I went to Minneapolis for two nights this week. Before moving to Moorhead, I lived in San Jose, a city with a population of almost a million people, in the middle of a metropolitan area with 6.7 million people as of the last census. In comparison, the twin cities metropolitan area has 2.9 million people. As we drove into Minneapolis, I was struck by how big everything seemed. How congested and overwhelming it was. And it wasn’t just that everything was new to me. There were so many cars and traffic and noise, and the freeway system is confusing at best. It was just past dusk and the skyline, all lit up was beautiful. I miss that about the SF Bay Area. So many beautiful skylines light up the night.
As we navigated our weekend, with my cousin showing us all the good things we could get in Minneapolis that we can’t get here, it was overwhelming. So many places. So much good stuff. Coffee and salami and authentic Latino food. We even spent a couple hours in the mall of America. We set a 2 hour time limit so we didn’t get overwhelmed, but it took us another hour to find our way out.
As we approached Moorhead from the East, we realized how close to rural we are. We live just a couple miles from farm land. In fact, our neighborhood is called “Johnson Farms.” I imagine a couple years ago it was an actual farm. Moorhead seemed so small and isolated compared to the Twin Cities. And that was a relief. We pulled into our driveway, a place that here-to-for had not yet felt like home. We unpacked our luggage- and all the familiar food we got at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s on the way out of the Cities. And then I relaxed to be at home. Home. I felt at home in Moorhead.
I wondered how long it would take for this new place to feel like home. Now I know. It has taken me a month to acclimate to a smaller metropolitan area. I like being able to get just about anywhere in 15 or 20 minutes. I like the slower pace of this community. But it took me going to Minneapolis to realize this feels like home already.