I love Ohio, I love the Midwest, I love the people here, I love the seasons here and I love the prices here ;-). I grew up in Ohio but recently moved back after spending six years on the East Coast (a combination of NYC and CT). While most people understand the value of my move due to family close by, I still get a few people asking…’don’t you miss the East Coast’? Or ‘Don’t you miss the big city”? No….and here’s why:

1- Traffic. I love that when my daughter is sick I can call the dr and be there in 5 minutes. It is as easy as putting her in the car seat (adding some blankets if climate calls) and driving there. During non rush hours there is zero traffic, otherwise I might have to add a couple minutes to my trip. I can even travel to cities 60plus miles away just for a day trip. That sounds like hell in my old hood – I did it- New Haven to NYC – it was the worst.

2- Family. It gives me so much joy to have my parents be able to see Lilias grow each week. Babies change so much so quickly and photos just don’t do it justice. The free babysitting is also a major plus 😉

3- Small town perks with big city access. Luckily we are in a fairly big city that is 45min – 1 hour distance to two major cities- Columbus and Cincinnati where there are great museums, zoos and so many other fun activities. Also, because these cities are not tourist attractions there are usually no long lines or crowds, especially on week days.

4- Cost of Living. We have a nice sized home with a pool and large backyard for about double the cost of a small two bedroom apartment in one of the cheaper buildings in New Haven. Enough said.

5- Relaxed pace of life. I used to love the hustle and bustle, and scheduled every five minutes of my day with something to do. That was before I had a baby…or heck a dog. Perhaps I am super maternal but I LOVE taking care of things! Even when I had just a dog my favorite time of the day was taking her to the dog park. After spending 99% of my life running late it feels good to just let go. Have my main goal for the day to get Lilias a nice long walk outside. Yes, I still have emails to answer and designs to finish but living here allows we the lifestyle to get that stuff done on my own timeline and that brings so much more joy when I take the time to do it.

That said, if you would have asked me this 5 years ago I would have said this is crazy and I’ll never grow tired of NYC but as we alllll know things change…big time. I no longer feel that NEED to check out the hottest clubs or bars but it is definitely a strong ‘would like’ on my frequent trips back to the city 🙂