Things I Miss About Living on the Mainland

In no particular order:

• Being closer to my family and friends.
• Home mail pick up and delivery.
• Stores and pharmacies that are open 24/7.
• Arbys. The HipHubby misses Burger King.
• Having a choice of doctors, especially specialists. Or having access to even one specialist that I need.
• Cottage cheese that costs under $5 for a large carton.
• Being certain that the stuff you want to buy over the Internet can be shipped to you.
• Free shipping (it’s a continental US thing only).
• High speed Internet access.
• Hospitals where you don’t need to spend three days laying on a gurney in the ER before a bed becomes available and you don’t need to bring your own blankets.
• Streets with names.
• Cable shows on demand.
• Home delivery of food -- everything from groceries to pizza and Chinese.
• Department stores that aren’t Kmart.
• Knowing that the abbreviation for my state will appear in every drop down list of addresses.
• Oil changes for my car that cost under $40.
• Toll free numbers that work.
• TIVO.
• Seven-Eleven and Slurpees.
• Real newspapers.
• Having checks clear in less than seven business days. (That’s how long it takes checks from the main land to clear in or local bank account.)
• Real estate agents who actually believe they work for the buyer, not the seller. (Even agents who assist buyers down here feel beholden to the seller since that is where their commission originates.)
• Stores that carry the items you need.
• Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins.
• Real book stores and libraries.
• Voting for president and having real representation in Congress. The latter still doesn’t apply, of course, to the District of Columbia. (Grrrrrr.)
• No kill animal shelters.
• Less animal cruelty and neglect.
• Quality doughnuts! Most baked goods down here taste awful.