Country Roads...

Take me home. I have a confession to make. Nick will probably kill me for this, but we all know he is a sentimental, caring guy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have married him. When Nick and I were struggling through our year of living in the flatest place on earth, Texas, we would listen to "Country Roads" by John Denver over and over again and get a bit misty. Texas was and is, nothing like home. Up until that point, we thought we could make it anywhere. That we would have good jobs and a nice house and each other and we would find friends and things to do and we would just be happy. But we found that Texas just couldn't offer us the things we needed. We love hiking and camping, and in Texas, at least our portion of the state, hiking was really a walk, in the sun, surrounded by flatness and camping was relegated to the 3 weeks that were spring or fall. Too bad if we had other plans on those weekends, cause if you blink you miss the good seasons. Winter was cold and the summer, well, our first summer, there were over 40 days over 100 degrees. We learned very quickly why all of our neighbors hired lawn crews to mow their tiny patch of earth. So, when we decided that we had had our fill of Texas, we set up some standards to find our next home city. Probably on a spreadsheet, no wait, Nick made us a decision matrix. If you have a hard decision to make, talk to Nick.

So, we decided to move within driving distance of our friends and family and we wanted to be near the beach and very near the mountains, but in a mid-size city with no traffic and plenty of job opportunities. However, the first time we came to Richmond to check it out, I saw trees lining the highways and I said, "I am home." In Plano everything was the same shade of tan and in Dallas, everything was concrete. Both not for us.

I still think we are so lucky to have found Richmond. It reminds us both of home, but on a slightly larger scale and we always have something to do. Virginia is serious about their festivals, especially alcohol festivals. There are tons of cute non-chain restaurants, some in the middle of neighborhoods. It's an artsy area and they have managed to preserve the river with some wonderful parks. And this place is chock-full of history and the residents appreciate that. They are always rehabbing old buildings and the city has a wonderful charm. Also, I found my true calling here, Urban Planning. And can we talk about traffic. There is none. An impatient person's dream. Sorry mom and dad and mom-in-law and dad-in-law, but I think we are here for good.

Oh, and Richmond, you can pay me anytime for this wonderful endorsement.