That's Funny:popcorn: I can say the same thing about Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, and Ok. But, for me this is my home now and I WILL make the best of it.

Well, house prices have gone considerably in The Villages. You could probably make a tidy profit.

And that comment was needed because ......

Ultimately home is where the heart is
 

You are welcome, for sure. I certainly do "get it".

Good luck on your next adventure. Nothing in life is "cast in stone". Change is good. Follow your heart.

I just ordered & received overnight some hand made Italian mozzarella cheese & ricotta cheese for my baked ziti, plus some fennel sausage which I plan to make for my husband's upcoming birthday. The "real deal", not Kraft shredded in a Ziploc bag.
Overwhelmingly moist, fresh, delicious......will melt perfectly.

I've discovered some great N.Y.C. Jewish deli's as well as Italian stores in both N.Y.C. & Brooklyn, plus Philadelphia.......that can supply a "treat" or more when the nostalgic feeling strikes.......FEDEXED overnight with ice bags.

My husband & visiting kids/grandkids are all IN LOVE with the half sour pickles from Zabar's Jewish Deli in N.Y.C.......a long time tradition. Excellent corned beef & pastrami, etc. plus so much more.

Nothing but good memories of New York City. Our New Jersey nieces & nephews just took their little ones to see the tree in Rockefeller Center a few days ago.......great photos. Ice skating, etc. What fun.

Young moms (friends of mine) up here take the train down with their little girls to go to The American Girl Doll Store for lunch, etc. in New York City.........can't be beat.

New York State also has great skiing (not just Vermont & Colorado) upstate........plus beautiful fall foliage in the autumn.

We also miss the wonderful Chinese restaurants, Japanese restaurants, German restaurants and so on.......found in N.Y.C., a cultural mecca. Not the boring same old, same old which a lot of chain restaurants provide (actually frozen food with tons of additives). Any fans of Anthony Bourdain know that real food is cooked from scratch.

Wish I could teleport down to Little Italy for just a casual grocery shopping excursion........ending at Ferrara's Bakery.

When we were dating teenagers, we'd drive over from New Jersey to see the United Nations Building, the big library, the Metropolitan Museum, etc., etc., etc.........have lunch, go to the movies, etc.

New York City was "date night" for us........also side trips to Patricia Murphy's restaurant. Not sure if that is still there.
Or, the restaurants near CENTRAL PARK. We would take our little New Jersey nieces & nephews (now in their 50's) to play in Central Park.

We'd see the Rockettes dance......plus so much more. Never boring in or around New York City.........plus all that theatre. My sister in law was a huge fan of N.Y. Broadway theatre performances & still takes her own grand daughters when she visits N.J. from Arizona.

My father would always take us to Times Square around New Years (not late at night)......it must have been his own teenaged fave.
He's long gone, but I still remember........when I was about 5 years old. Also, the beaches around & including Coney Island, which now is inhabited by many Ukrainian transplants, plus Far Rockaway, also Jones Beach, etc..........

My New York City father "courted" my New Jersey mother in the 1940's with boat excursion trips around Manhattan Island.

Let's just say there is something for everyone.........in N.Y.C.

However, ultimately, "home is where the heart is" & that becomes very personal to each & every one of us. So, all should enjoy their own home sweet homes in peacefulness & good health during 2015 & beyond.

We are set for a DEEP FREEZE up here.........but this too, shall pass. Looking forward to springtime & the apple blossoms, lilacs & more new babies, another big family reunion upcoming.........

............again, home is where the heart is. Where your memories are most profound. Where you feel the love. Good luck.

NY water??? There is a car wash place in Inverness that is called NY Car Wash. I guess they use some of that magical NY water to clean your car. Just north of there on rt 41 is a place that advertises "precision haircuts" and then the sign says to REALLY impress people "trained in NY".
I can't understrand why anyone would want to live here when there is such a paradise just 1000 miles north of here.

I'm sure many of us could say the same about the places we left behind. Every place has it's highs and it's lows. What some love, others hate. :highfive:

Sorry, but NYC is not a paradise. Neither is Boston where I grew up - although it is a heck of a lot better than NYC.

You can buy Brooklyn water on 441/27 at the bagel store - why go 1000 miles north to buy it?

What are we down here? Chopped liver?

Apparently.

You won't like it down here. We are not as smart as you. Stay put.

It is really all about nostalgia
 

It is really all about nostalgia, plus the fact that each of us have different memories of times gone by.

Mine are childhood & teen memories.......I haven't been to New York City since 1965, my paternal grandmother's funeral.......

To a lot of people, the old saying....."You can never go home again" might ring true......to others, they still think fondly of days past.

Many wish to return.

I totally realize how expensive it is to live in the entire metro region of New York/New Jersey.......which is why so many are flocking to other states for retirement.

However, the memories are authentic & good ones.........of times gone by, when large families gathered for all the holidays & no one was lonely.

Personally, I totally FORGOT to mention THE BRONX ZOO !!!!!
We & our friends would drive over to the Bronx Zoo for a "date" on the weekends.....

We saw the movie "West Side Story" in N.Y.C. as well as "Cleopatra"......again, for Jersey kids it was a big wide world of "clean" fun.

Visiting my relatives was always fun, especially as a child with the big platters of Italian pastries , cannoli, etc., not to mention the Italian weddings where everyone got the little ashtrays with the Jordan almonds, etc. & the little net.

The following lyrics were often sung by my Italian aunts back in the 1940's/1950's.........


BING CROSBY



Manhattan Lyrics

We'll have Manhattan
The Bronx and Staten Island, too
It's lovely going through
The zoo

It's very fancy
On old Delancey Street, you know
The subway charms us so
When balmy breezes blow
To and fro

And tell me what street
Compares with Mott Street
In July
Sweet pushcarts gently gliding by

The great big city's a wondrous toy
Just made for a girl and boy
We'll turn Manhattan
Into an isle of joy

We'll go to Greenwich
Where modern men itch
To be free
And Bowling Green you'll see
With me

We'll bathe at Brighton
The fish you'll frighten
When you're in
Your bathing suit so thin
Will make the shellfish grin
Fin to fin

I'd like to take a
Sail on Jamaica Bay with you
And fair Canarsie's lake
We'll view

The city's bustle cannot destroy
The dreams of a girl and boy
We'll turn Manhattan
Into an isle of joy

We'll go to Yonkers
Where true love conquers
In the wilds
And starve together, dear
In Childs'

We'll go to Coney
And eat baloney
On a roll
In Central Park we'll stroll
Where our first kiss we stole
Soul to soul

Our future babies
We'll take to "Abie's Irish Rose"
I hope they'll live to see
It close

The city's clamor can never spoil
The dreams of a boy and goil
We'll turn Manhattan
Into an isle of joy

We'll have Manhattan
The Bronx and Staten Island, too
We'll try to cross Fifth Avenue
As black as onyx

We'll find the Bronnix Park Express
Our Flatbush flat, I guess
Will be a great success
More or less

A short vacation
On Inspiration Point
We'll spend
And in the station house we'll end

But civic virtue cannot destroy
The dreams of a girl and boy
We'll turn Manhattan
Into an isle of joy