One Year Anniversary in MN

Last week was my one year anniversary in Minnesota. It's hard to believe it's only been a year since I left Chicago and moved to MN with Michael. So much has happened since then!

Since I've moved here, I've been making note of things that I love about MN and things I don't love. Here's my list:

Things I love

• Living with Michael. There is just something so nice about waking up next to him every morning, falling asleep next to him every night. Not having anyone else in our house is just so nice.
• Speaking of our house, I love having a house. Sure, we have yard work to do and a driveway to shovel in the winter, but I love having a place that is ours. We have a private deck, I have my own garage stall for the first time in my life - it's just great.
• Driving places and finding a place to park. In a lot. Easily. For free.
• The lakes. I love running, walking, and biking around them. Lake Michigan in Chicago was nice, but so crowded and you couldn't go in a circle. It's one of my very favorite things.
• Getting visitors and being closer to my family. When we lived in Chicago, my parents visited a few times a year and my sisters came once. Now that we are in MN, I see my parents a lot more often and Jessi has already visited us too. 
• Being closer to my girlfriends. My best friends from Chicago all live here now. And my best friends from college either live here or within in a few hours drive. Even though we don't see each other that much more, it's nice to know how much closer we are now.
• The difference in light. Chicago and MN may be in the same time zone but it stays lighter here a lot longer than it did in Chicago. 

Things that I don't love (and never will)

• The driving. OMG - my road rage here is out of control. No one knows how to merge. Speed limits are just suggestions. The traffic jams are caused by people being WAY too cautious. And the lack of signaling when changing lanes or turning is mind-boggling. I truly don't get it. It's like no one took drivers education. That, or MN has a REALLY poor drivers education program.
• The mosquitos. We had mosquitos in ND but then I moved to OH and Chicago and was without mosquitos for 6 years. It was great! And now, the number of mosquito bites I have is kind of ridiculous. Just this morning, after our run, I got a few bites when we were doing abs in the driveway, one of which is on the bottom of my chin. Really? My blood tastes that good?
• The lack of fancy restaurants. Maybe I just haven't found them yet. And I know Chicago is a much bigger city than MSP but I really miss the food in Chicago. M and I used to try new restaurants all the time, and we very rarely eat out here.
• The price of airline tickets. Flying out of here is a lot more expensive that it was in Chicago.
• Having to go to three different grocery stores to get all the things I want. I had one store in Chicago and they carried everything I wanted. Now I have to store hop to get the right brand of turkey, goat cheese, bread, etc. 

Even though I don't love everything about MN, I do not regret my move here for a second. It was the best decision I've ever made, and one that I had been wanting to make for several years. Here's to many more years in MN!