Better with Family

Photography

My favorite New York City spots

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So a big life update for me: I’m leaving New York City and moving to Minneapolis.

Living in New York City has always been a dream of mine ever since I can remember. After watching movies, seeing pictures, and hearing stories about the glitz and glamour of the city and how much “better” it was than everywhere else. I wanted to live here so badly so I could say I was a New Yorker.

But after reading a book about why people leave New York City and experiencing first hand what living in the city is like versus just visiting for a short while, I came to understand that New York is not for me. Sure, I love all of the restaurants, shops, meeting new people, and being immersed in this culture, but after a while, it’s draining. Paying more money in rent than my parents probably pay for their mortgage is exhausting, especially since how small my place is.

So I knew it was time to pack up and head back to my roots. I was born in Minnesota and lived there for nearly 13 years before moving to Wisconsin. Although I detest the winter in Minnesota and might die during those frigid months (OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration), I think Minneapolis is the right place for me at this point in my life.

I honestly don’t feel like I “didn’t make it” in New York because I did, just maybe not on the terms that society thinks. I came here and experienced just about everything I wanted to, and that’s enough for me. So below are a few of my favorite photos taken during my time in the city.

Everyone knows about the New York City famous landmarks: the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, Times Square, Broadway, etc. These pictures are more than that. They’re personal to my time here and the bond I built with the city.


A view of my apartment building in Brooklyn.


Some of the best pizza I ate while in New York City was from Fornino in Brooklyn.


Street musicians (or in this case, a train station musician) are really spectacles. So much talent and emotion in their performances.


It wouldn’t be New York City without seeing Carrie Bradshaw’s West Village apartment.


I was lucky enough to get to see the Broadway version of Big Fish with the New York City-area Drake University alumni. The show’s book was written by John August, another Drake alumni.


The Washington Square Park arch. Walking around a park in New York City is a breath of fresh air (literally). It’s one of the only times you’ll see more than one tree at a time.


The view from my doctor’s office in the Financial District. I wouldn’t mind staring out that window every day.


The Prospect Park arch in Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. I love the architecture here.


My boss, Merissa, and coworker, Laura, and I at Google’s office in Chelsea trying on Google Glass. We picked up a pair of Glass for the New York Daily News team to experiment with.


A view of the city at night from the airplane after I arrived back from Christmas in Wisconsin.

 

Welcome to the Family

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I'm glad you're here

So this is that obligatory first post almost everyone does when they start a blog, right? You know, the one that gets them motivated and hopefully allows them to spill all of their feelings out to decide how to proceed. We’ll see how this goes.

I’ve blogged in the past, albeit not very consistently and without a unified theme. I was introduced to blogging in college, where I was required to do it for a few classes. Eventually, the idea around blogging caught on with me and I loved doing it. But still, I couldn’t find those one or two things that I thought I could consistently, week after week, month after month, write about without sounding like a broken record.

I’m hoping Better with Family will be the answer to that problem. When I started thinking about themes and topics for this blog, I think I wrote down about 50 different ones. Some were topics about one specific thing that I knew I couldn’t write much about but the others turned out to be the inspiration for writing today.

On this blog (or site, however you want to think about it), I will be chronicling my life as a 20-something and learning to live a life on my own terms. I’ve picked five large themes to focus on: food, life events, photography, home décor, and graphics.

These five themes seem to be what matter most to me. But with a twist, they’re also things that I think are important for everyone to share with their “family,” whatever that word might mean to you. To me, “family” encompasses everyone in my life who matters most—from my mom and dad to my best friends from college. I encourage you to share these events (and your own) with your family, whomever those people might be.

So thanks for reading. I’m not sure what this road looks like even six months from now but I’m excited to find out. Welcome to my family. I hope you enjoy the journey with me.