Let me just say this… I knew Arkansas sucked, but I didn’t realize how badly they sucked until I moved here to Colorado.

First of all, I’m riding the Struggle Bus again when it comes to getting something written daily for my blog. It’s fallen by the wayside and I can’t seem to grab ahold of it, let alone things to write about. I started my “Recovery Journal” Side Quest (finally). As much as I’d like to just be completely open and out there with everything going on with us… I had to protect it with a password, making it the place I can rant and rave all I want without worrying that The Boyfriend’s privacy (which I deeply respect) will be breached. I mean, I DO have the link for this blog pinned at the top of my Facebook page, so anyone we know has access. Maybe some day, when his addiction is behind us, he will be willing to share.

Anyway, Colorado vs Arkansas. I don’t have statistics on things like crime rates or diversity and I don’t really feel like Googling that. My observations are merely that, what I have personally experienced. It might be boring, but again… Struggle Bus. Keep in mind, too, that I lived in a smaller town in Arkansas (less than 13.5k people). Colorado Springs, in contract, is significantly more populated (over 3/4mil)

Food: Of course the variety of places available to eat here are far superior. But it’s worth noting, because now I have a tough time deciding where to eat based on so many really great options, vs in AR where it was more “ugh, what to choose that I’m not tired of”

People: LOL – ok, I definitely had to do a demographics lookup, because… the town I’m from is 90% White and 10% a sprinkle of whoever else. Here in The Springs? White is 66%, Hispanic is 18%, Black at 6.5%, and the 9.5% left over is whoever else. Pretty stark contrast. And besides, people here are far less judgmental. Red state vs Blue state makes a difference.

Scenery/Environment: Ok, so Arkansas does have really great scenery and stuff to do, if you’re the “outdoorsy” type. I miss being able to go swimming in the lakes there. But… The Rockies. And I don’t mean the baseball team (I could not care less about sportsball). The weather here is fantastic most of the year, though winter gets to be really cold and annoying. The flip side of that is that Arkansas has humidity and super sucks in the summer. Oh, and the bugs. Colorado lacks the blood-sucking bugs that Arkansas breeds. That alone is a big win.

Health Care: This is The Big One. I’ve been on Medicaid for quite some time since I lost the ability to work. The hoops I had to jump through in Arkansas were fucking ridiculous. And I lost it months before I moved here, because Sarah Huckabee-Sanders is… well, she sucks, I’ll just leave it at that. Anyway, not only do I have regular Medicaid here, without a copay or tons of hoops to vault through, they also cover vision and dental. That alone was a huge win, but… I’m currently awaiting ketamine therapy, something I’ve wanted to have since my second Spinal Cord Stimulator surgery when they used it for anesthesia… and my depression got better for an entire month before wearing off. With all the research I’ve done about the brain, anhedonia, and the like… this is huge. Combined with EMDR, I actually have a little hope. Dangerous, I know. But there it is.

And that is all I have for today.