Blog Post 2: New Philly

I lived in Atlanta Georgia for 20 years before I moved to New Philadelphia Ohio in 2012. People ask me all the time. Why did I move here?

My husband is originally from Ohio and all of his family lives here. We would visit all the time when we lived in Atlanta. His parents would always talk about us moving up here.

They had a lot of very good points.

• Atlanta is expensive
• Ohio has better public schools
• Cost of living is 25% cheaper in Ohio
• We could buy a house twice the size for half the price
• I could afford to go back to school
• FREE BABYSITTING

I didn't like living in Atlanta. It is very hot and humid. There is tons of traffic, everywhere you go there is traffic. Crime rates are high. I was ready for a change. It took us 7 months to sell our house and move.

Moving wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. It was very stressful and complicated buying a new home before selling our old one. In the end it worked out great because I bought my dream house here in New Philadelphia.

I always wanted an old house and I finally have one. It was built in 1915 and only one other family has owned it. It has beautiful woodwork throughout and plenty of space for my 3 children. My husband even got his own 2 story garage outback. Our house payment was cut in half!

We live in a nice neighborhood where my kids can play outside and I don’t have to worry about a drive by. We have an awesome public school system. I can afford to not work and focus on my children and school. I love living in Ohio.

Since I have moved here I have so much more free time. I started growing my own vegetables. I have more time to spend with my kids. The best thing about the move was being able to be closer to my husband's parents. They babysit every Saturday night. Not because they want to give us a break but because they actually like to be with their grandchildren.

Now that I moved I do miss some things about Atlanta:

• boiled peanuts
• Fried green tomatoes
• Riding the subway
• Diverse cultures and food

I visit Atlanta as often as I can. I enjoy visiting much more than living there. Atlanta will always be a home away from home for me. I still have a lot of friends and family there. I will forever and always root for the Falcons. Go Falcons!

I don't ever see myself moving back. I am trying to be really careful about picking a major that will not move me to a big city. I like the small town quiet life. It is a great place for my kids to grow up and that is what it’s all about. What is best for them.