Six months ago I relocated to upstate New York for work. It was my first time living on the east coast, and I didn’t really know what to expect. The whole experience ended up being a great adventure, and I’m thankful I had the opportunity to come out here. All things must come to an end though - in a few days I will be returning to California. It’s sort of a bittersweet goodbye. I’m glad to be going home and spending time with family and friends that I haven’t seen in awhile, but at the same time there are definitely things I’ll miss about my life these past six months, so this post is dedicated to all those nice things that I will miss about upstate NY when I leave:
Abundant Nature - The first thing one notices when getting off the plane is how many trees there are around here. Everything is green (except in the winter when it’s covered in snow), a nice contrast to California where all the vegetation has long since dried up. My apartment building was literally next to a small forest, providing plenty of great places to run. Parks and hiking trails are everywhere, and you actually see more nature than people on the trails due to the lower population density.
Saratoga Springs - I really liked this city. Just ten minutes from my apartment and thirty minutes north of Albany, downtown Saratoga Springs has the charming atmosphere of an artsy cultural center without the suffocating crowds of the bigger cities. Restaurants here were great, I never had a bad meal here. And there would often be fun events going on in town, from the horse races in the summer to the huge New Years Eve celebration at the end of the year.
Proximity to Major Cities - My location was a convenient three hour drive away from several big cities, including NYC and Boston. I definitely took advantage of the location to go on multiple weekends trips to these major destinations.
Traffic (or lack thereof) - When bad morning traffic means being stuck at the roundabout for an extra two minutes, you know you have it good. I’m definitely going to miss not having to plan my day around traffic patterns.
Overall, I enjoyed my time out on the east coast. I met/reconnected with some amazing people, went on incredible adventures, and learned what it means to live in a place with weather. It’s time to head home now, but I sincerely hope I’ll be able to come back here someday.
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