Geographic Dissonance

I've been feeling incredibly down this past week from the flu to my sick cat to realizing a few things about my life that I had been good at ignoring.

Over four years ago we moved hundreds of miles away from where we were living for Dustin to attend a university for the first time in his life.  He had spent several years working as a tile contractor and his body was already telling him it was time to find a desk job.  I decided to go for a second degree and the years we spent here have proven life saving as when I got really sick the only insurance I had was my student plan.

Yet we were both immediately miserable.  Dustin had been in metal bands for the majority of his adult life and there was no scene in our new area to enjoy.  We couldn't meet new friends because the area attracts people with children, hunters and fishermen, preps, and hippies.  There wasn't much of a place for two goth kids in all black, but we did our best to find a group to hang out with.  Eventually I started table-top gaming again and met a few people through that.

Being back north in the area with our old friends, Dustin's old bandmates and hanging out was wonderful.  I'd gotten used to just not socializing over the past couple of years, due in part to my illness and surgeries, but also due to the nature of a transient college population.  To make matters worse compared to where we live now where we are from is a mecca of gluten-free vegan food with restaurants I can actually eat at without fearing illness. Here this is not the case. I got so sick after eating what was supposed to be a safe meal that I ended up in the hospital for three days and even the staff at the hospital somehow didn't know what Celiac's or a wheat allergy meant (I have both).

I'm not the most social person in the world, but I feel fed up.  I want someone who will watch creepy shows with me, go ghost hunting, play a video game even it's just a few times a month. I want to eat at a restaurant, even if our tight budget means it's just once a month or less. Don't get me started about live music! Somehow going to a noisy metal show actually relieves pain in my body.  While I like alternative bluegrass and have gone to some shows here the music doesn't affect my body the same way.  I have a lot of sensory processing issues that tie into this.

Dustin should be done with school by Christmas 2012, but I want to move next summer.  I keep hoping he'll be able to finish his classes online.  I hate living here.  I've never had so many seasonal allergies and problems with the rapidly switching weather (from freezing to hot in two days!).