I've been in the city multiple times over the past few months for appointments and such but I don't have the chance to drive around, get lost and explore the city like I enjoy doing. I haven't been to any events, festivals, parks, restaurants, museums or just had the chance to walk around. I miss Columbus. A lot.
My love of Columbus came on slowly. Growing up in Northeast Ohio I never spent that much time in the city. We usually went to Akron and then on to Cleveland if we were going anywhere. Columbus wasn't a huge draw for us. But, since I've lived in Athens it has become a city I've gotten to know more and more. First, just traveling through; shopping; going downtown for trainings for work; and staying with my cousin in Dublin. Then, I started having some health problems and began to rely on The OSU Medical Center for all of my care. Frequent trips for appointments; prolonged stays due to procedures and surgeries, etc. really had the city growing on me. The more I became familiar with my surroundings, the more I liked it.
Then, one day I realized that this Columbus was where I wanted to be. My trips became more frequent. I went more and more for pleasure. I moved all my doctors to OSU since they are so much better and it gave me a bigger reason to be in the city. (Plus the facilities, customer service and just general care is hands down EXCEPTIONAL as compared to the clinics and hospitals that I had been going to. I will now drive the 1.5 hours to Columbus to go to the ER at OSU Medical Center if I need to instead of going to the local ER. I've done it-twice!) Now I have signed up for a gym membership in Columbus too. (I'll coordinate my physical therapy schedule around my visits for now. I'm so excited to go swimming in the beautiful lap pool!)
So for now, I'm missing my city. My City. I never thought of myself as a city girl. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and went to college in a small town environment (BG is not like OSU.) But somehow I've fallen in love with this city that is on the edge of a great reform and transition. The riverfront is growing and moving forward. Downtown is making progress and I adore work that has been done on the buildings, the new park and seeing new restaurants and unique shops pop up. The city's economy is trying; and the diversity is vast.
I really love Columbus. All of it. The neighborhoods around the city are so interesting-the German Village; the Short North; Arena District; Easton; OSU; then all the suburbs. I'm a big fan of Upper Arlington, Dublin and Worthington. The shops in the downtown areas of the suburbs are divine. I spent waaaaaaay to much money when I spent a day shopping in Worthington. But walking around and enjoying the summer and the pleasant town was worth every cent. I've taken all of my short weekend vacations there and am praying hard and working hard to find a job in the city soon so I can move in the near future.
Will I want to live in Columbus forever? Probably not. I've found I have a bit of a wandering spirit. I loved living in Florida, but was ready to leave there after a few years. The same has been true with Southeastern Ohio. More to the point there are other places around the world I really want to explore. I'm dying to travel to South Korea, Scotland, Germany, and the south of France. I'd like to see myself living in Korea for an extended period of time, (I really need to start working a little harder on learning my Hangul!) Possibly Scotland too. So, who knows what my future holds. However, right now I want my foot to heal so that even if I can't move to Columbus when I'm all better I can at least start enjoying my city on the weekends and long breaks again.
Where do you want to go?
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