In the spirit of big announcements, I have another one–we’ve moved to Michigan. I was terrified when I was moving to NYC. I told my family, “Maybe I’ll be there for three weeks, or three months, or three years,” but I wanted to try. Within the first few weeks of living in the city, I never wanted to leave.

I packed a lot of living into that first year. Now, NYC has been my home for almost five years and it has been home for most of Misha’s life. We have been planning this move for about two years, and it is so bittersweet. We had a lot of plans (a NYC bucket list) for the last year that due to the pandemic, we have not realized, which really sucks. We also know this just means we will have to regularly visit the city. And there are many reasons why this move feels really right for the time being. 

To be by family

I come from a close-knit family and it has been really hard being away. My brother, parents, and one of my sisters live within 10 minutes of each other. 

A lower cost of living

Living in NYC is so expensive! While this fact has never been a secret, it became more apparent as we talked about expanding our family.

More space

Misha has always been such a Dad. He wants a lawn and tools and more of a suburban lifestyle for our family. 

An opportunity to buy

Knowing that our rent for our small apartment is more than our suburban friends pay for their mortgage is painful. We are looking forward to being able to put those housing payments towards an investment rather than to our management company.

Covid

While Covid obviously wasn’t a consideration when we were planning this move, It has very much affirmed/confirmed/backed up many of our reasons for moving. So many people are leaving NYC and quarantine has made this decision easier because it doesn’t feel much like NYC to me right now. Knowing that there is more of this ahead of us, makes us more grateful that we will be closer to family with more space. My parents’ house has a large park behind it. I am looking forward to being able to walk in the park and not having to worry about running into too many other people, especially compared to Central Park (which is 9 blocks from our current apartment). 

All this being said, NYC is not dead or ruined by Covid as some silly articles have said. NYC is resilient and if the suburban lifestyle wasn’t our plan, we would have gladly stayed in the city.  Misha’s sister still lives in NYC with her family and we can’t wait to visit with our new little lady once traveling with a baby (and traveling in general) is safe again. We’ve been in Michigan for about a month and we are just settling in following our two-week quarantine.