Why I Love Sun Valley

I admit I suffer from "the grass is always greener" syndrome. When we left Sun Valley and moved back to Washington, I thought I'd squelched the problem, after all, we were moving to the green state. But for nearly two years after moving back to Washington, I threatened to move back to Sun Valley (Jarred threatened to stay in Washington- I guess he won) having realized the grass IS NOT always greener and there really are special places. Since leaving Idaho, we've spent most summers in Sun Valley, so I feel like I get my fix. After not visiting this summer, I decided winter was a great time to go... I could enjoy the sun and snow. I didn't get to enjoy the snow, as the valley was plagued by weird weather just like the rest of the northwest, but I was reminded of why the grass really is greener over there.
1. Sun. Humans need sun, it makes us happy. It was sunny all but one of the days I visited and I found myself gravitating towards the sun and outdoors. It needs to be sunnier in Washington. I don't know why I live here sometimes....oh wait- the summers are pretty cool. The winters suck ass.
2. My friends. I've moved a ton in my life and I've tried to keep in touch with friends after leaving an area. I'm grateful for all of the people I've met and places I've lived but I've come to realize that my best friends live in Sun Valley. They're not the friends I need to talk to everyday but I find that I have the most in common with these people and they're the people I really love to spend time with and they're from all walks of life.
3. Snobs. So I don't really appreciate the 1% who build 15,000 sq. ft. houses but I do appreciate the thought that goes into the homes and land in the area. Sure, a lot of it is totally impractical (the valley is in the desert- no need for acres of green) but I love that people (even if they're paid to) care about their surroundings (or are willing to pay high taxes so the city can care for their surroundings). The whole time I visited, I didn't see a single blow up Christmas decoration in a single yard. I saw lots of cool Christmas lights in trees but no cheesy Santa or a fat snowman.
4. Nobody walks their dogs on leash. Everywhere we took Meghan's dogs...off leash and those who were also walking their dogs...off leash. I'm always the one who has their dogs off leash here and I get all sorts of evil stares from suburbanites who thrive in controlled environments.
5. BLM land. Lots of it- and if it's not BLM it's owned by someone in California who doesn't care if people hike on their land.
6. Big Box Stores- or lack there-of. I remember living in Sun Valley and making the trek to Twin Falls to shop because we were too poor to shop in the valley, but there's something to be said about being able to operate on a day to day basis without seeing a Target or Wal-Mart.
7. Everyone is in shape. That's partly because they're rich and have oodles of time to work out, but whatever- at least they care about being in shape. Even the "not in shape" people, are in shape.
8. The conscientious people. Yes, rich assholes live in the valley but nowhere else is there a dog hiking program at the animal shelter, or a horse rescue where the horses are not taken from their owners but instead the owners are offered resources so they can become better owners. Yes this takes money but at least those with money are doing something good with their loot.
9. Less people.
Don't get me wrong, I love Washington but it's hard to love Washington in the winter and Sun Valley will always be that place where the grass is greener.