Cedar Point separation anxiety

I think it's the familiarity and people that ultimately cause geographical connection (or connection to a park). CP has changed for the better in so many ways, but so many of the people that I know simply don't live in the area anymore. In fact, a lot of them moved here! Plus you make new friends, and before you know it, you start making memories in the context of that place. Seattle may not have had great parks, but we got very attached, and enjoyed specific locales frequently. Orlando is the same, and it's fantastic to meet up with people for Dolewhip with rum at Epcot, or some laps on White Lightning at Fun Spot.

I don't intentionally hate on Cleveland, but over time I realized that it didn't offer anything new for me, and I needed new.

For years after I moved to Orlando, the Cleveland area still felt like "home" and I often wondered if the grass was greener and if I should move back. After realizing I really had developed a good, solid foundation in Orlando, and my old Cleveland life would never come back, I immediately realized Orlando had actually become home years before.

For some folks, the comfort and familiarity of home is essential to happiness. For others, breaking out of that familiarity to create your own new feeling of home somewhere else is what is needed. Either way, in those decisions for me, roller coasters were one of the farthest things in my mind.

I did move back to Cleveland, and it's among the worst decisions I ever made.

I think I'll always be a Northern VA guy even though I moved to WV 3 years ago, for a few reasons:

1. All my extended family is still scattered around NoVA
2. I still work in NoVA so probably half my time is spent there
3. The area where I live is sort of an extension of the DC metro area anyway, as many people move here because the cost of living is cheaper, and still commute to the DC area.

All that said, I still love where I live now because it's sort of the best of both worlds: rural, private living away from craploads of people and traffic, ten minutes from historic Charles Town, and within a reasonable drive from the city (and the nation's capital, to boot). Amusement parks fell down the list of priorities years ago, but even then we're only a couple hours or so from several decent parks in MD, VA, and PA.

BrettV said:
For some folks, the comfort and familiarity of home is essential to happiness. For others, breaking out of that familiarity to create your own new feeling of home somewhere else is what is needed. Either way, in those decisions for me, roller coasters were one of the farthest things in my mind.

Roller coasters factor in for me but only insofar as they relate to familiarity and memories. We're leaving behind my sons' first coasters and rides like NTG which hold a special place in my heart. It's just another thing in the super long list of things that we have to say goodbye to. Now, whether a roller coaster has airtime or is intense or bangs your head has 0 weight.

My folks still live in NE Ohio, so I still get to Cedar Point twice per year. I always try to go once in early summer and once for HalloWeekends. These days that trip becomes a rare day when my dad and I get the whole day together. When the day comes when they retire here, which will be in another 5 years or so, that CP trip likely will cease. But for me, trips to CP these days are more about my dad and I getting a day together rather than power riding everything like when I was a kid. The rare trips I have made there without him have never quite been the same.

Down here, we have the same dad-son trip tradition going to Busch Tampa. When the day comes that they retire to St. Pete, we will still have our dad-son day, it's just the venue that will change.

And Jeff - two years ago I interviewed for a job back up in the Cleveland area. A great opportunity with fantastic people. But when the offer came I ended up turning it down because after doing some serious soul searching, I knew I wouldn't be happy going back for many of the same reasons you have mentioned over the years. Orlando isn't perfect, but my overall mood is just so much better than when I lived in Ohio and PA. It's still nice to visit a few times a year, but I could never move back.

Vater, that's what I love about where I am, 45 min from CLT. I'm in the country, but have all of the things a city offers. That, and Caroeinds is finally getting attention. But I'm not far from Atlanta, the ocean, mountains, Dollywood, or my parents.

I love Ohio. I do. And I often say that I will never leave.
I've traveled all over the country and while I always find reasons to adore any given area or city, I know if I lived there there would be things I'd miss about my lifelong home. We've dreamed of buying a second, winter home somewhere warm, but we've also been fortunate enough to vacation just about every year in places like the Keys, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and (at least for now) that does nicely.

I'll confess, not the least of the reasons for me to want to stay here are the parks. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest boy on earth when I hear my friends in other parts of the country complain about their home parks. If I get tired of a place I can find at least 5 other quality parks that I can do on a day trip or an overnight. And our season may not be year 'round, but for some odd reason I like that too.

My fear of living in a place like California is having the cost of living be so high that I couldn't afford to visit parks like I'm used to! Last summer we visited Boston and surroundings and maybe to my surprise, it turned out to be one of my favorite cities of all time. Just awesome. But when I considered how expensive it is there and when we imagined those awesome neighborhoods covered with nine feet of snow, Ohio began to look pretty good again.

So I don't know, maybe home is where the heart is. I was joking earlier, but seriously, much good luck to you, Gaga Tatt Monster. I hope you love LA for all the right reasons and remember, Cedar Point and the rest of us will be here for you to visit whenever you want to.

Several years ago, I considered moving out of Ohio. But since then I have taken up coaster riding and met many new friends. But now I would never consider leaving. Had I moved, it probably wouldn't have been long until the novelty wore off and I would've been back here anyway.

Moving away from CP was really hard for me. Growing up, our family was there every year. So, I got attached to it at early age. But after 1989, working there and then starting with season passes, I started to meet more and more people that loved coasters, and my CP family began. That is the hardest thing for me. Being away from them. Now, it is 16 hr drive to go there.

Now, our closest park is Frontier City, about 3 1/2 hrs away. Worlds of Fun - 5 hrs, Silver Dollar City - 7 hrs.

So, a lot more gas is needed to visit parks now. Even then, they are not the same as Cedar Point. Right now is tough time with CP getting ready to open and knowing I can't be there to hang out with my friends and ride my favorite coaster.