Neighborhood naming schemes

William had sinus surgery today. He's fine, he's great...he's snoozing away. I went out to get his various medications that docs give you after surgery. In this case, pain meds, antibiotics (two!) and nausea medication.

On my way home I saw a neighborhood named "Elk Ridge"...which led me to thoughts about other neighborhood names. "The Dunes". "Deer Valley". "Moose Cliff". "Rolling Hills". We have no elk, moose, valleys, ridges or cliffs. I don't really think we have dunes either, but I guess you could debate that one.

Some names, such as "Harbor Islands" and "Hickory Creek" are a little closer to the truth, but still a stretch. There is a lake at Harbor Islands...no harbors. Hickory Creek does have a creek somewhere I believe. "Maple Village"...well, can you count a mobile home park as a village? If you can great! There are still no maple trees in this particular area.

I suppose I can understand why developers would choose names like these. "Flat nothingness", "Wheat field" and "Cow pasture" probably don't attract people in droves to come live there.

My area is overall pretty boring when it comes to nature. Farms and flat...no oceans, mountains or anything even remotely spectacular accompanies my state. (OK - if you enjoy seeing for miles...this is the place for you!) The one thing I think everyone can agree on is that even though the area is very plain, housing prices are reasonable, cost of living is reasonable, and overall this is a the kind of area you want your children to grow up in. Boring is sometimes good.