Good luck! I've stayed at the Ramada right off the interstate, and it's just fine. There are lots of amenities (in fact, they have the closest Target to my D20, who loves Target over Walmart).
LOL, whenever my D20 tells people she goes to college in NY, they always ask her how far from NYC she is. She says 5-6 hours and they are usually dumbstruck. She says upstate NY. They say, Syracuse? Albany? She says, "No, Canada. The closest big city to my school is actually Ottawa and then Montreal. Syracuse is 150 miles to the south and the closest US big city to where I live." That usually puts them in the WTF mode. It makes me laugh. In fact, she usually gets some press in the Watertown Times every fall.
The reason they are not supporting you is because they are afraid. You're challenging them to their own beliefs and they don't like that. You're shedding the skin you used to wear and finding more comfortable skin in which to live. The older I get, the more I realize how many people just refuse to do that. Instead of growing, they stagnate and become Debbie Downers.
I left my home in VA in 1988 - I was just shy of 26 and I moved to the Bay Area - where I knew NO ONE. And I mean NO ONE. I figured I owed it to myself to take the journey and see how it was. I told myself, "If you hate this, you can always move back." And I've kept that philosophy ever since. I can always do something else if I find it won't work out. Nothing is catastrophic. I just made myself commit to one year.
Since you've never uprooted yourself (and your daughter), give it more time. It's hard to develop new routines and make new friends. But just force yourself to put yourself out there, okay? It's often weird and people might think you're weird, but who gives a crap?
And when I fly out there again next spring to pick up D20 from school, I promise to meet up with you if you're there. We can meet for coffee somewhere. I'd love that! (She just left yesterday, and I'm already planning her return LOL.) I'm coming in October as well, but we'll be driving straight to school to watch her volleyball match. Otherwise I'd do it then too!
So spread your wings and just do what you want to do. Someone will always find a way to try and rain on your parade if you let it.
For the record, when I moved to CA, everyone told me, "Why would you do that? It's expensive and they have earthquakes!" When I moved to Denver, they said, "Why would you want to be landlocked in the snow belt?" I've *loved* living in both places! You can find those people much easier than the ones who tell you, "Heather, take the adventure because it's fun!"
Hugs and good luck-- Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
