... which one am I?
I get so confused. Like my mind is in this stagnant no-man's land of indecision.
Growing up I lived in a typical suburb right outside of Dallas. Houses side by side with green, manicured lawns that you ran across at Halloween going door to door. 5 different grocery stores all within 5 minutes from your doorstep. So many restaurants so close... you just had to choose your craving. My high school was huge. I graduated with 1200 other teenage souls.
I could not wait to get out and leave that suburb in the dust. I went to Texas A&M for college. I think part of me imagined that it would be the country life that I had always wanted to experience. And while College Station may be a small town, A&M is huge sprawling campus with over 43,000 students. So while my wide open spaces were a bit closer and there were definitely a lot more horses hanging around, A&M might as well have been a city in itself.
Fast forward since then, I have lived in Dallas, Houston, and now Austin... all within the city limits. Dallas I did not like so much... too much concrete jungle, not enough green. In Houston we lived inside the loop just outside of downtown. It was surprisingly very green, but also very humid. And we had to drive at least an hour to find wide open space. Now Austin I love. Well, at least I used to.
When David and I moved to Austin in 2003, we were in heaven. Austin's vibe is less big city and more small town with a lot of people. The slogan is "Keep Austin Weird". And that translates into supporting local shops, restaurants, farms, etc. So you used to not see very many chains here. It was nice. And then you add the gorgeous lakes, hills, and green, it just makes it that much better. Wide open spaces are easy to find. Town Lake is right in the middle of the city. Pace Bend Park, one of our favorite camping spots, is less than 30 minutes away. It is awesome.
But Austin is changing. The downtown that used to be so quirky and fun is starting to look more like Dallas and Houston with its condos and high rise buildings. Big companies are buying out the little ones. And with this drought, nothing is green right now. The Austin American Statesman (the local paper) had an article saying that with the changing weather pattern and the influx of people moving to Austin, the water supply can not handle the changes. And therefore, Austin will become more of an arid climate and landscape. Not good.
So while I love that I can get farm vegetables delivered to my house, that the library is right around the corner and that Target is less than 5 minutes away when we have an emergency diaper shortage, I am back to my life long dilemma.
I like the idea of living somewhere smaller. Having lots of space with plenty of sun to grow my dream vegetable garden. Letting Little B run wild in the yard without worrying about fast cars or weird people walking down the street. I like the idea of being able to go to a festival/football game/fair/Saturday date night and not have to deal with 1 million out-of-towners that have descended upon the city. And most of all, I want Little B to know all the people in her school. No introducing yourself to the person next to you at graduation.
But would I miss the convenience? Would I get lonely? What if the library sucks? I am sure there are drawbacks that I don't know about.
So I am back at my question... City mouse? ... Country mouse?
I get so confused. Like my mind is in this stagnant no-man's land of indecision.
Growing up I lived in a typical suburb right outside of Dallas. Houses side by side with green, manicured lawns that you ran across at Halloween going door to door. 5 different grocery stores all within 5 minutes from your doorstep. So many restaurants so close... you just had to choose your craving. My high school was huge. I graduated with 1200 other teenage souls.
I could not wait to get out and leave that suburb in the dust. I went to Texas A&M for college. I think part of me imagined that it would be the country life that I had always wanted to experience. And while College Station may be a small town, A&M is huge sprawling campus with over 43,000 students. So while my wide open spaces were a bit closer and there were definitely a lot more horses hanging around, A&M might as well have been a city in itself.
Fast forward since then, I have lived in Dallas, Houston, and now Austin... all within the city limits. Dallas I did not like so much... too much concrete jungle, not enough green. In Houston we lived inside the loop just outside of downtown. It was surprisingly very green, but also very humid. And we had to drive at least an hour to find wide open space. Now Austin I love. Well, at least I used to.
When David and I moved to Austin in 2003, we were in heaven. Austin's vibe is less big city and more small town with a lot of people. The slogan is "Keep Austin Weird". And that translates into supporting local shops, restaurants, farms, etc. So you used to not see very many chains here. It was nice. And then you add the gorgeous lakes, hills, and green, it just makes it that much better. Wide open spaces are easy to find. Town Lake is right in the middle of the city. Pace Bend Park, one of our favorite camping spots, is less than 30 minutes away. It is awesome.
But Austin is changing. The downtown that used to be so quirky and fun is starting to look more like Dallas and Houston with its condos and high rise buildings. Big companies are buying out the little ones. And with this drought, nothing is green right now. The Austin American Statesman (the local paper) had an article saying that with the changing weather pattern and the influx of people moving to Austin, the water supply can not handle the changes. And therefore, Austin will become more of an arid climate and landscape. Not good.
So while I love that I can get farm vegetables delivered to my house, that the library is right around the corner and that Target is less than 5 minutes away when we have an emergency diaper shortage, I am back to my life long dilemma.
I like the idea of living somewhere smaller. Having lots of space with plenty of sun to grow my dream vegetable garden. Letting Little B run wild in the yard without worrying about fast cars or weird people walking down the street. I like the idea of being able to go to a festival/football game/fair/Saturday date night and not have to deal with 1 million out-of-towners that have descended upon the city. And most of all, I want Little B to know all the people in her school. No introducing yourself to the person next to you at graduation.
But would I miss the convenience? Would I get lonely? What if the library sucks? I am sure there are drawbacks that I don't know about.
So I am back at my question... City mouse? ... Country mouse?
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