This weekend we (quietly) celebrate one year of living in the city. According to conventional wisdom, we did it backwards. We already had a big house in the 'burbs on a half acre lot, and shortly after having our first child we decided to move inside the city limits of Atlanta. That decision was motivated in large part by wanting to help launch City Church–Eastside, but we had been batting around the idea of a more urban environment for certain quality of life considerations.
Take walking, for example. We used to have very little of interest that was (safely, comfortably) walkable, and there were very few sidewalks. Everything was an automobile jaunt, even if it was only a mile or two away. Now we're walking as much as we can: to the library, to the video store, to the pharmacy, to restaurants, to the ice cream shop, to coffee shops, to the grocery store, to parks. In our first year here I lost at least two inches off my waist. I'm sure a good part of that was that I picked up running (never getting past 5 miles before winter set in), but I also walked about two miles a day. It's really good.
And then there's all the city stuff we never really got to do before. Zoo Atlanta. Fernbank. The Georgia Aquarium. Big buildings and city parks. These days we're at the zoo about once a week (thanks to the grandparents for a membership) and try to get to Fernbank at least once a month for the dinosaurs. We went to the aquarium quite a bit in '08, but the cost of parking really adds up, even with a membership. Again, it's really good.
There are some things we miss, to be sure. Friends. Short(er) commutes. Outer county taxes. But there's nothing we regret. We're home now, in more ways than one.
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