The World According To Chris Brewer

Aftan took a couple photos of my old house in Rainier, Oregon when she visited a friend yesterday. For some reason, looking at the photos made me wish that I were back there again, if only to visit for a little while. Which got me to thinking even further. Rainier had to be by far the best place that I’ve lived, without a doubt. But where and how does everything else stack up???

Let’s take a look. Here are the places I have lived, from my childbirth in 1984 to the present:

1. Longview, WA (July 1984-Sometime In 1985) (ineligible for rating since I was only a baby)
2. Rainier, OR (Sometime In 1985-November 2002)
3. San Antonio, TX (November 2002-February 2003)
4. Fort Meade, MD (February 2003-June 2003)
5. Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal (June 2003-September 2004)
6. Hampton, VA (September 2004-November 2006)

Let’s rate ‘em!!!

1. Rainier, Oregon
What Was Great About It: It’s a small community of about 1,700 people with a distinct rural feel. The Lewis & Clark Bridge crosses the Columbia River into Longview, WA so you can get everything you need, and Portland is only an hour’s drive to the east. Not to mention, the Pacific Ocean is about 75 miles to the west, so if you don’t want to go to the city, head to the beach. Lots of wooded area and a few parks scattered here and there….pretty cool place. Also, Rainier High School (student body of less than 400) was probably one of the best high schools around (I know there are many people who would offer a dissenting opinion). Not to mention the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was THE inspiration for Matt Groening when he created the Simpsons….the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant is based exactly off of it. I think the area had a nice charm to it.

What Isn’t So Great About It: You’ve got to go outside the town to do anything….i.e. fun stuff, shopping, etc. There aren’t any supermarkets in the town, only convenience stores. Gas prices suck. Everything is a bit too spread out. There’s not much else to complain about. Oh one last thing…even though it’s in Oregon, it never snows much there.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

2. Fort Meade, MD
What Was Great About It: It’s in the Washington, DC metro area but just far enough away from all the traffic congestion to where you could actually go somewhere. I didn’t have a car, but everything was super easy to get to because you could ride the God-sent METRO trains, and every tourist attraction that I wanted to see there was within walking distance.

What Wasn’t So Great About It: It was an Army base. Go figure.

3. Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal
What Was Great About It: It’s a lush island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that not many have heard about…thus being “the best-kept secret in the Air Force.” I think this was the place where I made some of my closest friends in a very short amount of time. The base also had exceptional sports programs and things to keep people involved. It was my best assignment that I’ve had during my time in the Air Force.

What Wasn’t So Great About It: Like I said, it’s out in the middle of nowhere…with the island being 14 miles by 8 miles long, you tend to catch island fever quite easily. I once circled the island three times in a car without stopping just so I could feel like I had to actually drive somewhere.

4. Hampton, VA
What’s Great About It: It’s close to the ocean. There are a few things to do, and the area holds somewhat of an okay charm. Virginia Beach and Norfolk are close by, and that’s where everything is. Not nearly as good as Portland, Oregon though.

What’s Not So Great About It: Too much to list. I wouldn’t want to raise kids here. Racism in reverse prevails and it’s sad. There are a lot of areas I wouldn’t be caught dead in.

5. San Antonio, TX
Yuck. Just yuck. I hate this place.