I can’t wait until July. Amy and I spend a big chunk of the summer at our house in Homer, Alaska. We only have about 5,000 other people hanging around (it surges to about 10,000 at the high point of summer.) Up until now, most people that I mention Homer to say “huh?” Men’s Journal just determined that Homer, Alaska is the #1 Up and Coming city in the US (runners up are Newport, VT; Logan, UT; Walla Walla, WA; and Gualala, CA.) Now – I’m not sure this is a good thing – Amy’s immediate reaction to hearing this was “well, I guess we need to move to Cordova or Kotzebue now to get away from the coming hordes.”
My favorite quote from the article follows:
“It just doesn’t feel like the lower 48,” says Katie Bennett, a local sea-kayaking guide and drop-dead gorgeous, unmarried blonde. “You can still work hard and get a piece of the American dream.” Campbell, meanwhile, points out a different sense of possibility: the weird abundance of smart, beautiful women like Bennett. “There aren’t a lot of great guys here,” he says. “If you can hold a conversation and not just stare at their boobs, you do pretty well.”
That kind of says it all. Do me a favor – ignore this article and go visit the California place instead.