I grew up in the Bronx, the NYC borough known as the birthplace of hip-hop and the home of the Yankees. It’s the third-most densely populated county in the US, with around 1.4 million residents.
I loved my home, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I longed for more space. So, my husband and I left the apartment we occupied in my parents’ home and moved 45 minutes away into a split-level house on a half-acre plot with a babbling brook.
Now, we live in a village with around 8,000 people. It’s easily accessible by train, and there’s a flower shop, a local coffee spot with an attached bookstore, and an ice-cream shop with homemade flavors like roasted pistachio and fresh cantaloupe.
I love our cute village and all the nature that surrounds us — but I’m also paranoid about ticks, and lawn work takes my husband a whole day every other weekend. I still haven’t adjusted to the lack of convenience, and I miss my family.
That’s why, three years into living here, we started itching to move back to the Bronx.
There was a lot we hadn’t considered when we moved here
We moved away to find a deeper connection with nature and more space, but the trade-offs haven’t necessarily felt worth it to us.
I love that every window in our house looks out onto greenery, but I’ve realized that so much of the nature and wildlife I’d wanted from this move, I’d already had in the Bronx. I had simply taken it for granted.
Green space? Many houses in my parents’ neighborhood have small yards with veggie gardens. Outdoor activities? The Bronx has tons of bike trails, a beach, a zoo, and the New York Botanical Garden.
Although our current house is nice and roomy, it also feels empty without my parents and brother stopping in all the time, like they used to. As my parents get older and my husband and I plan to start trying for our own kid, being closer to family feels more important than ever.
There are also challenges we didn’t expect. When we relocated to a place without a public-transit system, I’d failed to consider the lack of convenience.
I don’t drive, so now I have to either walk over a mile to the nearest grocery store and back or pay for food delivery from the Whole Foods located a few towns over.
Although I know I could get my license, I don’t necessarily want a lifestyle that’s so car-dependent. Plus, with my husband using our only car to commute down to the Bronx for work, it’d be an extra expense to get a second vehicle.
Unfortunately, our search for a new home feels nearly impossible
I’d like to move back to the neighborhood where I grew up because that’s what feels like home. I want to support the place and people who made me who I am today.
The housing inventory in that area has been sluggish, though, and sellers are still pricing high. These days, older houses in need of major renovations in the Bronx cost about the same as larger, newer homes in our current town.
Pretty much all the options stretch our limited budget: mostly equity in our current house and some minor savings. Money has been especially tight since I lost my full-time job last year.
Then there are the current 30-year mortgage interest rates, which have been (often more than) double the 3% we secured back in 2021.
Factor in the generally high cost of living in New York City, and I’m starting to believe we’ve been priced out of the neighborhood where I grew up.
I don’t regret leaving the city, because it taught me a lot about myself and what I value. Getting back to the Bronx is the right next step, though, and I’m holding on to hope that I’ll find my way home soon.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post After a lifetime in New York City, I moved to a charming small town. Five years later, all I want is to go back home. appeared first on Business Insider.
