graduated from college with some type of community mental health degree but can't do anything with that without a masters degree. Her father just got laid off so they can't help with Grad School so she chose to take this job in educating and running programs to prevent sexual violence in Alaska. It gives a grant for eduction and helps pay off student loans.

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 07:42 AM

oh, oh...San Francisco too...
And Nevada

Jun 20, 2013, 07:43 AM

Hi Wiki... I'm doing okay. I'm at work so I'm sneaking on here every so often.

I just realized that I feel the best when I go back to how things were prior to starting therapy 2 1/2 years okay....

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 07:45 AM

OH..and I lived in Rhode Island for 4 yrs...Providence. (college)

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 07:46 AM

Ready...has Therapy helped you or changed things for the better at all?

Jun 20, 2013, 07:56 AM

Yes. Therapy had taught me that life is about choices not shoulds and obligations. Its helped me not to read minds and to accept that things are not black and white... all good or all bad... perfect or horrific (although I still expect perfection from me)...

I can now identify emotions and use way more feeling language. I've also learned that I don't have to let my feelings drive my actions...etc.. etc..

But I don't have many answers about the past that drives my PTSD, or have answers or ability for healing of my core feelings about myself... all of that is locked inside and I can't begin to unlock it without a lot of money for theray that I don't have and I would have to spend years in T.

But truthfully... my main mantra before therapy was "I don't need anything from anyone."... my reality now is "I have lots of needs that I would like people in my life to fill but they aren't in a place to do that for me (parents, H, etc..) so really its just a frame of mind difference...not a change in life.

WikidPissah · Jun 20, 2013, 08:08 AM

You've learned some really important stuff.

I think NOT being in therapy right now is easier for me...No weekly nausea sessions, I don't think about my issues for days on end, I focus more on my family, although I have the urge to text XT frequently, I know that I can't and it goes away quickly (so I don't spend hours wondering if I should or shouldn't contact). Those are HUGE pluses for me...but the downside is gigantic as well. When things come up, I have no one to discuss it with other than H. Don't get me wrong, H is kind and understanding, but he doesn't have the training and answers. I am much LESS self-focused, which is both good and bad. I am using skills now though, because I have no other alternative.

Mapleton · Jun 20, 2013, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastodon

There are a couple of different sets of rivalries, based on our history. Denmark was the Main Enemy of Sweden up until the late 18th century or so. In 1523, Sweden broke out of the union with Denmark and Norway that had lasted for a couple of hundred years with Denmark ruling over the other countries, and that animosity lasted for a long, long time. Norway was ceded to Sweden from Denmark in 1814, and was in a forced union with Sweden until 1905. Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809, when the Russians conquered the territory and created a Grand Duchy. Finland didn't actually become independent until 1917.

So Denmark has ruled over all the rest of the countries, Sweden has ruled over Norway and over Finland, and Sweden and Finland in particular have been very much in the shadow of Russia, historically speaking. (And also the Soviet Union, in more recent history.)

Then in World War 2, Denmark and Norway were occupied by Germany, and Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War. Lots of refugees came to Sweden, including many hundreds of Finnish children, and there was a considerable number of Swedish volunteers fighting for Finland, too. All of which helped make relations a bit more cordial.

This is very cool stuff, thanks! I actually knew in some dusty corner of my head, some of this stuff, from when History channel used to be the 'Hitler channel', and not Duck Dynasty.

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These days, the countries get along pretty well on the whole, with some friction: the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland are seeing their rights to their language becoming more and more circumscribed, and there's a lot of political discussion there about whether Swedish is really part of Finland's heritage and that sort of thing. And in Denmark, there have been some rather nasty public verbal attacks by leading cultural people on Swedish feminists, which has led to a bit of anti-Danish sentiment in Sweden.

Of course(?) there are more everyday minor friendly rivalries as well, and stereotypes about the other peoples. Swedes see Norwegians as jolly and down-to-earth, Finns as silent and strong and rather belligerent, and Danes as carefree and irresponsible. Swedes are, I think, seen as arrogant and rather boring. But at heart there is a lot of fellow-feeling for the other Nordic countries peoples, and when something happens, such as shooting tragedies in Norway and Finland in recent years, there is a lot of very genuine support streaming in from regular people in all the other countries.

Awesome! Exactly the stuff I wondered, and I saw a few stereotypes come true in my visit. I will say an amazing stay, though. Finn's can be very hospitable too, abeit with an odd mostly fresh-water fish diet (iirc, when I was young)

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Just call me "wall-of-text"

You're very knowledgable and helpful. Thank you once more!