5 ways city living has improved me

It's hard for me to believe that this time last year, Sean and I were packing up our suburban apartment in preparation for moving into our first house...in Baltimore City. Both of us are suburban born and raised, and had never before entertained the idea of city living (on top of that, I'd been terrified of Baltimore for years, but that's a story for another day).

Just weeks away from closing!

Naturally, changes have come about with the transition, and I'm happy that with change has come personal improvement. For instance:"

1. I walk more. Most work days, I enjoy going outside for a lunchtime walk . There are things within walking distance from home as well, and of course, getting a dog mandates walking, too. Outdoors + exercise? Double positive!
2. I can now parallel park. Our house has a parking pad which became Sean's as he is a lot more confident fitting his small sedan there (vs my small, but bigger than his car, SUV). That means I parallel park. Thanks to interventions our first week in town, I no longer worry about this.
3. I'm better at directions. In the suburbs, nothing irritated me more than turning on my GPS and hearing "head East on ...." What the heck? I don't know where East is! Left or right, lady!? I don't really know what changed, but I'll say it's the typical grid layout of most cities. I pretty much always know which direction is which these days, and I no longer sweat missing a turn or taking a wrong one because I know how simple it is to get to where I'm going.
4. I'm more involved. I never showed up to community events or meetings before. These days, we know when our monthly neighborhood meeting is, we communicate with our neighbors via online networking, and we attend more events in general.
5. I'm no longer a city-phobe. I still don't love noise or crowds, but I remember a time when I would get tense the minute our car entered a city. I remember being nervous walking around to find places. Now, I can relax and enjoy what different cities (Baltimore included) have to offer and explore (responsibly) without getting stressed about my whereabouts  because, well, #3. On my recent New York trip with my mom, I took off to find a place to eat lunch and it was so much more enjoyable not staying on one street out of fear!