the time has come, to write an entry about leaving philadelphia.

i started work last monday (june 26) and have been living outside DC. i'm in philly right now, up for the weekend, but i'm no longer living here, really. karl is still here, still in our house with all our furniture and things, but i've taken most of my clothes down to DC.

when i left northern virginia (nova) for college, i told myself i would never move back again. the suburbs are nice, in a green leafy tree sort of way, but are stifling. probably in the way that most suburbs in this country are. in philly, i found my inner urban child and fell in love with the city. not quite cities in general, and probably not philly alone, but philly has certainly set the bar high for other places i will live.

i love being able to walk, or if not that than to bike or take the trolley, to most places i would want to go. i can walk to a farmer's market, an independent coffee shop (with free wi-fi), a deli, several bars, a bank, 3 corner stores, a laundromat, a fencing academy, 2 mexican restaurants, a puppet studio, a thai restaurant, a community arts center, a realtor, 2 schools, 2 pizza places, a chinese take-out, several art studios, a hospital, a police station, a wings joint, a 7-11 (or a Wawa--like 7-11 but better), an Eckerd, a pet store, a fried chicken joint, a liquor store, and if i really wanted to, the philadelphia museum of art.

within biking distance, i extend the options to include: a movie theatre, a ben & jerry's, 3 indian restaurants, 2 more thai places, a senegalese place, a supermarket, another top-notch deli, 2 CVSs, a fancy sushi place, a several more pizza and chinese restaurants, another coffee shop, a park, another farmer's market, several "eclectic american" restaurants, a yoga studio, a used bookstore, a dozen awesome bars, 3 ethiopian restaurants, a couple of italian restaurants, 2 bakeries, an arcade, a bowling lounge, an outdoor market with free summertime jazz concerts, an indian grocery, a couple of halal middle eastern places, a couple of gift stores, a couple of clothing stores, several more banks, a community garden, an ice rink, a hair salon, a couple of nail salons, 2 hardware stores, a locksmith, a neighborhood arts center that offers classes in art, dance, etc. and school of veterinary medicine.

my neighbors are students, professors, aging hippies, grungy anarchists, new immigrants, and young families. we eat at local food trucks that sell more than the hot dogs and ice cream offered in other cities. here, the trucks offer korean, mexican, world vegetarian, fruit, italian, and of course the local specials of soft pretzels and cheesesteaks.

when i hop on public transportation, i can hear the philadelphia orchestra either at their winter home of the kimmel center or their summer home of the mann center, the opera company of philadelphia at the academy of music.

i can wander south street or reading terminal market, bike past boathouse row or run by old city's colonial buildings. i can have a meal at a trendy restaurant or a drink at a dive bar. i can just roam the city looking at murals painted on building walls.

i have done all of these things, and i will miss this city.