Best wishes vw, and I hope you find a good place.

I'm so sad for Tom, now. Salem is a really cool town, though. In fact, as a lifelong areaista, I'd chose Salem over Somerville (the closest I've lived to Somerville is South Medford; the closest I've lived to Salem is the Wenham/Beverly line, but I've been there a lot).

I totally know where Tom's coming from. Between college, and the first 10 years after, I lived in Kenmore Square, the Fenway, or Brookline-bordering-Allston for close to a decade and a half. Moving to Salem was to suddenly be very much not in the middle of things. I like Salem a lot (and a lot of the surrounding towns that aren't Lynn), but it took some getting used to.

I'm so sad for Tom, now. Salem is a really cool town, though.

Yes. And he does love the garden and the commute and the BeerWorks, but I totally understand his feeling isolated.

I want to start getting involved in community stuff, and maybe coordinate with the couple that just moved next to us (another Brit-American couple) with doing a double open house/neighborhood block party type of thing.

Some of it also is adjusting to married social life. Which is a whole weird and subtle thing, but was definitely made less subtle when we moved.

He's been pretty depressed since we bought the house, and I feel hella guilty about it, because I love the house, and love Salem, and I feel like I pushed him into this. Which, no, I didn't really, but it's my tendency to blame myself for stuff when I see people I care about hurting.

And it's not that Tom wants to live the urban hipster life in the big city, or anything. He's a homebody and putterer, but this move stirred up a LOT of stuff for him, that he's just now beginning to process. So, we'll work it out.

I've never been to Massachusettes, but I would far rather live in Salem than Sommerville.

I totally know where Tom's coming from. Between college, and the first 10 years after, I lived in Kenmore Square, the Fenway, or Brookline-bordering-Allston for close to a decade and a half

Yes, I thought you would identify...

ugh on all the evil living arrangements. At least with Dh we just keep working things through and there is none ( ok very little) of 'that was my food'or other roomate things. Vw and Emily work more like a family - Not!emily works like a roommate you don't know well.

forgot - good news I booked matt and I into the hotel for the f2f on fri- sat night. I 'll be around other times - just sleeping at home.

I've never been to Massachusettes, but I would far rather live in Salem than Sommerville

But of course.

Just heard from some forever-friends. They are quitting the Service and moving to Portland. No jobs lined up, nothing, but it's a done deal. Both their families are there, so it's not quite as scary as I tend to think, but man.

I'm an adrenaline-junkie in some ways, but buying a house while not having a job? No.

buying a house while not having a job?

Yeah, that's ballsy. The stress would kill me before I could even find a job.