I remember hearing on the tv show Sex and the City once that someone couldn’t consider themselves a New Yorker until they’ve lived in the city for at least 5 years. While Cincinnati is by no means New York City, it might as well be for someone like me who spent the first 23 years of their life living in a rural town so small it was actually considered a village. Now that I am coming up on a year of seeing skyscrapers and street cleaners outside my window instead of squirrels and lawn mowers, I considered it was time to see how much I’ve changed in this new urban landscape.
The first thing that comes to mind is that while I can’t believe it’s been a whole year, I somehow also feel about five years older. Just the fast pace of life here and the sheer amount of people I’ve met and new experiences I’ve had, I don’t know how I fit them all into only 12 months. A few of my favorite new experiences:
Going to more sporting events in a year than in my whole life
I’d never really enjoyed watching sports, but being in walking distance from the Bengals Stadium, Cincinnati Reds and even FCC Cincinnati and the Cyclones hockey team has absolutely made me join that culture (and even enjoy drinking light beer)
- Trying new cultural foods
My hometown restaurants consisted of fast food, one small town pizza place and a tiny (yet delicious) Chinese restaurant. Here, I am 30 feet away from a Lebanese restaurant, right around the corner from a place with the best soup dumplings I’ve ever tasted and this amazing Black-owned café. And I’ve barely made a dent in the crazy number of restaurants down here.
Simply being within walking distance of nearly anything
I cannot express how nice it is to not have to drive 30 minutes to go to the movie theater or the mall or a Starbucks. Even things across the bridge in Covington or Newport, KY are within walking distance of my apartment. It reminds me of the stories I heard from my friends who studied abroad who were able to walk anywhere and reap those benefits from monetary, to health, etc.
The people I have met
I have met more people here in one year than I feel like I did in my entire four years of college. Some were friends I made when I first moved here and was bartending, some are friends of friends I now see nearly every day, and some are even dates that ended up staying as friendships. And I continue to make more of these connections every day that I am here.
Now of course with every positive there is usually a negative. And while I’ve enjoyed my time here and don’t plan to move or change this city-living lifestyle anytime soon, there are some things I haven’t necessarily enjoyed experiencing:
The weather
I am no stranger to the cold; I am a weathered northern girl who has experienced over two decades of lake effect snow. But I’ve never really had to walk around in it like I do here. What’s worse than the slush and brown snow on the city streets is the freezing air that comes through what is basically a wind tunnel through the city buildings. I’ve had to really learn to layer up these past few months or else I would’ve stayed curled up inside my room all winter long.
It’s expensive
While I’m not financially struggling, it has been a huge shift going from living rent free at my parent’s house with an income from two jobs to living on my own with one salary. After several months I was able to re-work my budget and build my savings back up – but woah. It is expensive to move out on your own.
Crime
It’s one thing to hear about shootings and stabbings and robberies on the news. It’s another thing to hear gunshots down the street and have your car stolen out of your own gated lot (and the new license plates you had to order from the mail room in your apartment). I’m now much more aware of my surroundings and careful where I park, etc. but I can see now how naive I was about the crime that occurs in a city like this one.
As I look back on this year, I can’t help but imagine the next one I will spend here. I’ve had friends and family come from out of town to visit and they always plan their next trip before they even leave. I’m happy I’ve continued to document every day in my journal and take more pictures than I have room for on my phone. While it’s not been the easiest transition, I’m so grateful that I made the move and have been able to grow so much so quickly. I think it’s important for people who grew up in a small town like I did to get out of it and experience a different lifestyle. At the end of the day you can always move back (though I can confidently say I never will).