I like big cities. When Jason and I moved to Solon 11 years ago we expected it to be a relatively short stay so I accepted the suburb for what it was. Well, we’re still here and I’m still accepting, if not the most enthusiastic cheerleader. So, imagine my surprise when I saw the latest Money Magazine that named Solon the 3rd best small town in America. Read the article here.
One of the reasons we have stayed is one of the reasons they listed. Solon was the highest-achieving district in Ohio last year. Originally we thought investing in a community that invested in its schools was a no brainer. Now that we have Gage we are very happy to be here. It’s a little over half a mile to the elementary school and we’ve been walking there every evening because Gage loves the swings.
Living in a suburb I give up some things I love about big cities, but I reap the benefits too. So what about you. What’s your favorite thing about the place you live?
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Living in a suburb when you have kids makes complete sense. I love the cities too but not too big cities. I love my home town Pune because even though its a city it still has that small town charm not to mention the awesome climate. What I like about singapore is that its systematic and very easy to live in. There are no basic worries like the traffic and even though its expensive its worth the peace of mind.
That picture is absolutely adorable!
I grew up on a farm not all that far from Solon. I loved rural life, I also enjoyed the time I spent in Chagrin Falls and Solon. Now I live in a tiny historic district in Kentucky that’s just across the river from Cincinnati. Every place I’ve lived has been an experience with benefits and some drawbacks. I guess I’d have to say that where I live now is the most ideal. I have the charm of a small town, yet I’m within 2 miles from a major city.
your son is such a cutie! congrats on the ranking–just think, if you ever decide to move, that will be a great selling point for other families interested in your home.
i’m from new jersey and while it tends to get a bad reputation (thanks cast of jersey shore!), it’s actually a nice state with lots of diversity, culture, mountains, and 127 miles of beaches.
i grew up in a very rural area–we had 3 acres of property and were 30 minutes from manhattan, 30 minutes from the mountains, and an hour from the ocean. as an adult, i live in a resort town along the coast and like it.
i can be in nyc or philly in an hour or so, and we go frequently. (took my mom to a broadway show last wednesday and we’re going again this week). yes, there’s traffic, congestion, pollution (in urban areas near the airport!), and some new yorkers who visit our beaches and behave like buffoons, but it’s not as bad as it’s portrayed!
i’ve traveled by car to every state except 6 (alaska, washington, oregon, hawaii, north dakota, and arkansas) and have found nice and not-so-nice things about all of them. i think a lot of it has to do with attitude and perspective. 🙂
What a darling photo of Gage! We chose our suburb because of the schools and proximity to the city (a few minutes). We’ve lived in two houses in this town and although the kids are out of the nest we’ll probably stick around for a few more years (hoping the market bounces back).
I live in Delhi. Right in the midst of everything. Be it political or business. I love it. Although I do wish to go to some quiet place in future…
Loved that photo! Gage is a darling!
Gage does look like he loves to swing! So cute.
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He does sure look like a cutie in that picture!
I hate when magazines name places as “best places to live” because then it’s like the secrets out and zillions of people move in and change its personality! It seems like that’s what happened to Madison, Wisconsin. Way too crowded now! (still, if I could I’d move back in a minute! heh)
We live in a suburb too, but we’d both love to move to the city. We moved here because housing was cheaper and we were paying out of state tuition at the time. My favorite thing about the place we live is our neighborhood.
I am beginning to find that Ohio might be a good place to live after all – no hurricanes, earthquakes, and lots of fresh Great Lakes water nearby.
Cute and adorable as always! We live rural and we’ll probably get a house one day that’ll be pretty close to where we live now. But we live close to big cities to enjoy those too.
That smile on Gage’s face says it all. Suburbs, as you are discovering, are usually great for schools. That’s why we’ve lived in suburbs or small towns so often. I also like the neighborliness, the quiet, and lots less traffic.
The photo’s adorable.
What do I like about my town? David and I both grew up here. It’s comfortable. We know the people, our friends and family are here. Of course that’s also what I don’t like about our town.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s only about 45 minutes from Pittsburgh either.
Amazing how a kid can change your perspective on stuff like this isn’t it? I’m so happy for you … it sounds like a great place to live (and go to school).
Congratulations on living in a well-ranked small town! While I love the excitement of a big city and loved living in one when I was childless, I definitely prefer living in the suburbs with my son.
Gage looks so CUTE! His smile is so adorable. I like in a city – biggest here I think. And I do love the opportunities here, but am sometimes worried about Aarya growing up here also. Maybe at some point of time we will move out.
Can’t beat living only a half a mile from the school and playground!
We live where we live because I grew up close by. It used to be a relatively small town but is now over 100,000 people with three big high schools. We’re lucky that the school systems are still pretty good here, which is certainly important to us.
Firstly, look at that little face!!!
As much as I enjoy the easy access of the city, especially in the winter, I also like the openness and space of the burbs. The burbs around Philly are so not happening for me, for many reasons. I think most of my issues are the people. The majority of people are rude, inconsiderate, full of themselves, and generally not nice people. But I do have lovely neighbors and for that I am grateful. Plus every now and then you run into a real gem of a person, but it’s rare.
If I was you, I would never leave where you are. You picked a fab school system and best place to live to boot. You are where you are supposed to be 🙂
Gage is clearly having a great time.
Well I am NOT a city girl even though we technically live in one. Ours is only just big enough population wise to be a city, but tis pretty isolated and development has not been huge so most of our city is actually big leafy open areas. You look out our office window and can see massive african mahogonies growing.
As long as you are happy that is the main thing, you dont want to be miserable or Gage will pick up on that. It sounds like you have found yourself a lovely place and for the future great schools can only be good for Gage.
What I LOVE about where I live…
1. NO humidity… I grew up in the Midwest. I am thankful every summer to live in a semi arid climate.
2. I can see the “purple mountains majesty” from my front porch. I live about three miles from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
3.We can be at a ski resort in less than an hour.
4. Best of both worlds… we live in suburbia but are less than 20 minutes from Downtown.
Gage has the cutest smile!