Member-only story
You’re not running away: Sometimes the grass really IS greener on the other side.
I was living in a city on the west coast when I decided to take a year and move back to Philadelphia. It would be my third time living here.
I’d gotten frustrated with the west coast city. People at networking events looked at me oddly and made vague unflattering references to my wardrobe. A woman in the gym made snarky comments about my eyebrows. I dropped my ceramics class after the teacher told me I just wasn’t good at working with m hands. My main extracurricular activity involved trips to the dog park, which were colorful but not particularly satisfying.
They said, “If you can’t be happy here….”
Before I left, a few people shared the old chestnut, “If you can’t be happy here, you won’t be happy anywhere.”
But one friend pointed out, “You’ve got east coast energy. You won’t drive people crazy by talking fast and being…well, direct.”
That friend turned out to be right. Originally I planned to stay in this city for just a year. Nine years later, I’m not going anywhere.
