4 Reasons I Love Living in Ohio

Ohioans have many reasons to love their state, and I've written variations on this theme in the past. Here are four reasons I was reminded of in just my first week as a returning Ohio resident:

1. The Kindness

After house-hunting last Monday, we went for a short walk in the neighborhood we expect to make our home. It was about 7 p.m., after work, so we weren't the only ones out. We passed maybe a dozen people in about 20 minutes. I'm guessing about half of them said hi. I forgot how nice Ohioans are to strangers.

2. The Calmness

Paul didn't use his car horn once last week, and only got honked at one time -- when he hesitated to turn right on red, a remnant of driving in New York, where it's illegal. By comparison, I'm surprised the car horn didn't wear out in Brooklyn.

3. The Selection

One evening last week I went grocery shopping at Meijer, the epitome of a big-box store that sells everything from Coke to clothes to cat litter. There were so many choices! An entire side of an aisle, head to toe, of just cereal. Another aisle of mostly bread. OK, Brooklyn has aisles of bread and cereal -- but aisles there are about half as long. And not just that, but grocery stores in Ohio have room enough for two ginormous carts to pass each other. To pass each other!

4. The Convenience

I used a washer and dryer without having to go outside! I parked in a normal parking spot without having to spy fire hydrants or gauge the distance between cars parked on the side of the street! I went outside without walking down two flights of stairs! Ahh, the luxury.