ITL

I miss many things by not living inside the city.  Let’s face it, it’s an exciting time in the city’s history.  Who could have predicted the rise of Houston’s urban landscape back in the 90s?  I certainly didn’t.

It’s not just the paid venues like restaurants and clubs that are making the inner loop better, though they are getting more numerous and more impressive.  What is really making the difference is the rise of Houston’s artistic community.  We have more and more art galleries opening up, art festivals, and more artists coming over and saying “you know, it’s not so bad here after all”

So why don’t I take the plunge and make the move into the city?  Complicated.  Part of the answer is that not too long ago I did not expect to be here that long.  About five years ago my mid range plans were to leave Houston.  Living out in the ‘burbs I did not see anything that would cause me to stay here.  I mean there is nothing special about strip malls, freeways, and cookie cutter houses for miles and miles.  I wanted something special, mountains, oceans, interesting things to look at or see.  I was already making lists of possible places to move to like the Pacific Northwest or one of the cities of the Northeast or possibly even out of the country altogether.

Another part of the answer is family.  I have two elderly parents that need care.  They have to be part of any decision that I make for the moment.  I began to make this realization about eight years ago and began to plan for this.

My parents may think that they can be as independent as they used to be but based on recent history I don’t think that’s possible.  I need to be nearby.  They would be happy to live out in some small town in the middle of nowhere or even living back in Chile over 4000 miles away.  They see the city as noisy, congested, and crime ridden.  No amount of persuasion, or brochures, or websites will change their minds  The suburbs where they used to live was the best compromise I could come up with.  They know the area and are comfortable with it and I am close enough to the city that it’s not an hour long drive just to get into the loop.

But when it’s just me?  What will I want for myself?  I haven’t had much time to ponder that lately.  But certainly life inside the loop will come back into my considerations.  I don’t need to go to far off exotic places to find a happy life.  Maybe it’s just half an hour away