I've been tagged! Where have I been?
My friend Chris from UMass had a cool idea. He wrote a blog post and Google-mapped all the places he's ever lived. Unfortunately he tagged me to do the same! So here goes.
If you click on the links to see the maps, just use the back button to get back to the post. They used to pop up in new windows but I don't see that I can select that feature anymore. Oh well.
From birth until age 18:
Shore Drive, Pittsfield, MA
What kid doesn't wanna grow up near the lake?
The college years +1 extra year living in Amherst
1986-87 Brown dormitory, UMass with my friend Pam from high school
1987-1989 Dickenson dormitory, UMass also with Pam. That's where I met Chris who tagged me to do this post!
Summer of 1988-Store Street, London England I worked at a pub that summer, just outside of Charing Cross Station. this is the year I met my BMF Dave, who was here for a few days visiting a few weeks ago.
89-90 Cliffside Apartments with my friends Chris, Jayne, and Jen. Good times!
Jan-June 1990 Rt 202 N Main Street, Belchertown, MA
June 90-June 91 Grantwood Drive, Amherst, MA Looks like there's a pool there now!
The Lady Foot Locker years:
...when I worked my ass off and moved all over the place. They gave us a $500 bonus and paid for the truck if we self-moved within 5 days of getting the promotion. I worked 4 10-hour days and 1 12 hour day (at minimum) each week, and several weeks a year only got a day and a half off work. But it was a good experience, learning sales, management, hiring & firing, and inventory control. I graduated UMass with no idea what I wanted to do so it was a good experience. Even now, 13 years after I left, I still cherish my weekends off and my holidays not cut short by closing at 11, driving 3 or 4 hours home, then leaving early the next day to open the store at 8am.
Anyway that led to my first very-own apartment!
June 91-March 93 Park Guilderland Apartments, Guilderland Center, NY, just west of Albany. Looks like it's been built up since then, those baseball fields are new. I had a nice westerly view of the mountains from my corner unit. It was a huge 2-bedroom for something like $400 a month. It had a washer and dryer but the washer stopped working. I never called the landlord, because I wasn't allowed to have my cat!
March 93-March 94 Strawberry Bank Rd, Nashua, NH. Rented a condo, where I could literally throw a rock into Massachusetts from my balcony. I liked the store I managed there in Nashua-I had a great staff. But the town was kinda boring for a single 25 year old. I'd probably really like it there now.
March 94-March 95 Wading River, NY, way out on Long Island. The town was really pretty, in the woods and near the beach and the North Fork. I think I lived on Sylvan Drive but I can't really remember. I really liked the two-room in-law apartment I rented from this ancient Irish couple, but aside from that, I hated living in Long Island. That place had the most self-absorbed rude people living in it that I have ever had the misfortune to have to deal with. I mean, Boston can be pretty bad for that too, but I never wanna live on an island with 7.3 million miserable people again.
Next, I went to Europe for 3 months. My base of operations was in Fjardhundra, near Enkoping, about 45 minutes outside of Stockholm. Spent about 6 weeks there checking out Sweden and 7 weeks riding the rails all over northern and eastern Europe, plus visiting Dave in England and traveling to Scotland from there.
After that it was back to Shore Drive in Pittsfield for a few months while I figured out what the heck to do next!
The Greater Boston years:
One of the places I always wanted to live was in or near Boston.
December 1995 I landed in Framingham on Franklin Street, across from the train yard and DPW. The cool thing with that is our street was always plowed first! But the house would shake sometimes when they connected the train cars. If you click Street View, the house I lived in is on the right-the white one with the stairs going up the side.
Sept 97 I moved in with my friend Karen in Natick Village - we could walk up to Rt 135 and watch the Boston Marathon in April. Some of my best memories are of the couple of years that Kim and Mary Clare lived a mile away and we did all sorts of cool stuff all the time.
In 2000 I moved to "the bunker" in Salem, MA. It's a famous tourist town and old harbor city north of Boston. The apartment had one window right on the street but it was cute, and it was close to downtown and the harbor. Really neat place to live but a pain to get anywhere.
In 2003, I moved to Wakefield, MA. The apartment I shared with a girl from work was gorgeous, and it only took me 14 minutes to get to work...if I were driving through a major snowstorm. Otherwise it was less than 11. Plus, it was a great location to get into Boston or up to the beaches in New Hampshire. There was a pretty lake there which everyone in town walked around for exercise. Even me!
In 2004, I moved in with Randy in Somerville. Not going to show you the house for safety reasons but there is street view so if you want to march up and down all the side streets feel free!
Well, that was kinda fun! And not as much work as I thought! Also, I thought I'd moved 10 times since I graduated college, but it's only 8 :-)
If you click on the links to see the maps, just use the back button to get back to the post. They used to pop up in new windows but I don't see that I can select that feature anymore. Oh well.
From birth until age 18:
Shore Drive, Pittsfield, MA
What kid doesn't wanna grow up near the lake?
The college years +1 extra year living in Amherst
1986-87 Brown dormitory, UMass with my friend Pam from high school
1987-1989 Dickenson dormitory, UMass also with Pam. That's where I met Chris who tagged me to do this post!
