The Big City Life

I am spending most of this week in DC for a work related conference. DC is where I lived when I was in law school and the conference is not too far from the campus. So of course, all the places around are all too familiar- the smell, the noises, the people. It's making me home sick even after five years of living in Florida. Truth is, I don't like where we live. Rather than list all the reasons I don't like where I live, I'll just list all the thinks I miss most about DC.

Things I miss the most are:

• The restaurants. I love eating out, it's my favorite thing to do. There are so many great restaurants here and they are packed day to late night. (Side note: The economy seems to be booming here.)
• Walking. I have seen so many women and men, in suits, pushing their children in strollers. Kids seem happy, parents seem happy. All part of the daily routine. Where I live now, people don't walk. We drive our cars everywhere we go. Hot or cold, we drive. My neighbors pull their car out of their garage and drive to the pool in our subdivision.
• You can get your hair done for $25.00 here. It costs me at least $45 and they don't do a good job. My hair is not even the same anymore. It was long and luscious when I lived in DC. Now it's short, dry, and hard to do.
• The architecture is beautiful here. You just don't see these types of structures where I live. Unless you pay an arm and a leg, and give them your first born, your house will mostly look just like your neighbors.
• Things stay open late, the hair salon, the nail shop, the restaurants, the movies. I'm a night owl, this is perfect for me.
• My friends! I left so many good friends here. I miss my friends.
• Last but not least, everyone here seems so damn smart and intellectual. And by everyone, I mean people of all shapes, colors, and sizes. That's not common where I live and I sometimes worry that there are not enough "role models" for my kids. I don't want them to be surprised when they see a minority or woman in a powerful position, or in an intellectual position. That's how I grew up. It sucked.

So why did we leave DC? We left because that was always "The Plan." The plan was that Hubby and I would live here a few years, he would get a few years of work experience under his belt, then we would move back to his hometown so that he could work in the family business. That was the plan. I knew it going into this deal. So when it was time to go, we put the house on the market and within three days it was sold.

I'm not resentful about it and I know Hubby is probably reading this and thinking he knew this was coming. I guess it's all part of marriage- you sometimes have to give things up for the good of the family. So that's what I did. Did I give up to too much? I don't know, but there's no point in even thinking that way.