Last week, I wrote about the things that scare me and excite me about moving to the east coast (in case you missed it).  This week, I’ll break down the things that I’ll miss about Minnesota and some of things that I might not miss as much.

Let’s start with the things about Minnesota that I might not miss:
1.  The average snowfall in the Twin Cities is 49 inches each year.  The average snowfall in north eastern New Jersey is 16 inches.  As I’m sitting in my living room, it is snowing 2-4 inches outside.  I love the snow, but I won’t miss 6 months of non stop snow.
2.  The proximity to other fun places.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Northern MN and Okoboji, but everything takes hours to get to.  A quick weekend to Chicago means 16 hours in the car round trip – and that’s the closest big city.
3.  Sunday drivers on the roads 7 days a week.  People in the East drive fast.  There’s still traffic, but at least people have a sense of urgency.
4.  Upkeep on the house.  It is so nice to have a little time off from weeding, mowing the lawn, shoveling, cleaning three floors of our house.  These things are not my forte right now and weeds have taken over my garden this year… but I’m excited to not have guilt about that anymore.
5.  Pot Holes.  There are a few in our neighborhood that seem to almost qualify as lake 10,001 after it rains.
Now, that list was almost difficult for me to make because there are so many things I will miss about Minnesota.  
1.  Minneapolis.  The home of the Vikes, the Twins and the Wolves.  The Varsity Theater, the Orpheum and First Ave.  Uptown, Downtown, North East.  
2.  Lakes.  I’m going to miss living just down the street from one.  I’m going to miss spending summer weekends reliving my college days in Duluth.  Living on the Hudson will help a little, but it’s just not the same.
3.  Familiar places.  I have lived in Minnesota my entire life.  This week, I made sure to drive by my childhood home and we spent Sunday in our local bar celebrating our new adventure with a bunch of friends.  
4.  My hometown, St. Paul.  I love the town that was mapped out by drunken Irishmen.  I love the parks downtown.  I love the Farmer’s Market.  Como Park, Cathedral Hill, Grand Ave, Highland, downtown and West 7th.  

5.  The People.  Our friends and family live here.  We are so extremely lucky to be surrounded by these people.  I can’t even think about it without tearing up a little bit.  If I tried to post pictures of all of them, it would take me hours.  I’ll leave you with the picture of the birthday boy (I’m writing this on Tuesday night – hope you had an awesome day Brian.)
What are you grateful for this week?  What do you love about your hometown?