Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => General Discussion => Topic started by: Olive on April 11, 2011, 01:04:03 PM
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Tradlover's post on where Trads are located made me wonder where to move (in the USA)...if there was nothing standing in the way. I actually don't know. There are various chapels out there, some better than others, depending on what you are looking for.
Where would you go? Are any of the Trad schools that are co-located with the chapels good? Would that be a deciding factor for you?
Or maybe the question is where would you not go?!
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Sarasota Florida, Atlanta Georgia, Birmingham Alabama, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina are some places that offer TLMs (I live in the south). My nearest TLM is two hours away. As for where I'd pick to live? Probably Atlanta.
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I like the area I live in. We have the TLM, albeit 40 min. away. There is Mass every Sunday and Holy Day. There is also Mass every Saturday evening, and First Friday/First Saturday. There are other things going on during the week at the chapel, but those are the main ones.
There aren't many Catholics to socialize with where we live, however. Most people at our chapel live in town, or in any of 10 different directions. We have to turn to places like CathInfo for our socialization.
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I think the Pacific Northwest, although I haven't investigated Traditional Mass parishes thoroughly, because it would take an absolute miracle for us to be able to move from where we are. H has decided objections to almost everywhere else: the south, the midwest, the east coast, the southwest... And we're stuck in California with the closest traditional parish hundreds of miles away.
I used to think I'd move anywhere to be based in a Traditional Parish. but I've realized since then that that isolationist point of view is at least not viable or even desirable. I'd be content with only have to drive an hour each way to a Traditional Mass.
I used to desire to have traditional Catholic friends, at least for our children's sake. But we wouldn't "fit in" I realize now, only having two children .. and living where we do and how we do.
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If it's true that you wouldn't fit in, that's very sad and a sad commentary on the level of charity shown by the average traditional Catholic.
To the traditional Catholics, I say:
I'm sorry, but Novus Ordo Catholics are more charitable than that. They don't care much about the Faith, but they're nice. They're polite, they're forgiving. Why can't we be nice? Being nice is LESSER than adhering to the truth.
If we can do the difficult thing of adhering to the truth, why can't we be friendly, charitable, non-judgmental like the Novus Ordo Catholics?
He who can do the greater can do the lesser. So why is the "lesser" such a challenge for traditional Catholics?
Matthew
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I've heard, and heard of, traditional Catholics being SO blunt to the point of rudeness. Stuff you wouldn't otherwise believe if you weren't convinced of the honesty of the person you're talking to, or the evidence of your own eyes and ears!
I'm sure we all have stories to tell along these lines.
I'm talking about uncharitable speech right to someone's face -- things that make you think, "This person should be slapped", or "This person wasn't spanked enough as a kid"
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MrsZ, That is sad, that you wouldn't feel that you fit in, but I think it can actually be good for children to NOT feel that they "fit in" growing up even in a traditional parish because it'll help them to not try to "fit in" if they go off to college and when they are in the workforce.
When our kids whined they they didn't feel like part of some group, even at a traditional Catholic parish, I'd ask them if they were trying to listen to others and be charitable. If that didn't work, I'd tell them to read Friends of the Cross and then tell me if they really want to be part of the crowd. Kids want so much to be accepted and sometimes they want to be loved by everyone. That's usually not a good thing for a Catholic child. It's best for parents to not try to shield their children from all crosses but rather to help them to carry them.
But, I also agree with Matthew that it's a sad commentary on traditional Catholics in general when other Traditional Catholics don't feel welcomed in a new parish.
I have trained myself over the years to have an open mind about others. This includes the size of families. A Catholic family only has 1 or 2 kids? Maybe they are converts, what a blessing! Maybe they got married late, or maybe the wife had medical problems. Maybe they had lots of miscarriages and more sorrow than the average family, and finally (or firstly) maybe it's none of our business. I smile at all newcomers and try to make everyone feel welcome.
Oh, and don't forget that it helps if you smile, too.
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The one thing I know for sure is that I would never move in order to be near a particular traditional Mass. I have known people who have moved to be near a particular location only to have strange things happen and what they moved there for no longer exists.
Then there's the recent stories of Saint Gertrude the Great and the Abbey in Culman, Alabama. One has to work to find the traditional Mass or, perhaps, to bring the traditional Mass to one's area.
As for the rest of the nation, I've lived in western Washington, northern New York, and rural Indiana. As a permanent home, I think rural Indiana has been the best place to live (though I do miss the year-round snow capped mountain ranges, the forests, and the general beauty of Washington; I don't miss New York at all).
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There are so many factors to consider.
Not just what kind of TLM options there are -- that is just the start, and frankly, there are Mass centers all over the place. So you can't just recommend "there's a great traditional chapel over here".
Property taxes, state income tax rate, cost of housing, local culture & people, cost of living, sales tax rate, homeschooling regulations, health of the local economy, etc. Everything needs to be looked at.
And let's not forget survival implications -- proximity to large cities, proximity to California, earthquake vulnerability, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, etc.
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Idaho.
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Nowhere else but Texas, hell or high water. :cowboy:
Okay.... maybe New Mexico.
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Tradlover's post on where Trads are located made me wonder where to move (in the USA)...if there was nothing standing in the way. I actually don't know. There are various chapels out there, some better than others, depending on what you are looking for.
Where would you go? Are any of the Trad schools that are co-located with the chapels good? Would that be a deciding factor for you?
Or maybe the question is where would you not go?!
NJ has some good trad chapels.
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Sarasota Florida, Atlanta Georgia, Birmingham Alabama, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina are some places that offer TLMs (I live in the south). My nearest TLM is two hours away. As for where I'd pick to live? Probably Atlanta.
Alabama too is a good place.
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Matthew:
Property taxes, state income tax rate, cost of housing, local culture & people, cost of living, sales tax rate, homeschooling regulations, health of the local economy, etc. Everything needs to be looked at.
And let's not forget survival implications -- proximity to large cities, proximity to California, earthquake vulnerability, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, etc.
These are some of the things that I look at in the overall picture as well. Not so much tax stuff, but homeschooling regulations, decent health care availability (although that may be a moot point soon enough), and the geographical features for survival. Earthquakes definitely scare me!
I used to think the Midwest was the safest/best spot for Trads, but now I am not so sure.
Edited to add: What is in Alabama at this point now that Father Abbot has passed away?
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Idaho, Montana or Washington. I have heard of non-believers getting out of California and going to these places, mainly the first two. Coeur d'Alene in Idaho seems to be a hidden Jєωel, beautiful and inexpensive. I am much more small-town than I used to be in mentality.
California is a ticking time bomb. So is the rest of the world, but the idea of being trapped in L.A. when it all comes down is extremely frightening. Some serious wrath is stored up against this place.
France is a much better place to be than anywhere in the United States though :ready-to-eat:
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France? I guess if you are Muslim or an athiest...