From 550 to 10 Million in a Few Short Hours

Today is the big day. I am moving from a town of about 550 people to a town of about 10 million. Going to pick up the moving van in a short while, get packed up, and shove off. The building I'm moving into has a larger population than my entire town right now.

(Okay, actually tomorrow is the moving day...I will wake up early and stuff my kittygirls into carriers and climb into the cab of a little moving van and go, but today is my last day here in my home state.)

I woke up a few minutes ago to the soothing strains of dogs barking outside my window, and the occasional car rolling by. If I walk out my back door and go past one block, there's a cornfield. The town's population is 99.2% caucasian. (I keep trying to figure out who that other .8% is.) My new neighborhood is a bustling urban hotspot teeming with activity at all hours of the night and day, and it's a rich mix of ethnicities and languages and cultures. (My brother has informed me that my new zip code is statistically one of the most demographically diverse in the nation.)

In my new home, also, all the comforts of home are within walking distance of my apartment. Gym, library, veterinarian, grocery store, coffee shop and bank are a short stroll away. Here, I have to hop into my car and go anywhere from 1 to 30 miles roundtrip for these amenities.

Part of my urban experiment involves the unloading of my major consumer expense, my car. Yes, I will be studying public transportation maps and learning to ride the trains and buses everywhere I want to go. A few short rail rides from my new home are theaters, art museums, science museums, parks, festivals, sporting events, cultural happenings, and a million things I haven't even thought of yet.

Enough marveling and pontificating now...gotta pack the truck and sedate the pets (and maybe my mom). Wish me luck.