Listen to this episode on the Pgh Dreamer’s Pod

I knew all of the roads. I knew most of the people (or at least enough of the people). I felt boxed in by the invisible township lines. Growing up in the same town can get dry after almost 20 years. I wanted to see more, I knew there was more. And this was before exploration was as simple as an internet search or virtual reality journey.

After high school, I would be lying if I told you that I travelled the world and found my perfect destination. I didn’t have the gall to move further than a few hours across the state. And even then, I only did so because of college. Following graduation, I ended up a few minutes down the road from my hometown – living in the city of Pittsburgh for a little over a decade. City life was definitely different than suburban (if not rural) life. It had the perks of being diverse, full of culture, and never a lack of activity. But it also had downsides of traffic, taxes, and lack of parking. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh is still one of those cities where you can’t get around on a subway.

But now, living as a suburbanite once again, I often wonder what else is out there. While we moved to our current home because of “good school districts” (I’ll save that soapbox for another episode), we now lack the city culture and exposure for our children.

I try to travel to NYC once a year. It has always been an inspiring place – full of people, energy, and overall big dreams. I told my husband that I’d love to live there, even for half a year, after (or before) retirement. He thinks I’m a little crazy, but he also gets it. When I visit NYC, I’m there on vacation – enjoying the shows, eating wherever I happen to walk by, with little to no agenda and certainly no 9-5 responsibilities. It would be a whole other ball game if it was truly my home city.

I don’t know if I’d be ready for living in a small apartment, paying massive rent, and shucking laundry down to the mat once a week. Or picking up my groceries in bags, only to run onto the subway and stand millimeters from another human as I desperately try to balance the milk and eggs. Oh, and top that off with adding at least 1-hour to get anywhere on time, as I’d likely have to switch multiple subway trains, invest in a really good pair of walking shoes & umbrella, and would need to kiss driving goodbye (although, I don’t think I’d miss that much!).

If the kids were still living with us, we’d be on top of each other in a smaller living space. Getting them to and from any activities would be even more difficult, and once they got old enough to navigate themselves, as I often have seen children do in NYC, I’d probably worry incessantly about their independent subway time.

And when our savings are going toward rent in a place that is triple if not quadruple the cost of living in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, I doubt I’d have a lot of extra to spend on Broadway shows or taking a dance class.

Sure, we all tend to think that the grass would be greener. I hear people wish they could live at the beach, or near the snow covered Rockies, or in a foreign destination where English is not the first language. I say, go for it. At least temporarily. And then once you’ve tasted reality of that location, let us know if it’s truly the spot on the map or the mindset that makes life green.

In the meantime, I’ll probably continue my annual NYC trip and simply imagine being a true New Yorker.