We’ve moved from the ‘burbs of our city to the city center and have been here a little over 2 weeks now. After all the work and excitement of purging, packing, moving, and unpacking (not to mention getting the house on the market), we are finally settled in our new home. I must say I absolutely love it!

We are within walking distance of grocery stores, restaurants, an outdoor mall, at least two parks, a trail system, and certainly some other things we haven’t discovered yet. We’ve been coming down here forever, but you learn things on foot that you can’t when you drive in. It’s been so much fun discovering new places and wandering in to see what they have or what they’re serving.

We found the absolute BEST Korean fried chicken wings, and they also have the most delicious onion rings I’ve ever tasted. We’ve been able to walk to our favorite happy hour spots and have tried different breakfast places all over town. You’d think we’d be gaining weight, but all the walking keeps it in check.

My son is thrilled to be able to walk to the grocery store and shop for his lunch items or wander down to his favorite pizza place with us for lunch. He’s even trying new foods which hasn’t happened with him in a LONG time. It’s exciting! It also a huge relief that he’s happy here; that makes my mama heart sing.

Because we were able to find such a spacious apartment, it hardly feels like we’ve given anything (but homeowner headaches) up. We’ve already had maintenance replace a toilet here, and they were fast and friendly just like with the smoke detectors. It’s so nice to have that responsibility off my plate. And less space means less time cleaning!

It’s been freeing in so many ways to have purged so much and downsized. Friends who’ve done it before me told me it would feel amazing. Hey friends! You were SO RIGHT! Thanks for those worlds of encouragement and love when I needed them.

To me, this is another example of how the Universe listens to us. A little over two years ago – pre Covid – we were sitting in the downtown park, and I looked at J and said, “I wonder what it would be like to live down here and be able to walk everywhere. I bet that’s pretty cool.”

And you know what? I was right.