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Showing posts from December, 2013

Our Valley Home: Virtual Life in the Valley

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley December 2, 2013 Deadline January 2014 Issue Our Valley Home: Virtual Life in the Valley Mornings begin with a check of the local headlines, a glance at the weather and a skim of Valley-related Facebook group updates. The top of my Google News page features “Fresno-Visalia” regional alerts. I try to be an informed, engaged resident of the Central Valley… except for the minor detail that my wife and I now live 2521 miles away.   We are “virtual” Valley residents, with friends, family and clients in Tulare County. Thanks to the Internet, cell phones and wireless data plans, we maintain some connections more actively than we did when living in the Valley. Even our cell phone numbers begin with the 559 area code, something that helps us remain connected to the region.   Being virtual residents of the Valley has drawbacks. We can read about the Blossom Trail and see the photos, but that’s not the same as driving through the foothills. We