As for big cities, the only one I ever lived in was Birmingham and yeah... it literally stinks. Especially where I used to live near the canal. The worst time my skin has ever had too, I had really bad acne the whole year I lived there.
I'm more of a small city girl, myself. Austin can be puh-reety interesting, though.
Recently a friend of mine was looking at a house on east side. It was a very nice little bungalow, and the owner was extremely friendly and accommodating. She hit it off with him immediately. After she left she looked up the address and the guy's name...
Turns out the house was a brothel. And the friendly guy she got along so well with? A pimp.
She didn't buy that house.
And yes, I'm still around! Facing midterms (I'm currently trying to ignore a three-page-paper due tomorrow and a five-page-paper due the day after and a three-page-paper due two days after that), but so far surviving!
I'm settled into my apartment, and my roommates are very nice people. Apparently we're one of the few apartments that haven't gone to Student Life with a dispute yet. We're all pretty accommodating, so there's been no drama so far. Except for when one of the upperclassmen came home with hickeys and we immediately labelled her a 'beacon of sin' and haven't permitted her or her boyfriend (a really sweet guy who was absolutely
mortified and keeps on buying
us her food) live it down. All in good fun, of course. (She's the actual sweetest, though, constantly driving us places and giving us the lowdown on the professors and classes, cracking our backs, sharing her food, etc. Which is why she's so much fun to tease.) Ah, we have wild times... sitting around the apartment... working on homework... watching movies... cooking food... sometimes when we're feeling
really crazy we clean up! Party animals, I'm telling you.
As for the actual school, the classes are challenging, but not overwhelming, the professors are great, and I really feel like I'm in the right place. I've only cried twice so far.
Anyhow, that's my life at the moment. Heading back to my papers now, RTR out.