The Perfect Place

I've spent a good many entries detailing my problems with Buenos Aires. It's catharsis. And I want to document all my issues. Because in the US, I might know who to call or how to complain so as to affect change but in the absence of having a strong command of the language, culture, and system in Buenos Aires, my only recourse is to damn the city and it's people in my blog.

It's like this, I wake up, go through the motions of my day...Invariably a bunch of things bug me. I don't feel empowered and don't know how to affect change here, but I still feel a need to do something, to at least tell someone, to make sure those responsible are somehow held accountable, to raise awareness, whatever. So I whine and complain about it in the blog as a means of getting back.

But Buenos Aires isn't all bad. More than anything (as one of my recent and now more faithful readers pointed out) Buenos Aires is very flawed based on the standards to which I am holding it. What are those standards? The standards are characteristics that I personally find important. That is, based on who I am and what I know about myself and what I need and desire. So what are my standards? Who am I and what does that say about what I need in a city?

The who am I part is ongoing and I've blogged that into the ground, but the what's important to me in a city is worth mentioning. So the following is a list of the most important characteristics in a city, based on what I've figured out about myself and what I need and want:

1. A large stock of smart and critical thinking people who communicate well through words and take the time to do so on a regular basis. Folks who value deep and meaningful conversation and communication and who are good at it. Folks who aren't afraid to share their opinions, who listen well, who are sensitive to the world, who can articulate their opinions diplomatically and as Obama says, 'Disagree without being disagreeable'.

2. A spiritually diverse community. In Ohio if you are interested in becoming more spirtiual, plumbing the depths, if you will, you can chose between Christianity, Christianity, or Christianity. Outside of fringe groups, I didn't find too much in terms of an alternative spiritual community. For years, I've put out the spiritual vibe and found nothing but evangelical Christians in different niche packages who try time and again to convert me. There are rocker Christians, sporty Christians, alternative brooding druggy Christians, and much more.

Christianity in Ohio is like different forms of sugar. If you don't like plain old white sugar, there's molasses, maple syrup, honey, evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, organic cane sugar, or agave nectar. But when it comes down to it it's still Sugar.

I want choices. I know there's more out there. Other ways of going deeper without having to accept the tenants of a religion that, given my God given 5 senses, is impossible to swallow without a quantam leap of faith (and unfortunately, as much as I want to, I don't understand it and don't have it). Surely there is a way to be spiritual, to explore under the surface using only the senses that I was given.

3. City and nature. I'd like to be in a city center that has a large and diverse population but that also has nature, or some type of pure natural setting nearby. I'd like all the benefits of city life-culture, lots of different people and ideas, arts, activities, food-along with clean air, water, and a place nearby where I can hike around in peace and quiet, away from people when I need it.

4. Heat and sun. My body does not like rough winters nor can it deal with a lack of light. I need a place with decent weather.

5. Sense of community. People who trust in and use government and charitable organizations as a means of benefiting the greater good. People who treat each other well. People who actually look at each other, acknowledge each other, and care and feel a sense of responsibility for their neighbors.

I'm not so sure this Top 5 list is in order of importance to me. The top spot and order probably depend more on the day of week and time of day you ask me. In any case, at least at the moment, these 5 things are the most important to me.

As an exercise, I'm going to test Buenos Aires against these standards.

1. In my experience, Buenos Aires has it. More than any other city I've lived in, folks here know how to have a good conversations. They tend to be bright, opinionated, civil, interested in chatting, they take time for it, they value it, they're good at it, and they listen well.

2. I really have no idea what kind of spiritual community Buenos Aires has. I've met a number of atheists, one hardcore Catholic, and a number of superstitious Catholics (people with crosses hanging from their rearview mirrors who make the sign of the cross when they pass a church but who probably know little to nothing about the religion.) And finally I met someone who is part of a group that uses a more philosophical text as a means of self and spiritual exploration, the type of spirituality I think I'm more suited for.

3. Buenos Aires has city. But no nature. Tigre just doesn't cut it for me. The fact that you have to take an overnight bus to more or less get into some serious nature is hard for me. Buenos Aires is tall apartment buildings for as far as the eye can see. I feel trapped by the city-smog and hordes of stressed people who flow through it like bad blood through the veins and arteries of the city's streets. And as far as clean air and water. Fogetaboutit. The deisel buses and smokers make it so that everyone living in the city, whether he smokes or not, takes in the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes per day. I expect to go through withdrawal when I move back to the States. And the water, if it is from the Rio De La Plata, as I've been told, cannot be clean. I don't care what type of purification process it goes through. That muddy sludge-shake of a river es un asco.

4. Heat and Sun. Yep, Buenos Aires has it. The climate here is great, compared to what I'm accustomed to in Ohio. The winters can be grim and chilly but nooooothing like winters in Ohio. My main complaint here is that the buildings turn into giant ice blocks in the winter. That is, they collect and give off cold throughout the winter so even though it's 60 degrees and sunny, it feels much colder because the buildings are blocking the sun and giving off cold at the same time.

5. I don't need to harp on this one. Buenos Aires ain't got it. Not even close. Casi nada.

But all in all, I have to give it to the city, it's much more suited to me than I've been claiming. It meets almost 3 of the categories, about half of what I'm looking for. For a marriage, however, I'm looking for at least 4 out of 5. Perfection obviously I'm not going to find. But something with the majority of what I'm looking for surely is out there.

In fact, Denver I think is going to be at least a 3 out of 5.

1. I don't know how bright and interested in conversation the folks in Denver are. Can't give them this one, although I've heard positive reports.

2. I know Denver and the surrounding area has a diverse spiritual community, maybe not as diverse as California, but a quick study has revealed a number of substantial alternatives to the common US religion menu. I will note, in any case, that Colorado has an intense mega church going Christian population. Which I find unsettling.

3. City and nature. Check and check. Big city, arts, diversity, culture, food. Rocky mountain national park. Rated best big city water in the country by Men's Health Magazine. Clean air as a result of natural gas and hybrid buses as well as bike commuters and a large green community and concern for the environment.

4. Heat and sun. It's sunny, and mild in the winter. But not as warm in general as I would like and too much snow. I'll give it a .5 as being better than Ohio but not perfect for me.

5. And yes, it seems to have a strong sense of community. The people are super friendly, the city is clean, there are bike paths everywhere, parks, and a strong and intelligent progressive government.

So according to what I know about Denver, it is at least a 3.5 and maybe more, depending on what I find out about the people.

So I feel bad for knocking Buenos Aires the way I have. It does have a number of characteristics important to me. And when I was walking the streets today paying bills and dodging traffic, I knew I would miss it. I could see myself in the future, bored in the States, yearning to have my adventure back. Desiring again the instability, the movement, the energy, the entropy of this crazy place. I can't say that I'm ever bored here. Even commonplace days are an adventure, sometimes just from the perspective of seeing so many different people. My relationship with this place is surely love/hate. The most intense and passionate relationships are. I expect to be pulled back to this place some day...