Manifesto

Manifesto, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

August 2006 - a settler's cabin in Cade's Cove, in the Great Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee, photographed on my first reconnaissance to that area.

*** MANIFESTO ***

A manifesto is defined as a public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions, especially of a political nature. Well, I don't know how very political this will be, although there are some who might read between the lines, as it were, and presume certain subtext. Fine with me because . . . I don't care.

Let's go back to 1921. For me, that was a significant year as a young man stepped off a ship and onto Ellis Island in hopes of a better life in America. This, after managing to survive a childhood in the Ukraine with a high infant mortality rate, living a life of secret catechism in the Catholic church that would have had him killed, fighting in the tsarist army against the Bolsheviks during the Revolution of 1917, being captured as a prisoner of war in WWI, working in the coal mines of Belgium, farming in France, and finally making his way across the Atlantic. That man was my grandfather, Michael Koretzky.

I start with his story not to imply that I am anywhere near as brave as he was, but to illustrate that I come from stock that says, "Hey, it sucks here . . . let's get up and go make a better life somewhere else." And thus my manifesto, because the Better Half and I have decided to emigrate from Southern California (my observations are limited to the greater Los Angeles region, the Inland Empire, and Orange County, what you might hear described typically as "the Southland"). Our intentions (see, I met the definition of "mainfesto") is to relocate in the summer of 2011 to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Why? There is never one reason, but let me list a few here:
# 1 - The Cost of Living is outpacing the Quality of Life. I have had to take a hard look at our budget, especially after I decided to open my own mediation practice and forgo traditional "lawyering." What I found surprised me. Both of us were working hard - but not for ourselves. As self-employed people, a huge amount of income was going to tax agencies on federal, state, and county levels. We managed to make significant contributions to retirement because we had to, to offset the tax liability.

To add to that, the cost of employment was justifying the employment. How many of you know folks who pay high costs of transportation - let's go look at those gas prices, shall we? - to commute to a job that they need . . . in order to be at the job? Or daycare? Auto maintenance? Now add to that the cost of the everyday necessities of food, clothing, and shelter and I found that the norm in California was "to make it." Not thrive, but just to get by. In retrospect, this should not have surprised me, given the large number of Income and Expense Declarations I have reviewed as an attorney. The norm is to use up nearly all discretionary income and rely on credit for the things that make life worth living. For some, it can be exorbitant, like annual cruises, so when I tell you that I would say that a lot of divorcing couples have an average of, say, $75,000 to $90,000 in credit card debt, don't look skance. But for others, like myself, it's being able to take the family to a ball game, or the movies, or buy a larger television set. Sure, you can "go without" and I have done that, but I think any of us, after a while, would find that pretty depressing.

Fortunately, Mark and I don't have that credit problem, and we have significant equity in our house since we did not join that dance of multiple refinancing and equity lines of credit when house values soared. We have figured out that housing costs, as an example, are about one-third in Tennessee than what they are here. Gas is cheaper, food is cheaper, insurance is cheaper (especially no giant liability pool for auto insurance).

# 2 - To Simplify Life. I know that when people ask my husband, "But Mark, what's in Tennessee?", being the card that he is, he usually answers, "Less." Indeed, the lifestyle of the South is one that is a little more sane than here. I realize that I will never re-create the childhood I had in the Bronx where despite having limited income, we felt rich because of our acceptance of a simple lifestyle. But it is hard to live in an area where stress and tension have become such a common part of our lives that we take it for granted that we are stressed, or depressed, or "overwhelmed" - and find some miracle of pharmaceuticals to help us get through the day.

An example was when I first met Jackie Price. Mr. Price is a realtor in Knoxville who, after meeting us on a "just browsing" visit to his office back in 2006, said, "Well, talking isn't going to do you justice - let me drive you around to show you a few things . . ." Which he did - for the next two hours. But walking out to his car, he opened the door and on the passenger seat were his car keys. I said, "Jackie, you left your keys in the car!" "I know," he said, and when he saw the look on my face, he laughed and added, "Aw, no one's gonna steal it here!"

Now, crime exists everywhere. Urban decay exists everywhere. Poverty exists everywhere. Assholes exist everywhere. But, there is just more in one location than in others. What does Mark say? "Less." I long to feel a little more free, which is hard to do in an area that has basically become a paved lot from Palm Springs to the sea, and from Santa Barbara to San Diego. I want to experience and absorb some more civility, and reduce the amount of negativity that I perceive here, whether it comes from students lowering and desecrating an American flag so they can hoist a Mexican one in Montebello, or constant advertising about approving oneself physically whether it is the lap band or "vaginal rejuvenation", or just the gal who I saw drive by in a convertible Mustang with the license plate frame that read, "My other ride . . . is your husband."

#3 - The Middle Class in California is Dying. I suppose this is an extension of #1, but it is discouraging to see what was once the Golden State become so business adverse, that the middle class can no longer survive. How many of us who own our homes feel that our children will be able to purchase their own in the neighborhood where you live now? Do you feel secure that they will be able to find employment? I think Proposition 13 (for those not in the state, it is our law that limits annual raises on property tax to no more than 2%) is no longer the sacred cow that it has been because the people it affects most are leaving, and if counties and municipalities can set it aside, they will use property tax like drunken sailors to fund more government programs (I know, that's insulting to drunken sailors, because at least they use their own money).

I invite you to read a good article by, Joel Kotkin, entitled "The Golden State's War on Itself." It can be found at www.joelkotkin.com/content/00272-golden-state%E2%80%99s-w.... Mr. Kotkin does a very good job of laying out the road California has taken to make itself a leader in failure. He is hopeful that the state can turn itself around. I am not.

#4 - I Miss the Eastern Woodlands. Yes, I know the weather will not be as nice. But I want to see some green hills, not brown ones. I will put on that extra sweater when the weather turns cold - that's something I can do, at least, as opposed to remaining indoors when the Santa Anas blow and I don't feel like chancing a sinus infection.

So, February will see Casa Mas Rico go on the market. If we cannot sell it by next summer, we will lease it. I will be securing housing in Tennessee with plenty of space for guests so the welcome mat will be out for those who wish to visit.

You can ask me any questions, but know that we are dubbing this "Operation Beta Blockers," in honor of the drugs that moderate Mark's high blood pressure, a condition that prevented us from moving in 2007. Once we are in Tennessee and settled, however, we will be starting "Operation Noah's Ark" - getting the people we love to come and join us.