SteveSilver.net

Leaving New York, Never Easy

That announcement I hinted at last week is the following: at the end of the month (a week from today), I’ll be leaving New York after five years in order to set off for suburban Philadelphia. I’ll be living with the girlfriend, and also close to friends and family.

I’ve been visiting friends in Philadelphia at least a half-dozen times a year since the middle of college, and have always enjoyed my visits. Luckily, it was a certain special lady who finally got me to make the move.

Is it hard to leave New York? It sure is. But it was never my intention to stay forever, and I’d been thinking more and more lately that it was time to go- lots of friends of mine have left and/or moved further away, and I’d been missing out on the whole quintessential American experience of having a car and driving to work every day (which I haven’t done since high school). It’s been just over five years in the area, which I feel is just the right amount of time- I’ll always cherish my time in New York and be thankful that I had a chance to live here in my lifetime, and of course, I plan to visit early and often, for friends' birthdays, blogger bashes, and other special events.

Other advantages to living in Philly- a more raucous sports scene where I don’t hate any of the teams; close proximity at all times to Wawa; and the chance to vote against Rick Santorum next year. Besides, we’re probably only about a generation away from New York and Philly being all one big metro area anyway. And I promise to never, ever, refer to my new hometown as “The ‘Iladelph.’”

Wednesday’s my last day at Royal Media Group, and I’m sorry to say goodbye as the company continues to make great strides, and just recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. I’m still looking for a job in Philly and will be freelancing to start off, while also getting caught up on writing, reading, exercise, my Netflix queue, and sleep. We’ll also be out in California (Northern and Southern) the last week in August, so if you’re out there drop me a line.

The blog, of course, will continue more-or-less unaffected after the move, though it may be a bit slow this week.

Anyway, I appreciate so much all the wonderful friends I’ve made in my time in New York, including the wonderful blogging community. I appreciate your support of my work, and I assure you, I won’t be a stranger.