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85 tHE good lifE More foreigners are following Gomez’s example and settling down in Ilsan and having families. Morrissey and his wife have a 2-year-old daughter, and they’re happy to have all they need here. “I wouldn’t want to be a parent in central Seoul,” Morrissey says. “Ilsan is more spread out, as far as spread out can go in Korea. There are more parks. Lake Park is a great place to bring your kid. ... There (are) all these amusement parks, so there are lots of places to go. They’re accessible and easy to get to, and they’re cheap or free.” The new One Mount Water and Snow Park and Aquaplanet aquarium are both very popular with families, though it means that the lines on weekends can be excruciating. Michael Behn, 28, from Massachusetts, has lived in both Ilsan and Hannam, a city southeast of Seoul. Comparing the two, he says Ilsan is “very different. Ilsan is com- paratively very new, clean, modern and or- ganized. Hannam, especially the older part of the city where I was, is very traditional.” “Overall, I like Ilsan better,” Behn says. “It’s just more comfortable.” He admits, however, that he’s a bit both- ered by the lack of character in Ilsan — it seems to him that Hannam felt more like “the real Korea.” Montella used to live in Dalian, China. He, too, loves Ilsan, but feels expat life here might be a bit too cushy. “It’s kind of like a double-edged sword with it being so convenient and easy,” Montella says. “I really liked the challenge of living in China. I kind of miss it here. It’s almost like living in New York.” Frawley says most her friends have now moved to Haebangchon, but she and her boyfriend have stayed behind. “Parts of me would like to move there, and another part thinks, ‘meh,’” Frawley says. “We have it all.” Gomez is more enthusiastic. “We’re living in clover here compared to living in Seoul,” Gomez says. “We’ve got a good life in Ilsan. I don’t think there’s anything bad.” ‘wE’rE living in clovEr HErE comParEd to living in sEoul. wE’vE got a good lifE in ilsan. i don’t tHink tHErE’s anytHing bad.’ mark gomEz