They always say Home Is Where The Heart Is, and for the most part that is true. Some of you may gasp and say…”of course it’s true! As long as you have a home and are with the ones you love everything else should fall into place”. And you are right…that SHOULD be true…but you do have to admit that your life doesn’t only exist inside your actual home. You have to go out and interact with others…you have to drive on the roads, and visit the local shops. But what happens when you don’t really love the area around you? Does anyone truly LOVE where they live?
I have never claimed to be a fan of Long Island. As a matter of fact, most aspects about it are against everything I believe in…It’s crowded, there’s traffic, there’s greed, materialsm and boy is it expensive to live here. But the bottom line is that I do live here…I have lived here for over 10 years (including college)….and it seems for now this is where I will stay. I have the most amazing husband, I have the most amazing friends, and I have the most amazing neighbors. Shouldn’t that be enough to love this place? Unfortunately the answer is no.
Then I have to ask myself this. Does anyone TRULY love where they live? Or is the grass always greener on the other side? Growing up all I wanted to do was leave my little town for the big city, and now, all I want is to go back to a little town. But can I take all the people in my life and move them with me? Do you truly love where you live?
I always wanted to move from my little city to the big city, but never had the means to do so. I still struggle with the fact that I didn’t just suck it up, take out a loan, and experience it. However, I am not only in a small town, but I am about 20-25 from civilization now, and it’s growing on me.
I love where I live now because I as I have gotten older I have grown to love the outdoors much more than I did when I was younger, and my house is only 25 min. from the beach now. I have begun to like not having someone right next door in my business, plus the lack of traffic is nice. The fact that it gets down to 20-30 degrees only a couple of weeks out of the year is plenty for me. I heart my flip-flops!
I’m glad that you are happy where you live now! I love my flip flops too and am totally missing them right now!
The grass is always greener! When I live in the Midwest (like now) I’m dying to be anywhere else…when I lived in Venezuela, I wanted to be in the US again…when I lived in Texas, I missed the Midwest…its an endless cycle!
I have a feeling you could be right…the grass may always be greener..sounds like you’ve been all over!
I am happy with where I live…I’m content. It’s not perfect and I don’t expect to be here forever, but for while I’m here, in the now, I’m relishing it ?
I love the village where I live… so it is possible!
I love where we live, but it was a hard adjustment being so far from extended family.
The best thing we did was become resident tourists. We challenge ourselves to experience something new in our country each week with the people that we love. Local adventure with great company…what’s not to love?
That’s a great idea really..i mean normally people take for granted the wonderful activities around them..for example I know people who live near orlando, and Disney world is just another amusment park!
hi from SITS! I do love where I live, but I also like to travel.
I love where I live, sometimes. It’s the same town I grew up in. I live 3 miles from my parents (far enough that they can’t walk over) and it is the perfect distance. There are times where I would love to live somewhere warmer and where I can leave the house and not see 10 people I went to high school with!
I hate to be the only negative comment on here…. But for a flip side reaction – I HATE where I live. Can’t wait to pack up the zoo & head north where people are still friendly & nice to each other (for the most part anyways!) …..
Hey my post was negative so you aren’t the only one! ? I’m glad to know that I am not the only one!
As a fellow-LIer, I can relate! LI has a lot of great things (NYC, beaches, vineyards, mtns a few hours away, farm, etc), but I agree – the crowds, traffic, materialism and cost of living is the worst.
I think it is a choice b/c every place will have its ups and downs. I think the same thing every time I land at JFK/LGA and start driving. You can FEEL the stress.
But yeah, it’s a choice to look at the bright side. (Not to say that I wish to be here forever…)
You are totally right! it does have some great things..I love the summer with the beaches, and my friends have boats so that’s great…but when it comes down to it, I didn’t go to the beach ONCE last year..or even wine tasting which I love! lol How sad is that! Life just got busy and time just passed. But I get the same feeling when I am driving from my parents back to NY..just stress..I hit traffic almost immediately when I enter the area!
I never thought I would say this but I do love where I live now. I grew up in Indianapolis and my hubby and I had planned to live there forever. Then he joined a dental practice in a smaller town about an hour north of Indy. Not too far but far enough to have to make new friends and get acclimated to a new world. I can now say, almost three years later, that I love it. It took some time but, winters aside, it is a great place.
Love your blog – found it via SITS.
I’m glad you are happy now. I guess it takes time. Especially to build new relationships and get used to a new area.
I’ve been living in the house I was born and raised in, since taking over the mortgage after my father passed away four years ago. So, while I’ve always dreamed of moving somewhere warmer, my entire life is wrapped up in this house – which is the main reason why I’m truly happy with where I live.
Stopping by from SITS, have a wonderful day!
I bought my condo 5 years ago thinking I would not live there long than 4. When I bought it, it seemed huge & I had no idea what I would do with all the room. Now that I have a husband and an adoptive child on the way, it seems so small!
I would love to have a house, with a bigger yard & more room-but no thanks to the economy, I have a feeling we will be in this condo a bit longer.