Summer of 1988-Store Street, London England I worked at a pub that summer, just outside of Charing Cross Station. this is the year I met my BMF Dave, who was here for a few days visiting a few weeks ago.
89-90 Cliffside Apartments with my friends Chris, Jayne, and Jen. Good times!
Jan-June 1990 Rt 202 N Main Street, Belchertown, MA
June 90-June 91 Grantwood Drive, Amherst, MA Looks like there's a pool there now!
The Lady Foot Locker years:
...when I worked my ass off and moved all over the place. They gave us a $500 bonus and paid for the truck if we self-moved within 5 days of getting the promotion. I worked 4 10-hour days and 1 12 hour day (at minimum) each week, and several weeks a year only got a day and a half off work. But it was a good experience, learning sales, management, hiring & firing, and inventory control. I graduated UMass with no idea what I wanted to do so it was a good experience. Even now, 13 years after I left, I still cherish my weekends off and my holidays not cut short by closing at 11, driving 3 or 4 hours home, then leaving early the next day to open the store at 8am.
Anyway that led to my first very-own apartment!
June 91-March 93 Park Guilderland Apartments, Guilderland Center, NY, just west of Albany. Looks like it's been built up since then, those baseball fields are new. I had a nice westerly view of the mountains from my corner unit. It was a huge 2-bedroom for something like $400 a month. It had a washer and dryer but the washer stopped working. I never called the landlord, because I wasn't allowed to have my cat!
March 93-March 94 Strawberry Bank Rd, Nashua, NH. Rented a condo, where I could literally throw a rock into Massachusetts from my balcony. I liked the store I managed there in Nashua-I had a great staff. But the town was kinda boring for a single 25 year old. I'd probably really like it there now.
March 94-March 95 Wading River, NY, way out on Long Island. The town was really pretty, in the woods and near the beach and the North Fork. I think I lived on Sylvan Drive but I can't really remember. I really liked the two-room in-law apartment I rented from this ancient Irish couple, but aside from that, I hated living in Long Island. That place had the most self-absorbed rude people living in it that I have ever had the misfortune to have to deal with. I mean, Boston can be pretty bad for that too, but I never wanna live on an island with 7.3 million miserable people again.
Next, I went to Europe for 3 months. My base of operations was in Fjardhundra, near Enkoping, about 45 minutes outside of Stockholm. Spent about 6 weeks there checking out Sweden and 7 weeks riding the rails all over northern and eastern Europe, plus visiting Dave in England and traveling to Scotland from there.
After that it was back to Shore Drive in Pittsfield for a few months while I figured out what the heck to do next!
The Greater Boston years:
One of the places I always wanted to live was in or near Boston.
December 1995 I landed in Framingham on Franklin Street, across from the train yard and DPW. The cool thing with that is our street was always plowed first! But the house would shake sometimes when they connected the train cars. If you click Street View, the house I lived in is on the right-the white one with the stairs going up the side.
Sept 97 I moved in with my friend Karen in Natick Village - we could walk up to Rt 135 and watch the Boston Marathon in April. Some of my best memories are of the couple of years that Kim and Mary Clare lived a mile away and we did all sorts of cool stuff all the time.
In 2000 I moved to "the bunker" in Salem, MA. It's a famous tourist town and old harbor city north of Boston. The apartment had one window right on the street but it was cute, and it was close to downtown and the harbor. Really neat place to live but a pain to get anywhere.
In 2003, I moved to Wakefield, MA. The apartment I shared with a girl from work was gorgeous, and it only took me 14 minutes to get to work...if I were driving through a major snowstorm. Otherwise it was less than 11. Plus, it was a great location to get into Boston or up to the beaches in New Hampshire. There was a pretty lake there which everyone in town walked around for exercise. Even me!
In 2004, I moved in with Randy in Somerville. Not going to show you the house for safety reasons but there is street view so if you want to march up and down all the side streets feel free!
Well, that was kinda fun! And not as much work as I thought! Also, I thought I'd moved 10 times since I graduated college, but it's only 8 :-)
Comments
I think those years were like the ones in high school, you know where fours years seem like ten because you grow up and learn so much in such a short period of time.
That, and you create some really great memories from spending lots of time with exceptional friends.
-Kim
And Wading River is beautiful. I've been raising my three children here since 1999.
I also love Somerville. My oldest friend lives there with her husband and two baby girls.
Nice to have met you...
One of my best friends grew up there actually. But after my experiences in LI it's not the place for me.
I agree WR is beautiful, it was one of the only things I liked about living there.
I love the street-view in google. Kind of strange seeing the places you lived that way. Or in the current house I can see our swingset and Deb's van in the driveway from above. At least there isn't a street-view of the neighborhood yet. Some of the things you can find are great.
Your Long Island comments are funny. I haven't live there but met enough people to see why you'd think that!
I'm from LI too. What a coincidence.
I have many good friends here and am not going to bash LI but I would move in a second if I didn't love my job so.
Working in a mall does not really give you the best feel for Long Islanders. People who shop at malls are usually annoying no matter where they are from.
Let me guess, Smithhaven Mall? A very nasty place.
I always thought that I hated malls but maybe I hate the people around here. :)
I can only stay for 45 minutes at a time. That's when my tank runs out.