A coworker asked me on my last day of work: “Are you so sad to be moving back to Pennsylvania?” This summer I worked a retail job in New York City — a location that is basically the opposite of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. While there are many things about the city that I will miss— the Whole Foods right underneath my store in Columbus Circle, a Starbucks on practically every corner (my coffee addiction reached new heights this summer due to my love for cappuccinos) and hundreds of great restaurants, bars and clubs — I have to say that I am really not sad at all about moving back to, as many people call it, “the middle of nowhere.” Actually, I’m looking forward to moving back to Lewisburg.
At my doctor’s appointment a few weeks ago I was taken by surprise when my blood pressure reading came back higher than normal. While it was still considered to be in the “healthy” range, the increase made me uncomfortable. I’m young, active, and I eat well. Was I maybe putting too much salt on my food? Or was I too stressed and just didn't know it?
A common day in New York City typically involves fast-paced walking, multiple subway routes and transfers, near-death encounters with taxi cabs while crossing streets, interactions with angry and rushed people, varying smells (some good, some bad), and noise — everywhere, all the time. As a commuter to the city that would sometimes stay at family or friends’ apartments, my life felt very unstable. There was also always the possibility that my bus would be late, or would never show up, or that something would be wrong with the subway, or there would be some parade or bike day blocking the one street that I needed to use to get to my job. On my days off in New Jersey, all I ever wanted to do was sleep. I kept on thinking that it would be easier if I just lived in the city, rather than my frequent back and forth lifestyle. But would it really be that much easier? Would I be monumentally less stressed or only slightly less stressed? I have a feeling that even if I did live in the city, my blood pressure would not get any lower.
Am I sad to be moving back to Pennsylvania, away from the biggest and greatest city in the world? I’m sad that I will no longer have a Whole Foods and a Starbucks around the corner, I’ll miss the Juice Press and the sushi, the view of the city at night and the large assortment of restaurants, bars and clubs, and the diversity of the people. I’ll miss my late-night runs in Central Park and the ability to order delivery for whatever kind of food I want at any time of night. But there is also something alluring about Lewisburg in the “middle of nowhere” Pennsylvania, hometown of Bucknell University, where a run is not surrounded by hundreds of other people but instead may involve me not encountering a single person at all (instead, maybe a horse or a bunny), where the loudest sound is maybe Route 15 or a freshman hall on Friday night, or the humming of “downtown” on weekends. Where there is a scent of fresh manure rather than trash (what would you prefer?), and the sunsets are backdropped by open grass fields, instead of buildings.
I am going to miss New York City, a lot. Working or living in a city is something I think all people should do, even if for only a short period of time. I hope that I will live in a city like New York for a little bit while I’m young and working on my own, but I’m not sure I would ever settle down in a city. Cities are wonderful because everything is at your fingertips and the people who live in cities are usually “with it” in both a financial, fashion and social sense, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with the country or the suburbs.
There’s a reason people move to places like Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to raise their family. There is something overwhelmingly calm and comfortable about a place like Lewisburg, the quintessential “middle of nowhere” location that one can simply not find in a city. I’m looking forward to moving back to Lewisburg for my final year at Bucknell. I’m hoping maybe my blood pressure will drop a little.
