Expedition Old World

Great company, great wine, great bread, great cheese, great people, great country - a dream!

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Isn't it amazing. Bread, and I mean good bread, is so important that the French even sell it in vending machines.

East coast, west coast - what's the hype?

 I was always opposed to living on the East or West coast, nice for a weekend visit, but not for living there for a prolonged period of time. Too crowded, too loud, too unfriendly. Well, I think I changed my mind a little. I was attending a conference in New Jersey the other week, which was located in a hotel just on the other site of Manhattan. It was one stop with the Path subway or with the boat over the Hudson. I decided to go already on Friday, so I had the weekend to visit New York city. This time I mostly went up to Central Park and visited the Metropolitan and Guggenheim museum. I always knew of course, that NY city is culturally very rich, but this time I was surprised that there are also so many nice and quiet places, just a few steps away from the major tourist paths. One can experience a little local color when visiting a street festival near Park Avenue, or walking a block away from Wall Street towards Hudson River Park.

At the conference I spoke with a couple of colleagues from San Fransisco about city life in New York and elsewhere, and then I was boasting about how nice Southern life is in sweet home Alabama, at least in Birmingham as a little creative bubble in Alabama. One colleague told me something, which made me thinking. He thought as well that Birmingham would probably be a great place,  if one comes here and gets a nice, well-paid and permanent job. He said, the problem starts, if you want or have to get away again..... just east coast arrogance or might he be right. In ay case I suddenly felt the isolation I have experienced in Birmingham.





I have lived in a big city before I came to Birmingham, so I know the pros and cons of city life. Yes, it is very nice in Alabama, beautiful country side and you can live your own life, but where is the creative atmosphere, the new and clever ideas,the critical concentration of smart people, and the great job opportunities (if you loose your job) . You can think freely, but not too loud and the decisions made are very conservative and made by the good ol' boys.

New York is a vibrant, mad and extravagant city - very smart, but may be just too big. May be places like San Fransisco - where Steve Jobs lived and the Google founders, where new ideas constantly brew in Silicon Valley and the biotech hubs, and from where green technology will hopefully revolutionize the country -  would offer more than a nice country side, but also a place where your spirit is at home?