I miss Boston.
I crave the Commonwealth mall. I want to walk to Trader Joes. I want Charlotte to play on all of the deserted toys in the Clarendon St playground. But mostly, I miss my friends. We got to VA Beach about a month ago and we're settling in. But so far, it's not for me. We have managed to find plenty of things to do, but keeping busy isn't the same as keeping relationships. When we meet new people, they say "Are you from here?" (No)..."Oh, so you're military?" (No). We seem to be the only civilian non-lifers.
The physical proximity of friends (and everything else) cannot be matched in a place where people typically drive 20-30 min for everything. We are in a place where we can walk to much more than the average VA Beacher but since we're the only people that walk, cars don't expect us. And walking down roads next to cars traveling 45 mph isn't quaint.
I am trying to remind myself that Boston is cold. And we only had one baby when we lived there. And...I'm trying really hard to think of negatives...oh, it's expensive. We moved down here for Matt's job and it has truly been amazing. He is home every evening. He's reliable. I feel guilty that that's not enough.
We are here for at least 2 years and I'm sure by then, we'll be so woven into life here that leaving won't be an option. Someone's probably wondering what happened to Arlington (our 6 month stop between Boston and VA Beach)... well, I don't long for it. I liked it well enough while we were there but ... well, it's no Boston.
I miss my friends from Boston, too - like you guys! And while I know Nate is really happy here, I also feel badly that he doesn't have as many little friends as he did in Boston. I know both moves were worth it though, and we will find friends (eventually!)
ReplyDeleteI miss you guys every afternoon! It was so easy to hang out. Charlotte is very happy here too, even without tons of buddies. We will get there.
DeleteThis is exactly what I miss about Boston! I miss you, and all of our other friends there. I miss being able to just walk around my neighborhood and running into up to five people I know on any given day of the week while just doing day to day errands. We don't have that out here either. I also do not miss the new england weather... people here complain that it's "freezing" when the temp drops below 60ยบ.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! Impromptu meet ups. Texts to say "I'm out. are you?". I kinda miss the snow...but I don't miss the cold weather in April/May.
DeleteOh, Debbi. I think this will be my story in about 6 months... There's nothing really like Boston, I realize. Even though it's a major city, so many families live here and in very nearby towns. Community is a little easier to come by when almost all of you are transplants and within walking/T-able distance... I will certainly miss that in OH... Hope you will soon find your core community to rely on.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on missing Massachusetts brought back memories for me. When Jim was 11 months old, we moved from Mass. to No. Va., and I felt the same way you do for a long time. Eventually we made a good life in Va. and were happy there for many years. But I must admit, it never felt like home to me.
ReplyDeleteWe've moved so frequently and always settled in but we have always been in big cities. And I think there is also something extra special about the place and the friends that surround your first year of parenting. Today was a good day. Just need 700 more of them. :)
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