Two Dollars A Day: November 2008

The Journey Was Over

On October 8th I arrived in Tucson and checked into a hotel. I spent 3 days looking for an apartment, which was incredibly exhausting. Tucson has tons of apartment complexes, complete with pools, fitness rooms, and club houses. However, all the ones that I viewed (which was over a half dozen) just didn't seem like home.

I came across a cute little house (split) with an adorable fenced in back yard and felt immediately like I was home. Unfortunately, the place was already promised to another person, but it gave me hope that something could be found more to my liking.

Finally, on the last day of my search, I contacted a realtor and told them exactly what I wanted. They gave me a list, about 6 sets of keys and sent me on my way with a map. The final place I viewed (not nearly as cute as the place I loved) seemed to be a good place. I could see the skyscrapers from downtown and was still close to the university, so it seemed like a good place to call home while I settled in. On Friday, I signed the lease and moved in (even though I had no gas for hot water or a stove).

I had travelled almost 2,900 miles in total and crossed a dozen states and three (well, four) time zones.

It has taken me awhile to get used to some things--the heat being one (it was ridiculously hot when I first arrived, but has cooled off quite a lot since then), but am enjoying living out here in the Southwest. I have not had tons of time to enjoy my new surroundings, but I hope to in the future, because there is no shortage of things to do or places to see.

Tucson is certainly no Boston, but that is completely the point. I have arrived and am doing well in the desert.

Welcome to Arizona

From a rest stop:

The Final Stop

I left Deming fairly early in the morning and continued heading west. I stopped in a town along the boarder to get some breakfast and noticed just how culturally diverse the Southwest is. In Boston you do hear a smattering of different languages everywhere you go, but I could not say that one foreign language was more prominent than any other. But in the Southwest, it is evident that Spanish is very widely spoken and that people are ethnically diverse--Native American and Mexican influences are everywhere.

Soon enough, I was entering Arizona and as if from nowhere, the scenery started getting higher, more rocky, and more beautiful. I was home.