Where We're Living, and Why

Not everyone would choose to live in the city, but then again, not everyone would want to live outside it either.  For Eric and I, we were torn between the pros of each option.  Outside the city meant more of a yard, a tire swing, and tree forts.  Within the city meant friends close by, more diversity, and walking distance from almost anything.  Eric and I preferred living in the city, but knew the value of  living outside it, as we both grew up more in the country.

When we were considering moving, the area to which we wanted to move concerned us the most.  As a multi-racial family, there is a dynamic that many other families don't have the consider.  Being white parents of black children, we want to make diversity a common experience in our children's lives, but that isn't as readily available outside the city (at least where we live).  Conversely, we want to foster our children's imaginations and independence, which we felt like was a little more difficult with the restraints within a city.

This conversation was ongoing for months, even before we spoke with our realtor.  The more and more we talked about it, the more it seemed like we were going to have to give something up with the decision we made.  And then, we found our house.

Granted, it doesn't have the biggest yard we've ever seen, but it is one of the biggest yards we've ever seen in our city.  We might not have a great tire swing tree, but we have enough room for football or soccer or baseball field.  This house made it possible for us to live in a place where diversity is right outside our front door, and yard where imagination can flourish out the back.

For a long while, it seemed like an almost impossible decision.  Then we discovered that if you're lucky, you can find the best of both worlds.  And now that we've found it, I don't think we'll be giving it up anytime soon.