Five years ago, when I posted my Atlanta bucket list, I wrote that my attitude toward the city was this: I might leave tomorrow. Or I might stay forever.
During the last five years, my posture has, for the most part, remained consistent. Atlanta is an incredible city. I find it to be (still!) underrated and, at the same time, everything the 1996 Olympics convinced me it would be. If I wanted to live in a city forever, I'd unlikely consider anywhere else. The trees! The park! The people! The food! The coffee, oh, the coffee! It's amazing.
But, during the last few years, I've come to learn that I am not actually a city person. I find myself dreaming of my old Indiana runs, when I'd pass cornfield after cornfield. Those amber waves of grain sang to me!
I find myself dreaming of a simpler life, with fewer options and less traffic.
We spent the last two years praying over this question: Are we meant to leave Atlanta?
During that time, we felt like we were called to be still. Then we felt like we were called to go far. Today, though, we feel called to something in the middle.
In one month today, we will be moving to Virginia.
We bought our first house and couldn't be more excited to close in mid-September. And it's a fixer upper, which means I get to channel my inner Joanna. It feels surreal and scary and exciting. I have no doubt I will be sharing more about our move, how much I love this city and everything in between over the coming weeks.
In the meantime, thank you, especially, to all of you kind, gentle Atlanta readers who have supported me during the last seven years in this city.