For those who know me well, they know how much I love warm/hot weather. That being said, I am looking forward to fall and cooler temperatures. Summer has been hot, dry and boring. The first time I attempted to go to the beach, a wicked fog rolled in, so I went home. I have only actually been to the beach a few times this summer and it's the end of July. Last year, I spent almost every weekend at the beach, while this summer, the weather has been unpredictable at best. It is beautiful and sunny during the week, but when the weekend comes, BAM! crappy, cloudy weather. Normally, this would be fine-especially if the weather brings rain, but it hasn't. We have had a couple of wicked storms, but not more than 2 inches of rain for the entire month of July and not much more than that in May and June.

Fall brings the changing of leaves, boots, hoodies, jeans and cooler temperatures. Fall is a beautiful time of year here in NYC and one of my favorite places to observe it is in Central Park. Some years, the trees are red and gold, and others just green and gold, but either way, it is beautiful.

Fall in Charleston is very different. The weather doesn't really start to get cooler until late October and then it goes from 90 to 70 which is a nice relief. The leaves still change, but not like they do here-mostly because the trees are different. The light is different in Charleston too-it seems softer somehow. The light in New York is very harsh-even on the best of days. In the fall in Charleston, the beach grass is a nice golden brown and you will start to see many of the migrating birds coming from the north. Football is huge -especially between Clemson and USC. Even if you don't like or follow football, tailgating is a part of Southern fall life. One of the things I love most is the vibe. Whether you like sports or not, there is a sense of excitement in the air-especially is the Citadel Bulldogs are playing. Fall, like spring, is a time of transition; only instead of transitioning to new life, it is a transition to a dormancy. One can still wear boots, hoodies and jeans in the fall in Charleston,you just have to wait a little longer than in the Northeast.

Thoughts of the future

Lately, I have been thinking about living here in Brooklyn and how it compares to Charleston. I miss living in Charleston where people are friendly and the pace of life is slower. The way of life is totally different in Brooklyn. Life here is very fast paced and people don't seem to care that they are spending 70% of their income just on rent, don't care that the subway is constantly breaking down and when it does work, it is inefficient at best.

I am looking forward to moving back to Charleston hopefully next year as I am in dire need of a slow down. Brooklyn is great, but living here is never something that I had wanted to do until my best friend asked me to. It was always supposed to be a short-term thing, that is turning into something more long term and I am pretty much done with Brooklyn. It is a city that has many, many things to offer, but at the same time, it has many faults much like any city. I hate that there is garbage everywhere-including in the ocean and that people just walk around it, pretending that it isn't there. You can't avoid bugs or rodents in your apartment-especially if you live in a pre-war building. New York is becoming a city that is just for the rich as the majority of us regular folk, can't afford to live here anymore.

In Charleston, I can have a better quality of life. I can spend more time outdoors-at the beach, riding my bike, at the farmer's market. In order to go to the farmer's market here, it takes me an hour and I have to fight my way through several hundred people in a relatively space. There is one closer to my house, but it doesn't have the variety and is more expensive. In Charleston, I can afford to either live entirely on my own, or with just one roommate where as here in Brooklyn, I have 4 roommates currently. I was looking online the other day at Carolina One Realty's website and fell in love with an adorable 2-bedroom cottage in North Charleston. If I had the ability to pack up and move right now, I would jump at the chance to go back.

I have so many more thoughts, but I think that this is enough for tonight. Gotta finish watching One Tree Hill before going to bed.