I think you can find love in any city you’re in – you’re right about the friends and family.
I lived in a suburb of Dallas Texas until I was 14. At which point my parents decided to move to rural Arkansas. Since then I have moved 3 more times. Ended up in Hot Springs, AR and I do enjoy living here. I have been here for 3 years now. I think that if you decided to be happy with what you have, you can enjoy anyplace as long as family and friends are there.
Bloom where your planted is my motto.
Bloom where you are planted…what a great motto! I should work on that! But I have to wonder if I haven’t bloomed in over 10 years am I ever?? Tricky! ?
GREAT question! I absolutely think that this is a case of “the grass is always greener”. DH and I love where we live, but we always want something more; a bigger house, a bigger yard, a neighborhood with a pool, within walking distance to shops and restaurants, etc. Even if we got that, would it be enough? Probably not. In fact, we’d probably grumble then about how expensive it all was!
Stopping from SITS! I am learning to love where I live. It is a great place to be a stay at home mom. It has great things for my son and I to do during the day.
Hi Jenny!
I just read through your blog and really enjoyed it. I wish you luck on your new adventure :).
I live in Michigan, and though I hate the cold miserable winters (especially after Christmas), I love where I live. Not terrible traffic, gorgeous summers, great lakes and low living expense. Sometimes I dream about moving out west, or at least somewhere a bit warmer, but leaving my family would probably make me very sad, so I think my husband and I are here to stay.
I’m stopping over from SITS and LOVE your blog. And I do love where I live. I grew up in Florida and moved to Southern California when I met my husband. I don’t subscribe to “the grass is greener” because it just doesn’t work. We have the best weather ever and we, of course, pay for it but it’s home for us. I am madly in love and know the grass isn’t greener.
Great Post. I am looking forward to reading more.
I never have really figured out these fancy comment thingies. I didn’t know if it meant just my Blog’s name, or the URL. Anyway, if it wanted my blog’s name, it’s PJ’s Prayer Line.
Now that that’s off my chest, I wanted you to know I’m in exactly the same spot. I moved from a fairly large city when I got married this last time (23.5 years ago) and have been living in “tiny towns” ever since. Ten years ago, we moved to the country, (5 miles out of our tiny town) about 35 miles to any decent size town in any direction. I love it ! We have neighbors, but not close enough that we can’t do what we want to.
Love & Prayers,
I’m a new follower to your blog. I just love it!
It’s funny how we are all wanting greener pastures. I moved to AZ right after high school, thinking everything was going to be better there. Nope, same problems, just different people. I just miss home every time I leave. I do think it’s important to move away from home for a period of time. You learn a lot, and it helps you appreciate your home town even more.
Thank you for that fun post! I loved reading it!
Another LIer. I’ve actually only lived on LI for a year and a half. But we live way out East, so though we def. have the the materialism and it’s way too expensive, it is a slower pace of life than the rest of LI, at least in the winter. LOL!! Come summer and it takes and hour to go 10 miles. I don’t like that I live so far from my family, but I do like that we live in a small town where DH knows so many people from growing up here. I used to live in the suburbs of a city and felt my friends were all spread out. Now everyone is within 5 miles. Overall I’m adjusting. There are days I’m sad, but I have made great friends, I have a job I love and I’m so ready for the beach this summer!!! (Didn’t get too enjoy it much last year was we were getting married)
Yes ? YES!! i LOVE where i live. We moved here thinking we’d stay maybe a year. We were just married, out of college 2 years and had moved around a few places. But now 18 years later, i am in love with it. It’s just an average, very clean subdivision with moderate colonials and ranches from the 60’s. But i live in a house with 8 acres of woods behind me next to the city golf course. The kids school is next door, we walk there every day with our kids and kind neighbors on our well-cared-for sidewalks. And the neighborhood pool is 12 houses away. Our kids are on the swim team. i ride my bike everywhere, which makes me feel young ? The grocery store, target, mall, parks and highway are within 2 miles. But there’s not alot of traffic? I think because people walk and ride bikes often to their local destinations. i Thank God every day for letting us live here. The airport is only 15 minutes away. We are attached to many other subdivionss so i can walk/run for hours safely. My new best friends, 6 of them (of 16 years now) all live in this sub too. I love the sun that poors thru the windows & we live beneath our means which allows for many vacations. And i feel completely safe here. Two little quaint downtowns are within 5 miles. We have a new Rec center with yoga, pilates and a running track. Our streets are clean, a big three college and hip town is 12 minutes away and i joined a big old 200 year old church that welcomes me with open arms. i am in love with this area. And the funny thing is , i constantly hear how dangerous our big city is. IT’s on the top 5 worst cities list in the usa. But i’ve never seen an ounce of crime. It makes me laugh. We didn’t even know this was the gem it was, but after looking at 31 houses, i walked out the back door of this place in the dead of winter and i had a weird feeling, it was home. ? I’m not bragging at all, just saying that i know my gem here and yes, i truly love where i live. ? The world is a great place, go where you want.