Searching for Utopia

I do not remember if I have ever provided details as to where I have lived so far. I guess I must have told you that I was born and raised in Greece, then spent several years in the United Kingdom before moving to the Americas. Do not expect detailed information as to my whereabouts since this is a private matter and at the end of the day it is irrelevant.

What is important is that I have traveled around the Western World and lived in a few places. So the question is: Where is the best place to live? I am certain that when somebody imposes such a question, the reply is yet another question: What it is that you want and what are your priorities?

These are all legitimate questions and indeed, they have to be answered first before one decides upon the best place to live. So let me try to do some soul searching and find where it is I would like to live and, of course, what I think about the places I have lived so far.

Probably, like most people I need a balance. I would like the place to be safe, to be close to various amenities, close to work, close to art, close to a major airport. Of course, the weather has to be nice too. Needless to say that the people should be nice and drive likehuman beings and not like a bunch of monkeys who think that their vehicle is an extension of their pipis. Let's start then.

I guess I have to start with my first place, none other than Athens (Greece, neither Georgia nor Ontario). With the exception of a few red necks, most people have heard of the capital of Greece, the centre of Western Civilisation. Who hasn't heard of the Acropolis or of a notion called democracy? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, democracy was not born in the US. It is yet another ancient Greek discovery. I presume that Ancient Athens was indeed a different place 2,000 years ago. What about now? How is Pericles' city today? (For those who are not aware, Pericles was in charge of Athens when the Parthenon was built).

Let me tell you that if Pericles was alive today he would have had a freaking heart attack. Athens is a city of 4 million people cramped into small apartments like sardines. It is polluted and dirty but most importantly the Athenians are rude and abnoxious little pricks. Do not get me wrong. I love going back to visit my friends and family. However, I dare not to drive there and I know that most probably I'll have an argument with some moron as I am trying to come out of the metro while the 500 pounds orka-fat stinky arsehole is pushing me inside because he wants to get in first. Guess what mother-faker? How do you expect to get in unless I get out first? Are you retarded or what?

Everytime I visit Athens I curse myself. People live on the edge and are ready for a fight. Swearing is part of everyday life there. I am so glad I decided to leave that place; and so I did for the Great British Isles. I ended up spending several years there: initially as a student, later as a worker. My thinking changed so drastically and I opened my mind to things I never thought possible. I stopped believing that Greece was the centre of the Earth. Perhaps once, may be, but definitely not anymore. I realised the religious brain washing I was exposed to as a kid in Greece and I finally found out that homosexuals were actually decent human beings.