Tonight, a friend and I went out for dinner and we were talking about how he’s thought about moving to the Bay Area to live for a while. He just visited my hometown for a wedding and lamented that despite how much he loves it there, he absolutely hated all the driving. He said he ultimately wants to settle down here in New York; it’s pretty much the only place you can live in this country where you don’t need a car.

I hate driving. I know I’m going to have to drive again at some point, but once we reach this summer, it will officially mark seven years since I was last behind a wheel. I don’t want to live in New York City the rest of my life, so I guess I will have to suck it up and drive again, but I’m not looking forward to it. Parallel parking sucks, and gridlock makes me want to grind my teeth. Lately, I’ve been romanticizing about having a beautiful house somewhere in Southern California – maybe Santa Barbara or San Diego, but those romantic daydreams do not include road rage and constant honking.