DJ

has written 5 SperlingViews. Currently, DJ is living in Ben Lomond, CA and has a little something to say:

re: Lost in the Wilderness - 9/11/2007 Posted On: 1/10/2008 5:32:00 PM

Hello there. Well, I live in Santa Cruz, CA and to tell you the truth, I am about "liberaled" to death! I am in the mood for a more conservative point of view. Santa Cruz is a very good example of what extreme liberalism gets you: Homeless, burned out druggies everywhere, filthy streets, a ban on any type of building, including homes. I did visit Franklin and loved it. Unfortunately, my husband feels it is just too far way from the kids and grandkids. So...looks like Vancouver, WA here we come!

Question on crime Posted On: 7/20/2007 3:04:29 PM

I am reading such glowing reviews about Greenville, then I look at the crime index from this website and it is a 7 which is fairly high! For those of you who have written good reviews about this city; what is your feeling about this? Are you experiencing a great deal of crime or is it isolated to just a certain area, or what?

We looked at St George Posted On: 7/17/2007 4:26:49 PM

My husband and I spent a few days in St. George last year. We are retiring in a few months and were excited to check it out. Bottom line: There was no "THERE" there. The unchecked and apparently unplanned growth left almost no sense of the town we had passed through 20 years ago. Hillsides have been gouged out, homes were sprawled and perched on every imaginable plot of land. And were not cheap. Just did not get the feeling that we wanted to stay. Still looking...

Questions and comments Posted On: 7/17/2007 2:55:47 PM

My husband and I will be retiring in about 10 months. We have been researching and looking at diferrent places for about the past three years. In all that time, Franklin is the only place I have read about where the comments are almost 100 % positive. And I mean I have REALLY been reading and researching. We will be visiting Franklin this Sept. I am so afraid I will love it and my husband won't. His reasons:
Fear of tornadoes, the summer humidity, the distance from his grown children and grandchildren from his first marriage. (they are in Oregon).
I understand all of the reasons, esp. the distance. However, I can think of many positives based on what I have read.
Can anyone speak to the frequency of tornadoes? And how many months is it very hot and humid? Also, my husband is a fisherman. Is there any fishing nearby I can tempt him with?
He also loves to shoot his guns (skeet, some hunting of small game and birds)anything like that around there?

Bye Bye Posted On: 7/17/2007 12:59:21 PM

I agree with most of the postings before me. My husband and I have lived near Santa Cruz since 1983. During that time I have seen it change from a cute, funky little town, to a dirty, intolerant, tired town. The only thing we enjoy is the beauty of the ocean and trees and the weather; neither of which is enough anymore. In addition to the beggars and street urchins that make going downtown miserable, there really are very few good restaurants, the shopping is abysmal (unless you are 25 or under) and the politics aren't liberal they're socialism bordering on communisim. I absolutely cannot WAIT to get the heck out of here to somewhere more normal. Just give me a little culture, some nice restaurants, decent shopping and realistic home prices. The thing that drove me over the edge: The freaks that protested the Borders Bookstore downtown to the point where they threw acid (and I don't mean LSD)at the front door. Then proceded to vandalize the bathrooms until they had to close them permanently. Insane. You would have thought they were putting in a bordello. Thank you for letting me vent.