The Meaning of Distance and Geography

I don't aim for personal reflection in this blog (that's what diaries are for), but my next step professionally is going to mean a big change personally; a move from Brooklyn, New York to rural Southeast Missouri.

Put another way, I'll be moving from one of the most densely populated cities on the planet - and a city that's recognized largely as the epicenter of both art and business in the United States - to take a job on a 5,000 acre YMCA twelve miles outside of a town of 2,500.

...Take a moment to digest that...

Yep, you read right; I'm leaving New York for 5,000 acres of woodland in Southeast Missouri, and I'm doing it in two weeks.

I'll soon be breathing fresh air, seeing the stars at night, and walking without bumping into anyone. I'll be running trails after work at night, and renovating a turn of the century house with my dad on the weekends. Life, I think, will be good.

The New Yorkers among you, from my experience, just had two almost simultaneous reactions; your eyes flickered with envy for just a moment before your eyebrows raised in skepticism.

For the most part, I'm right there with you; in one moment I can't wait to start my new life, and in the next, I find myself clutching my latte, my metrocard, and my NY Times in horror that I've chosen this fate for myself.

All of that said, I'm intensely interested in social media, and how traditional geography is changing in an increasingly digitally communicative world. Is it possible for me to have the best of country life and city life without being able to afford an apartment in the city and a house in the country?

Is it possible that twitter, blogging, Facebook, flickr, and the occasional weekend of crashing on New York couches will be enough to sustain my need for the city when I'm living in the rural midwest?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but I'm about to find out. Stay tuned here and follow me on twitter (@MilliGFunk) to see how this little adventure pans out.