Having family reside in locations around the world can be exciting. It can also be a struggle since you lead very different lives. Whenever I return to the Midwest, there are subtle differences I pick up on. This may not be the case for everyone, but it is definitely my predicament. Here are a few examples of what it’s like being a city girl with a Midwest family.
Living in the Bay Area as a city girl, you get used to things moving quickly. Adhering to a specific schedule helps you avoid mishaps, most of the time, but this is not the case in other areas. Family in the Midwest tend to take their time and relish in the fact that things move slowly. They aren’t in a rush to get anywhere and if the horseshoe game starts late, it starts late.
You are considered “the city cousin” who only knows skyscrapers and office cubicles. Now this may very well be the case for some people but then there’s the other half who immediately prove expectations wrong. Whether it comes to fishing, hiking, or spending a day out on the boat these are all things that city girls can enjoy! I may not be used to the excessive heat and mosquito bites in the summer, but I will survive outside.
When two of my great uncles came to California, they were flabbergasted by the freeways. They had no experience with such expansive highways and spent car rides in sheer terror. There are many long country roads and stretches where you will not run into another car back in the Midwest. This fact also relies on where your family lives in the Midwest, but I will never forget how shocked they were by California traffic. Rush hour was not a thing they had to deal with and something they have probably since forgotten.
It is not uncommon to reside in an apartment, townhouse, or loft when living in the city. When on vacation in the Midwest, I noticed that I was not running into any of these types of homes. Instead I was faced with patches of individual land isolated from other families. This aspect of isolated living is something that you don’t run into often deep in the city. On the other hand, my Midwest family couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that I lived back home with neighbors on both sides of me. It all depends on what you prefer I suppose!
Simply by being from the city you are automatically deemed fancy. Since some words you use differ from theirs (example: soda vs. pop), there is an immediate divide. A lot of the time you are able to get past this facade or awkward period but other times you are just seen as Jay Gatsby for some reason. We all face different struggles and just because I live in the city doesn’t mean a thing!
Maybe this is just my family, but I am thoroughly convinced that cowboy boots are seen as a universal alternative. Whether we go to dinner, the mall, or the farm cowboy boots are always present through one of more people. It’s great because whenever I look at my own pair of cowboy boots, I can think about my favorite Midwest people!
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