What's in a city

It's easy to take for granted where you live, whether you are talking about your physical home, neighborhood, city, or state. This topic has been on my mind a lot since moving from one home to another. I find myself grateful for a lot of things; simple things, such as having more than one bathroom to use, a well-developed neighborhood to walk Lexi, space to get ready in the morning, a garage to keep my car warm (or in this weather cool from heat), etc. At the same time, the extra space and yard can be quite overwhelming. But I wouldn't trade my new house. It's nice feeling more centrally located to the people who are important to the both of us, and it's nice to know that if I/we ask for help it's not a burden because we aren't out of the way.
 
I also know from experience that it is easy to overlook the great things about the city you live... until you no longer live in that city. I came to realize this first when I left for college. I was always proud of my city and excited to show it off to my new friends. Some of them grew up in small towns, others big, but I came to find that Cincinnati can feel like a small town with big opportunities. You can find watch a NFL, MLB, or NHL team. Or if college sports is more your taste, we have those too. You can visit a zoo, aquarium or museum, go to the opera, a concert or musical. Ice skate downtown for a couple of bucks in the winter. You can get a taste of dozens upon dozens of city foods just by walking down a street. The list is endless.

Outside of moving back across the river, this post seems timely because of an article that is in the paper today. A former Chicagoan wrote it. You can find it here. (It's a good read.) I've noticed over the last couple of days as the World Choir Games have wrapped up that there have been a lot more articles and conversations about Cincinnati and where it is headed. It's exciting as a 20-something year old to see people get excited about the future of the city and witness the changes happening: the casino development, The Banks, and the new Washington Park, just to name a few. I just hope that the excitement continues. And, I look forward to enjoying some of the exciting things and changes that are taking place.