After decades of living in the superficial sameness of suburban Dallas, we decided to move to a small town in the San Juan Mountains. As we contemplated retirement, we recognized that we were tired of the relentless summer heat, of the featureless landscape, the perennial newness of the buildings and highways, the oblique conservatism of our neighbors and the ill-disguised cultural paucity of a city more focused on monetary and professional pursuits than on those of the soul. Moving North became the logical denouement to our attempt at Southern living.