Now that it's set in that we are leaving the friendly confines of Madison for the perhaps-friendlier confines of Dubuque many questions have come up.
Will we like Dubuque? Will it seem too small? Will it offer the opportunities we want for our family? Will Dubuque seem extremely conservative in comparison? If so, will that be good or bad? What will I miss most about Madison? Least? Will we have trouble finding like-minded people? Will we feel like we fit in better in Dubuque than Madison? Can we imagine staying in Dubuque forever? Will we ever figure out why Dubuquers back into parking spaces so much?
My predictions... we will both enjoy being in a much smaller town. We will find that people in Dubuque are, in general, friendlier. It will be weird at times because of past history in Dubuque. We will be driven crazy at times by the car-centered way of life in Dubuque. We will at times feel out of place because of some of our beliefs and thinking, but in some ways we will find that we fit in better. We will miss having so many great restaurant options (not that we took advantage of many of them in Madison). We will enjoy having a much better paper to read over breakfast. We will realize that "normal" in Madison is definitely not "normal" in many places outside of Madison. I will miss being so closely connected to state politics. I will be shocked at how few people get out and run or bike or ski everyday. We will actually take advantage of the opportunities that Dubuque offers in a way that we did not in Madison. We will enjoy being able to get across town so quickly. We will miss having so much selection in our grocery store. We will enjoy feeling a part of a small college community again. We will end up finding a small group of relatively like-minded people with kids and become close friends. We will stay a long time in Dubuque.
I think we are both very excited about moving to Dubuque. I think if you'd asked each of us 10 years ago if we could ever imagine ourselves saying that, I bet we both would have said "no." But we're older and more mature (wiser even, maybe?) and the pull of family connections and the scarcity of college teaching opportunities both were major factors in our thinking.
The time has come for us to move on. Now if we could just find somebody willing to buy our house.
6 comments:
You will *NEVER* figure out why people in Dubuque are so prone to backing into parking spaces. At least, that has been my experience. It's one of the mysteries for the ages.
You need to find some good long bike routes around Dubuque.
There is a lot that Dubuque has to offer - if you just look for it. Hiking, skiing, biking, etc. all at your disposal.
As someone that moved from the "not so friendly" confines of Phoenix to Dubuque twice (yes, I said twice), I would have to say that the hardest thing that you will have to overcome is shifting your mind from the big city thought process to that of a small town. It will be different, but in a good way.
There are a few good bike trails here (Heritage trail comes to mind) but get ready for your legs to get a good workout as Dubuque is pretty hilly.
That said, let me just welcome you to this wonderful jewel of a town on the Mississippi River.
Thoughtful and reflective post. I especially liked the part about a better newspaper. :)
Oh, I was going to let you know that Free Flight bikes is hiring. You should check it out.
It sounds like an exciting opportunity for you guys to be in Dubuque, at least for a while. Even though we love the east coast and big city life, I often wonder how things would be if we move back home to the midwest. (But, then I realize that we are probably living close enough to our families).
Post a Comment