When Andrew first told me that he wanted to take a job in Baltimore, I thought, why the heck would we want to move there?? Do we really want to trade living on the Pacific ocean for “crab cakes and football”? I didn’t know anything about the city at that point, except that it seemed dangerous and “The Wire”, a famous HBO cop drama, was filmed there. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised to learn how beautiful the city’s inner harbor is and how friendly the people are. Our 6 month adventure on the east coast was full of excitement and gave us a taste of life in the “charm city”.

One of the highest points was the steak dinner Andrew made December 6^th, before asking me to marry him! We went out that night to one of our favorite restaurant/bars, Ryleigh’s Oyster, with our best friend Elaine and drank their infamous freshly made orange crush cocktails all night.

The lowest point is pretty easy for me to pick-out: It was my first week visiting Andrew in June when he came home at 5am (he worked 3rd shift) and said “Don’t freak out, but I was just robbed at gun point.” How do you expect me to react to that statement?! I instantly started balling out of shock. However, if you ask him about this night, it was easily his high point. An officer in cargo shorts and bullet proof best showed up, Andrew hopped in the cop car shot gun, and they sped up and down the streets looking for the guys. He experienced the Cops TV show firsthand as they located the get-away-van, the cop yanked the driver out through the window, threw him to the ground, and got Andrew’s phone back. His story made the local news.

I was surprised to learn how beautiful the city is. I really enjoyed going for walks/runs around the inner harbor, which sits in the middle of the downtown business district. We settled into Federal Hill, a neighborhood that bumps up right next to the harbor and downtown. The area is named for a grassy hill on the north side of town that looks out over the harbor and city skyline. Federal Hill is full of charming open-air bars, restaurants, and lots of young professionals our age. You can tell it would be easy to settle into a great group of friends here because everyone is so friendly and loves to talk. Over 20% of residents walk to work, so it was common to bump into the same people day to day. This was our street and our cute apartment.

When I first arrived in fall, the streets were lined with beautiful trees just starting to change colors. And then winter came and it was a bit exciting to have to brush snow off my car for the first time in 5 years! That charm wore off as the polar vortex continued and a city with no experience in clearing snow continued to get buried! Overall though, the temperatures are much milder in Baltimore compared to the rest of the east coast, making it a much more manageable winter than I expected.

I was saddened to give up my last claim to CA life when I was forced to convert to a Maryland license. There is clearly a stark contrast between my tanned, tank top wearing CA photo and my pale, scarf-wrapped mug shot on my Maryland ID! Little did I know, I would only be a true Maryland resident for another few months…

When I moved from Manhattan Beach to Baltimore 6 months ago, there were lots of tears and heartfelt goodbyes. But with this  next move, I could not be more excited! We are moving to the rajin’ Cajun city of New Orleans and looking forward to live music, warm weather, swamp tours, and delicious Creole food!I officially landed in the New Orleans airport for the first time last night, on my 27th birthday, and the flight attendant came over the speaker saying “Welcome to the Big Easy!!” I can’t wait to explore the south and learn all about this wild city :)