I Mved to a Smaller City to Save Money; IT WORKED, BUT I’M STUDGling

It was friday night, and i cann bicying a nearby trail or visiting the local bookstore. Instead, I was sitting in my owa City Apartment scrolling on my phone.

I passed a video of your nozzle in memorial union terrace for live music, a Photo of Old Friends Clintking Margaritas at A Mexican Restaurant I used to love…

As I saw more posts from my community back in Madison, Wisconsin, I felt a pang – not of jealousy, but something closer to grief.

It hit with that i’d now live in iowa City for two years and hadn’t made a single friend.

AS RISING RENT COSTS PUSHED WITH OUT OF MADISON, I SET MY SIGHTS ON Iowa City

I First Moved from Green Bay to Madison for College when I was 18. It Became My Home for the Next Three Decades – A City where I fell in love, became a mother, and had some of the great joys and deepest sorrows.

I HADN’T THOUGHT MUCH ABOUT UNIL ABOUT AGO YEARS AGO, WHEN MY AGING’S LEASE WAS UP FOR REENWAL. For the fourth year in a row, my landlord gaese the rent.

I was living with my partner and splitting the Bills, but we were planning to separate with a few months. To make matters worse, my temporary position as a project manager was nearing its end, stagnating my budget.

Technically, i Could’ve endured the increes, but barely. I didn’t want to be one bad month away from the Edge.

Getting A Different Apartment in the Area Wasn’t Much of an Option Eothher, As Madison Renters Were Dealing With Rising Rents and An AFFORDABILITY CRISIS.

AS I BEGAN THINKING ABOUT RELOCating someone with a Lower Cost of Living, Iowa City Sprang to Mind.

I’d first been there are years ago to attend a reading at its prairie lights bookstore. Nestled in Nature, The City Was Beautiful. It resembled Madison, Only Sleepier and Smaller.

As a freelance wrer, it also -saemed like an ideal place to continue my career. Iowa City is home to the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Is A UNESCO City of Literature.

When i compared apartments between the two cits, i found that rent in Madison was consistently higher than in iowa City. Yet in the latter, the units were new with better amenities – and cost Nearly half as much.

For Everyone apartment I love in Madison but Couldn’t afford, there are several in owa city that we were nicer and well with my budget.

A Few Months Later, with the help of friends, unaccredible every owned into a u-haul, secured my cats in their cariers, and made the three-hour to iowa.

Though i was Saving Money by Living in Iowa, I Beg to Feel Disconnected and Isola

My new home was a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the iowa city area near a wetland preserve.

It has what my Old Place Lacked: A Washer, Dryer, Dishwasher, Central Air, and Eve A Fireplace. My Rent Wold Be $ 1,120 A MONTH. In Madison, an apartment like this bewi at least double that amout.

The Move Gave with Some Breating Room, Both financially and emotality. Many of My Bills Were Lower, and Everything in Town I Needed Was Close by, SO I Rarely Had to Refill My Gas Tank.

SINCE I WAS SPEING TEMP, I SAVED MORE – ENOUGH TO VISIT MY DAGHTER IN EUROPE, WHICH WAS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO ME.

Without the Constant World of Skyrocketing Rent, I felt less stress and more peace.

I love setting up my new home and exploring the neighBorhood. I Attended Book Readings, Explored a Few Churches, and Spent Time in Various Cafés and Shops.

Though i was Friendly with People, months passsed with my forming any real connections. By the time the depths of winter arrived, started to feeles espely isolated.

Two years passsed, and i still hadn’t made friend. I LOOKED INTO ATTENDING LOCAL MEETUPS AND JOINING A BILL STUDY GROUP, but at that point, I was already talking myself out of Iowa City.

Then, my argument Became: if i wasn’t planning to stay, why start something to finish?

It took me years to realize the problem mIight be my mindset – not my new city

Recently, I spent a weekend back in Madison visiting a friend. It was only my second trip the Move, but something Surprised with: My Behavior was Vastly Different.

I was outgoing again – stricting up conversations with the owner at my old favor caoffee shop, chatting with People at the NeighBorhodal Festival, and Making Small Talk With A Stranger Outside a Store.

It dawned on with that i wasn’t like that in iowa City.

I’d been blamy the city for my loneliness, but that wasn’t fair. It hadn’t failed me; I HAD been Holding Back, Hovering Around the Edges of a Life I Hadn’t Fully Stepped Into.

AFTER ALL, WHEREVER WE GO, WE TAKE OURSELVES WITH US – OUR HABITS, HISTORES, AND WAYS OF CONNECTING. In Madison, I HAD GROWN INTO MY COMMUNITY OVER DECADES.

I Mistakenly assumed Relationships Wouuld Simply Appear in Iowa City, underestimating the efffort required to make connections in a new City, especilly as a middle-aged Woman.

SO, I revisited that Bible-Study Group and, This Time, Signed Up to ATTEN The Next Meeting. I ALSO MADE Concrete Plass to Check Out Several Local Writing Groups.

IT’s a first step. If I Want Connection, i’m Going to Have to Reach for it. If I Want To Belong, I Need to Show Up.

I do’t know whereer i’ll stay in iowa City forever – but, for now, i know i haven’t gioven it a real chance just yet.