T Campbell's Blog

Hey, came here from the Faans-board.

While part of your posts sounds like a relationship ad (j/k), let me just tell you to screw the gym membership. As online-based as you are, have you considered moving around for a few months? Taking a look at different cities/regions? Go to Seattle, then maybe Atlanta, finally somewhere in Maine before deciding on where you want to stay?

Whatever. You'll do great.
 

Guy who posted just above me:

Sounds like fun if you have the cash reserves. I would have thought money would run down very quickly doing that?


T:

Damn you're taking it well! Hope it works out...
 

That last comment was me. I was being lazy, and then I forgot to sign off...
 

T.-- Great to see you getting into the blogging game!

It occurs to me that what you need is an online gym. Unfortunately, nobody seems to have really exploited that concept yet. There's this: http://www.malehealth.co.uk/userpage1.cfm?item_id=298
but that isn't really a site where you can work up a sweat.

So here's the plan-- you huddle with Joey Manley and figure out a way to create a subscription service online gym. You become a millionaire. Then you can live anywhere you want!
 

T,

Sorry to hear about the eviction. I’ve had many friends in a similar situation, so I can sympathize.

When I was growing up you just about had to live in New York City to write or draw comics. I presume it would still help. However, with the Internet you can live anywhere in the world and do comics, but I know what you mean. You want to be around “living” people who do comics, not just their blogs. You can find a thriving comics community in any metropolitan city. What’s your favorite part of the country? Pick that and go near the biggest city. Even North Carolina has a comics community, not much of one, but around the bigger cities it does exist. Anyway, just my two cents. Good luck on the Panny and Aggie deal and everything else.
 

Here in Atlanta, of course, we've got Top Shelf, as well as pros from Bob Burden and Paul Jenkins to the Studio Gaijin folks scattered around the metro area; and, like many other cities whose original raison d'etre was as a transportation hub, it's certainly easy to get to anywhere else from Atlanta. For that matter, if you ever wind up trying to pitch anything to the Cartoon Network, being here might make that a little easier.

Atlanta's cost of living is a bit higher than most of the South's; but it's still lower than the DC area, that's for sure.

If your gym is part of a chain, you might be able to transfer membership to wherever you move.
 

Well, Massachusetts has around 620 comic book shops (I just made a list). We have at least 3 science fiction conventions every year (Arisia, Boskone & Readercon) – probably more I don't know about and also many more in the New England area if you're willing to travel a bit.

There are more schools and colleges and extension schools and adult education places around here than you can shake a really big stick at. Some of them, like Tufts, offer a free class (auditing, not for credit) twice a year to Somerville and Medford residents. Harvard's extension school regularly has big name authors in to teach writing classes if you're into that sort of thing. Small & medium-sized reputation types do a lot of adult ed. teaching.

We have a good public transportation system. The bus routes are extensive, and the T (short for MBTA – in other places you'd call it "The Underground" or "Subway" or "The Metro" or "BART" or what-have-you) kicks butt. It's got a couple of commuter lines that go out to the remote and more affordable areas. We also have ZIPCARS, which is a rental car system where cars are parked in useful places throughout the local cities, meaning less time spent at a rental desk and more time just jumping in and driving around. The Boston/Cambridge/Somerville area is all VERY walkable as well. MA drivers (sometimes called Massholes) are not particularly friendly to pedestrians, but the cities are designed for wandering around. Logan airport is pretty insane, but it's big and can fly you to most places direct. NYC is about a 4-5 hour drive, or you can fly super cheap, or take Amtrak down in less time than it takes to drive. Lots of skiing within an hour's drive if you like to ski – it apparently gets even better the further you're willing to drive.

Boston is killer expensive to live in, as is Cambridge. But Somerville can be affordable and much of it is on the main MBTA line (the red line). It's also very friendly to artist-types. Further out, but still on the main bus lines, you have Medford and Watertown, which are more affordable with roomier rental properties.

There are plenty of gyms and health clubs and even YMCA/YWCA places where you can work out for a day for $6. We have a good number of local bookstores, most of which are independent (you have to go to the Malls or the burbs for the big chain stores). They're all willing and happy to order books for you. Lots of author and poet readings in the area – a big arts community in general.

Downsides: there are weird racial tensions here that I especially noticed moving up from New Jersey. And the economy's a bit slumped, but that's not terribly relevant to you. The sports fans are RABID and can be quite loud. People talk about skiing constantly through the winter months. The HUGE student population can cause problems – population fluctuation in the summer, crappy housing at inflated prices, nasty messes after loud parties, and insane traffic on June 1st and September 1st. The driving's as bad as you've heard, but although drivers are psychotic, it's not really personal – they hate everyone equally. We have some impressive weather changes and can end up with deep snow falls. The pizza is mostly Greek style and the few that are New York style don't quite get it right, but other than that you can find pretty much every type of food imaginable.

I moved to Cambridge in 1995, then over to Somerville in 2001. I love Somerville. It's a good-sized city, but gives you the feeling of being a small city. It's efficient and friendly and people are REALLY involved in local politics. There are a lot of great little restaurants and coffee shops in the area, lots of local businesses, lots of local produce from the farms out west. I've never been happier, but then I like living in the city. (I grew up in a part of the NJ burbs that required a car to get anywhere and everywhere.)

Plus you'll be in reasonable hanging-out distance of me, Eric Burns, the North Hampton crew, Alexander Danner, and quite a few other comicky folks.

Kelly J. Cooper
Comixpedia Editor
 

I moved to Columbus 'cuz it was cheap. Well, relative to Chicago. But still, cheap, and the maximum amount of culture you can get for cheap. Which is, to say, not entirely much.

Though I recently found that Colorado Springs is just as cheap as Columbus is, and so apparently my view of cheap is horribly skewed or wrong or something. Colorado Springs should be expensive.

I want to move to Colorado Springs.

I want to be better at giving advice, also.