"Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
"And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same.
And there's doctors and there's lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same."
--Malvina Reynolds, "Little Boxes (Ticky Tacky)"
After almost 200 job applications over the last four years, some 30 conference interviews, numerous phone interviews, and 12 campus interviews, I finally landed a tenure-track job at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.
We have recently made a trip to Kirksville to look for a place to live next year. Being a historian and with Cheryl's work in museums, we tend to appreciate older houses with some character. Searching for such a place in Kirksville is difficult because all of the older houses with some character were allegedly blown away by a tornado in 1899.
What we did find was a 1958 3-bedroom split level with hardwood floors. The house has good vibes and it's only half a mile to school. It has a large fenced in backyard, which will make Koosa happy and will keep Cheryl busy with gardening. (No, those aren't our dogs.)
Being an academic means moving a lot. If you are interested, you can check out some other places where we have lived:
- Crest Trail
- Madison
- Gettysburg
- Bloomington
- Ecuador
- Oakland
- Lawrence
- Bethel
- The Netherlands
- London
- South Dakota