I spent the better part of 18 months living in our 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment in Uptown Dallas. For those who don’t live in or have never been to Dallas, Uptown is near Downtown(yes we think it’s weird too).
Living in Uptown was great for a lot of reasons and not great for a lot of reasons.
Pros:
Walking distance to Lululemon, Jcrew, Starbucks, Mi Cocina, and several workout studios.
Cons:
Loud drunk people constantly, being woken up on Saturdays and Sundays by the buzz bike, thin walls with our neighbors, fire alarms at all hours of the day and night, less space.
So we made the decision really before we got married that we would move to the suburbs and buy a house.
This is my new normal. My new normal is living in a house that sitting on our couch I can’t see all of. Hearing only the wind chime on our porch as far as noise goes. Having actual space to put things and not feeling crowded into our home.
When I sit in my office during the day to work and look out at our porch and front yard it’s normal to see kids riding their bikes and people jogging by. They wave and smile and that’s our new normal.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about moving. I am 99% happy about it but a part of me feels a tingle of sadness that I can longer just up and walk across the street and have things at my disposal. Meeting friends for lunch, dinner, and drinks takes a lot more planning. Or does it? Most of our friends up and moved to the suburbs years ago. I do not any longer live within 5 miles of my mom. My hair salon, nail salon and workout studio of choice are a bit of a drive for me.
But when I wake up in the morning next to Andrew and I look outside as the sun comes up over our backyard I can’t help but smile. Smile because our new normal is so beautiful and full of so much promise.
I lived in both the burbs of Dallas and in the suburbs and there are definitely pros to both. Traffic, of course was the worst part of living out of the city, but not having to deal with the noise might even the deal out. Glad you are getting settled!
This is sweet. Sounds like both are great places to live.
i lived in an apartment in the big ol city of Bridgeport TX lol, I hated it. We live in a house now but it’s in town hoping to buy land soon in the country and build
I live in 300 square foot garage with hideous neighbors and horrific neighbor noise. I am subjected to shaking walls, brats that are low class and slam doors yelling, people’s phone conversations and every personal neighbor noise you wish you never heard. I will never own a house and have no hope of moving. I have not had a Starbucks in over 3 years because I cannot afford it. I support a mentally ill family member without any financial help. I have not had a manicure in 5 years. Those things are luxury items .i will never be able to take exercise classes. . My garage is surrounded by noise.If I woke up in your place every day I would kiss the ground. Enjoy the luxury life . Not many are that blessed. Some of us have no hope for such a luxurious life.
My husband and I have had so many conversations about making the reverse transition. I work in uptown (I’m an attorney with a law firm in the Crescent), but we live in the burbs because we’re both from a small town and like the small-town feel. I adore the quiet and the relaxing feel of our neighborhood, but I sometimes long for the hustle and bustle of living in the city. Ultimately, I doubt we’ll ever move closer in for all the reasons you explain in your post. But it’s fun to dream. 🙂
We just sold our suburban home (we’ve been in the burbs for 10 years) to move out to the country. Get some acres, a home to raise our growing brood on (4 kiddos ages 8-3). With chicken. I grew up in the country and I’m excited but sad to leave what we’ve known and being close to everything too.
I love living outside of San Antonio. There are some pros and cons, especially when we were without a working vehicle, but I’d rather be in the country than an apartment in the city any day. There’s something about the green space and the quiet that I love. Congratulations on your move.
I love your new normal. We have lots of new normals as we move around a lot. Right now we live close to downtown if you want to call it that. I love it but sometimes I yearn for the days we will have our own house.
love your perspective of your new normal!!! I’m with you – I’d rather have a bigger yard / and more space – but it’s nice to know city life is within reach 🙂
I’m sure you will make everything reach the 100% happy soon, Neely. Glad you have found so many things already to make you smile.
Glad to here that things seem to be going well for you in your new place. There are definitely pros and cons to both the city and the suburbs.
I can’t wait to come visit. (;
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I live near Rome, Italy, in a rented apartment that I do not feel like mine :/ Dallas must be beautiful!!