Love for 'Burb Life

You can take the girl out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the girl.

I can't believe I'm admitting this but I really, really like living in the 'burbs. Andi and I were so apprehensive when we decided to look for houses outside of the metro this summer. We loved St. Paul so much and all the conveniences our city house had to offer - walking distance to the grocery store, hardware store, movies, shops, bars and restaurants. We loved the hubbub of people, old trees and of course, all the character of our 1916 house. When we packed up this summer, I never thought I'd love another house as much as I did that one. It was really our "first house" (if you don't count the crappy suburb townhouse we lived in for a year) and the place we nested the start of our little family of two (plus one on the way).

I think it was actually that crappy townhouse that burned us on suburb life to begin with (which I should note, the crappy suburb townhouse WE STILL OWN). We disliked our neighborhood and everything from the 80's-style bathroom to cheap doors and carpet. Looking back, I suppose it was the environment that put a sour taste in our mouths, not necessarily suburb life as a whole. Or maybe it was our place in life - being in our 20's and wanting to experience life on the go. These days, I'm much happier staying at home.

I was driving down the street the other day and realized there are car washes in the suburbs. CAR WASHES. On every corner. I love that about our new 'hood. I couldn't find a working car wash to save my life in our old city neighborhood. That's pretty freaking special I think. I could wash my car ALL THE TIME in my new suburb life. I don't, but I COULD.

A few weeks ago, Janie and Jim watched Tory so Andi and I could go out for a hour by ourselves. We were going to get coffee, but decided at the last second to go have a cocktail instead. Andi pulled up to the Sunshine Room just a few blocks away from our house. I'd never seen this place before (and truthfully, probably wouldn't have given it a second glance, it looked like an old-style Perkins). We walked in to a packed restaurant/bar that was so reminiscent of my old-school VFW from my childhood I nearly wept. I LOVED IT. They had serve-yourself popcorn and waitresses with smoker's voices. Suburbs aren't completely full of chain restaurants and no character, you just have to find the good spots.

How much have I adjusted to my new life in the 'burbs? It struck me head-on when Andi and I were visiting his grandma in the heart of the city this weekend. We ran to the Target by her house to pick up dish soap and oatmeal and I realized just how, uh, "cultural" my city Target used to be and also how, uh, "un-cultural" my new suburb Target is now. Nothing wrong with either, except for how twitchy I became in the parking lot. (For the record, I have nothing against different types of people but this "cultural" Target experience is the kind where they have locks on the carts so people can't steal them). "I really like our quiet, suburb life," I said to Andi. "Good luck ever getting me to leave it."

All this to say I love, love, love our suburb life now. Our cozy house and quiet street seriously make me sad to leave the comforts of my home when I pull away from our driveway. I love how our neighbors wave to one another and how one of them brought us a baby gift for Tory. I suppose friendly neighbors live within the city limits too, but it wasn't the type of city neighborhood we lived in. Just today I saw an article in my new suburb newspaper offering residents a $100 grant for composting. Hey, I compost! I'm going to apply! Mostly, I love the way our suburb feels like a small town inside a city.