I chose to live here because at the time I was 27, I wanted to live IN the city, and I found a nice apartment that checked all the boxes here.

I also grew up in urban areas, and I used to skateboard all over the city as a teen in the early 00’s. Suffice it to say, normal city issues don’t really bother me that much at all, and are worth the conveniences of living in a dense urban area.

I can’t stress enough how much value walkability adds to my life. I fucking hate driving, and avoid it as much as possible. I love being able to walk basically everywhere I need to go for life’s necessities in 10 mins or less.

I like the parks, I like the river trails, I like living in a central location, I like being close to friends, I like having the city at my fingertips.

I just don’t like the odd chance that a bullet might hit me or one of my neighbors, and for that reason I’m leaving. I understand why people like the burbs, but that’s just not me. When I leave the city in a year or so, it’ll be to my farm in the middle of nowhere.