after writing that tag line, i realize how broad it is...

i was born and raised in NY and moved to southern cali after high school where i lived, worked, played, and married for 13 years. left to go back east for grad school with the intention of moving back to cali when we were done, but we got priced out of the market within the three years we were gone. we have family, friends out west that we visit at least once a year, and they in turn come out to see us the same. we've had several career opportunities to move back west as of late, but the financial situation in cali is absurd (unless you have A LOT of disposable income). we miss our friends and family much, but our lifestyle here is much lighter, less stressful and laid back. many east coasters laugh when we use "laid back" and "east coast" in the same sentence, but it is true. Southern cali (that's where our experience lay) was overcrowded, expensive, dirty, stressful and full of traffic, preteniousness and materialistic. that's not to say that the east coast doesn't have thier share of those characteristics, but we found cali worse. if the housng prices drastically fell, and the area cleaned out (asthetically as well as population) we would be back in a heartbeat. but then again, where we live in jersey its rural, clean, friendly, wide open..., so maybe not.

all this to say, choose the place where you are the happiest. don't get me wrong, we loved cali, but now we love jersey. good weather does not always mean good quality of life (my dad, who still lives out there calls this "the sun tax"). the east coast rival the west with just as much nature and open space, you just have to get out of the urban areas to experience it all. and those places are less crowded too! anywhere you choose will have the good and the bad - decide on what's best in the long run and stick with it...good luck...

i don't know what country's east coast is being addressed, but after living on both coasts, east coast beaches are far cleaner, larger, well kept, and accessible than those on the west coast, not to mention warmer water temp's too. as a matter of fact, the east coast usually rep's much more on the "top beaches" list every year. i don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many friends/fam members that have gotten swimmer's ear, ecoli, etc. from west coast beaches.

as far as fresh food, i have more than a handful of farms, diaries, and ranches selling fresh produce, meat, and dairy products within less than 2 miles from my home.

if family is important, then move west; if its affordablilty, fresh food, scenery, etc., there are hundreds of places in the states that can offer all that and more.

after paging through countless arguments, it seems to boil down to this: anyone with any type of critical thinking skills can evaluate the evidence (change in body appearance, grand jury testimony, increase in achievement during decrease in normal ability) and conclude that Bonds used steriods, HGH, or whatever it is called these days. With that said, many claim, "well, since it wasn't illegal in baseball at the time, he shouldn't be held responsible." That however is a flawed arguement based solely on the fact that steriod use without a perscription is against the law. Just because MLB doesn't directly address it doesn't mean it is acceptable. I'm sure, even though murder is not addressed in the MLB bylaws, it doesn't mean that a murdering MLB player can still be part of the team. Last I checked, state and federal law usurp MLB law (althought that union is getting more and more powerful...)

On the Babe/Aaron ticket, the arguements keep piling up, more games, no minority players, greenies, smaller staduims, etc. that's what i like about baseball, it evolves, the more it stays the same, the more it changes. for better or for worse it changes; i for one happen to think it has gotten better with age, not perfect by any means....

for me Ruth will always be the King, even though i grew up with Aaron. not a racist thing, but the dominance of Ruth in his day, especially the fact that he hit more HR's in a season than some entire teams hit is still astounding, never mind his power as a lefty pitcher: add to that at the time of near collapse of baseball he helped to ressurrect the game, and i cannot deny his rightful place in history.

and please don't say that basball is losing its integrity to the point of collapse today, there is too much $$$$ involved for it to ever collaspe now...let's move on to the playoff hunt with teams that have a chance (and SF has about as much change as the devil rays) and let Barry pad his stats, the fans will ultimately decide where he stands in history...besides secrets in our media culture do not stay secrets for long...