10 Reasons I Live in a City (& Love it!)

A typical Buffalo Neighborhood

I love living in the city. Moreover, I love living in Buffalo. Urban life makes me happy. I'm even working on a series of paintings about side walks and streets. Check out my other blog for updates on that. Heck I even have a Pinterest board called,"The Streets Were..."!

Let it be said, I love city life! I while I have only been subjected to the suburban lifestyle in small short burst, but the idea of it make me ______.  (Well this is supposed to be a family blog, right.)  I feel that a little less downright angry about genuinely rural life. I could imagine myself at least vacationing on a farm or in small town inn, with out getting too stabby.

I have family and even friends that for some reason prefer the suburbs, or country, I know the city is where I belong.  It is part of who I am, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  I am passionate about this, so my list might be a little long, actually I should probably write a whole book on this. Anyway, I am going to post my bullet points a few at a time.  So stay tuned.


This list is in no particular order.

Ignore the baby bump,
that's Pittsburgh back there!

1: I grew up in a city: 

There is something, again to be said, for sticking with what you know. Pittsburgh in the 80's was suffering from industrial decline, crime, and pollution. It was still a wonderful place to grow up.  I have fond memories of public school, PAT busses, friends and cousins that lived within walking distance. 
Pittsburgh, even in its muddy, dirty, under-doggiest, always had its good points and a lot have to do with being a vibrant central city.  As a little kid and a teenager, I benefited tangibly from being part of a community with research hospitals, theater and classical music productions, the Carnegie museums and libraries. There are intangible things too, like winning sports teams, extended family and community. All of these were accessible, largely, without a car.

Buffalo, is not Pittsburgh, but it still has a familiar network of places, people, and destinations that I can be meandered and discovered. I have lived her for nearly 16 years and I still and learning things about this place. I was born in a city and I feel like I understand urban pulse and it is comfortable to me.

2) I am rarely the strangest person around.

I'm sure it's everywhere,
but there's more weird stuff in a city

I don’t ever remember fitting in. For whatever reason, I tend to stick out. I have learned to accept that.  The nice thing about living within an urban community I am usually never the biggest weirdo around.  There is always someone with more tattoos, piercings at least.

The selling point of many suburban developments has long been homogony.  You live around people who all live in nearly the same style house, which everyone bought for the same price. For a long time minorities were not welcome. Cities thrive on the very crashing different communities together.

I married someone who was raised Polish Catholic, I am, by self-report, an African-American Buddhist. A city is, for me, the place where the bird and the fish can live together.  Even their children do not even stick out that much.

Nature in the city

3) Concrete grey is the new green

In my earlier post about making Every Day Earth Day I talked about house, I try to make green a lifestyle choice. While I do not think suburban life makes that impossible, there is a considerable carbon footprint associated with new-build, car only accessible development. If we take clues from our urban past and make the most of new technologies city life will be the green alternative for a sustainable future.

That’s all for now, more post about why to live in and love your central city coming soon! Tell me what you love about where you live, be it city, country or suburb.

Make New Friends

and if you were a Girl Scout:

~And Keep the Old~

    I've been participating in the The Secret to Success is Support 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge. The day 3 task was all about finding a blog buddy.  Some one who's blog is in the same niche, and you could trade comments and links etc. Suddenly, I'm in fifth grade being picked last for dodge ball again. I can't even tell you what my niche is. I can't even settle on which blog I really am. (My other blog on craft and art blog over at KLyPT). I was about to just give up.

     The nice thing about the internet is that it is a group that is much bigger than my fifth grade class.  In the forums and on twitter I've found people who are much more like me than I'd like to admit. But different enough that I have plenty to learn from them. So I'd like to introduce you to one of my new friends, and formally ask her to be my blog buddy. (Please forgive me for not passing an origami note in health class).

     She too is and ex?-architect, mom, knitter and fellow creative. You think that's lucky she is even a charter member of a chapter of the same fraternity as I, APX. Suddenly, I'm looking forward to making new friends on the internet, and maybe she'll even inspire me to start a big knitting project like a sweater or something! Jeanne is a Great Lakes/ Rust Belt girl like me and  she writes about life, motherhood, and her travels even if many of them are P.K. (pre-kids). She's got to be Sagittarius too, if only moon sign or rising. Please hop over and check out her blog Life in Cleveland, and while your at it why don't not follow her on Twitter as well @Sourire11 where we may be trading tweets late at night, architecture school habits die hard.

~One is silver and the other's gold~

Well I mentioned old friends too, let me introduce you to a couple:

Old Friend, Poet & Hockey Chick

I met Robin IRL, the traditional way, in a coffee shop open mic. We've been best-ies ever since! Robin writes about hockey, and writes very well I may add. Even if, like me, you know nothing about hockey or don't really follow sports, her blog Ice Hockey Chick will entertain and inspire. She moonlights as a poet you know, I interviewed her a few months ago and she reminded us to put art in your life.

Yinzer, not that she'd admit it

I met Sakena in the 2nd grade, before the internet. And yes  we've kept in touch largely since then. Even if she did move out west for a while. The Rust Belt brings you back, its magnetic that way. She blogs about life in our hometown of, you guessed it, Pittsburgh. Hey she's a writer too, so if you find yourself wandering Yinzer-ville, click Frolic 412. You'll find out what to do, where to do it, and maybe how to get there.






As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am participating in the The Secret to Success is Support 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge, so expect some positive changes in both of my blogs. Let me know how I'm doing, I live for comments!