A Decade of Urban Living

We shape the city, then it shapes us.-John Reader

I had to go back through the blog archives to confirm, but this week marks ten years since we moved down to the city.

Adding our most recent move this summer (I haven't even written about that yet), Kelly and I have made five moves in our lives. Undoubtedly, that move from the suburbs to the inner-city has been the most transformational in our marriage. I'm not sure I could've anticipated how it changed everything—the trajectory of our family, my view of ministry, and my anthropological views. It's surely been an enlightening ride.

Today, both Kelly and I were working at home and we decided to walk downtown. It's not that far of a trek (a little more than two miles from our new place) but it was an absolutely gorgeous day. We ate in OTR, did a little shopping, and worked out of a coffee shop. Throughout the day, we cohabited public spaces with all sorts of people. It's these little experiences that I've truly cherished over the past ten years and it's all been facilitated because we moved here.

The city we moved to continues to change rapidly. Even though we anticipated the transformation, but it's remarkable how the Cincinnati of 2015 is unrecognizable compared to that of 2005. Despite our town's noticeable shortcomings (specifically issues of equality across the socioeconomic and racial spectrum), I'm encouraged by a civic pride that has blossomed since we arrived. I used to feel like I was one of the only ones banging the drum of the Queen City. Now, we're part of a movement.

Our family is fully woven into the urban fabric. I'm not sure we could even imagine leaving.

I have no idea what this place will look like a decade from now. But I can't wait to find out.