nostalgia maybe?

[Sarah Perry]

[/quote]That's an interesting point. I guess I have experienced the opposite sentiment from my family ("when are you going to come to your senses and leave that overpriced he11hole?") to the extent that I had not thought about that too much. It seems to me that people from Cincinnati (and not just my family, who are admittedly way-clannish) have a higher than average home-pride. Many people I have met in New York, including a HUGE number of native Ohioans who make NYC their home now, have even commented on this. Am I off-base?[/quote]

It's an interesting paradox. Cincinnati, like anyplace in the Rust Belt, has a lot of problems and is behind the times in many ways. My read is that a lot of us recognize this and are more than willing to say so, but there's something about it that we love anyway. Maybe that attitude's rooted in the whole faded glory thing, since it was such a thriving, prosperous place from about 1860 to about 1960.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

I'm not looking to be argumentative, just to say that my experience is very different, and that I don't agree with your assumptions about what someone else's attitudes toward a given place are or will be.

A small rural town like the one my husband grew up in is not and never would be "wonderful in its own way" as a long-term living situation for either of us, no matter how committed we were to making it work. Ditto for my own reaction to living many years in Lexington, although I did it for my husband who really liked it there. Yeah, you build a life, and yeah, you find things to appreciate, but sometimes the place also requires you to give up things that really matter to you. At age 60, do I regret doing that? Yeah, kind of. I don't dwell on it, but when I have the chance, I tell people that place can really matter. Pretty much the opposite of what you said. I occasionally remember some aspects of my life in Lexington fondly, but mostly I'm just so happy to be out of there for good.

For that matter, spend some time in East St. Louis, Detroit, or Camden, NJ and tell me if that wonderfulness still applies.

Fair enough. I was being a little too rosy no doubt. Although I do really like detroit.

[Crew Chief]

We ended up in SW OH on a lark but REALLY love it here! (does my opinion really count since I live just South of Dayton???) We've lived all over the world courtesy of the military. We found something we really loved everywhere we lived. (even in places like Del Rio, TX and Mountain Home, ID...) I deliver all over Cincinnati and really wished we lived in the city. At least I get to see it pretty much every day. Yes, NYC is an incredible place; LOTS to see and do. And GREAT food. But I'm not sure I could deal with the cost of living. No realtives are here (in our case, a good thing!) so we had no other draw, really. but SW OH has truly grown on us.

TKNYC, I sure hope you and hubby make the best decision for both of you and best of luck!