Since moving to Knoxville, I have found that I miss the strangest things about Florida.
In no particular order:
- rectilinear road navigation. Knoxville is laid out like a
drunken octopus in a beanbag chair.
- hurricane season
- the ocean
- daily 4:00 rain showers
- the smell of hot asphalt immediately before the 4:00 rain shower
- living in a city that has more than 1 of a particular store/restaurant/bank brand
- swift mail/UPS/FedEx delivery. It takes a week for a letter to be delivered from Jax to Knox. 13 days from California.
- consolidated city government and one-stop services (trash collection, water, power, phone). In Knox county there are 3 different water companies, 5 different power companies, 3 cable TV companies, and at least a dozen trash collection companies. You may think it's great having options to choose from. The truth is that you can't choose. All those different providers only cover a very small part of the county. And it is a major pain in the ass trying to find out which specific ones cover your neighborhood. There is no county or city guide new residents can refer to before getting any of these services at their house. NONE.
- most importantly I miss my friends... even the ones who don't speak to me any more.
