Never Thought I would Stay
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5/29/2012
I travel frequently and have lived in several cities across the U.S. San Francisco and Chicago were always my favorite cities, and I also love the beauty of the Northwest and New England. Eventually, my work brought me to Cincinnati. When I came here, my new boss told me, "You know, when people move to Cincinnati, they never leave." I had a lot of trouble believing that. At first blush, Cincinnati seemed parochial and conservative, and I fully appreciated Mark Twain's comment that if the end of the world came he would want to be here, because anything that happens in the outside world takes 20 years to reach Cincinnati.
But I have to admit that of all the cities I have lived in, I found Cincinnati the friendliest, most affordable and tolerant of all the cities I have lived. Racism and other forms of intolerance exist virtually everywhere, but I found, in Cincinnati, people who work hard to live together. I like working at UC, a hub of liberal activism, and I enjoy living in one of the city's trendy yet affordable and diverse neighborhoods, where I can walk to the grocery, the drugstore, the library, and to any number of delightfully ethnic restaurants. I am close enough to the university that I can commute by bicycle when I want to, especially now that we have bike lanes. Cincinnati has also been very good for my social life. I found it much easier to be accepted into the social circles here in Cincinnati than I did in other cities, and have become much more active outside my home and work than I ever was before. So, at least for me, Cincinnati provides a much higher overall quality of life than any other city. It's been 12 years, now, longer than I lived in any other city. I guess my boss was right, all those years ago...I believe I will be staying after all.
Abhd | Cincinnati, OH