In a state of being merry....

I have a few friends who knit and blog and we've decided to embark on a blog project that has nothing to do with knitting. We're going to take turns coming up with a topic every Thursday and we each have to blog about it by the end of that day and post links to each others' blogs so that people can see our different perspectives on the same topic.

Check out the backstory about how the project was conceived and how we all came together.

Here are the other blogs:
Froggie Knits Like Crazy
Charmingly Random
Desperate Madness

This week's topic came from Froggie: One of my favorite parts about my life is . . .

I thought the topic was perfect for what I wanted to talk about this week. It's been a year since we bid on our house and started making plans to move to Maryland. It has led us to one of my favorite parts about my life, which is where I live.

A while back, I put together a "Top 10" list of everything I missed about living in NJ. To explain why I love living in Maryland (at least in the DC area), I'm putting together another "Top 10" list.

Here are my reasons, in no particular order:

1. Living so close to Washington DC. I absolutely love it there and it's nice to be able to hop onto a Metro and be there in 30 minutes or less. I love how historical everything is and how it is not centered around shopping.

2. Our house. I love our house and know we couldn't have found something this great at such a reasonable price in NJ. It fits our personalities and it's so comfortable.

3. The community in which we live. Our community is primarily Modern Orthodox and we know most of our neighbors. It's nice to see people we know outside of shul, such as at the grocery store, at a restaurant, etc. There's even a listserv for the community to keep up on the latest news or get valuable information that we need. My love for the community extends to and from the shul we attend every Shabbos and holiday. It's such a great shul and it meets every need possible.

4. Our friends. I love the friends we have made in Maryland so far. I've blogged about some of them and will blog about more in the future. Everyone is so friendly and social. I even received an indirect compliment from one of them recently. It was so heartwarming! There are also the friends who live outside our community. We may not get to see them as often, but the possibility is always there.

5. Being close to family members. My brother-in-law lives in Baltimore with his family. They live close enough to be able to make impromptu dinner plans on a rainy Sunday (not even a blackout at the restaurant could keep them away). We also have cousins in Virginia, with whom we enjoy getting together. It's nice for the kids to have a lot of cousins their age to play with.

6. My job. I've been at my job for 6 months now and I really love working here. It's a great organization and the work is meaningful. I've assisted at a couple of bigger events and it is such an amazing feeling to be a part of the greater good.

7. The schools. The public school system is very reputable and that makes me feel better about the possibility of putting our kids in public school vs. a yeshiva. I really love how wonderful my older son's school has been in just his first year there. And my younger son's school is fabulous too (right now, he is in a Jewish program).

8. How easy it is to get around. The streets are clearly labeled and there are even shortcuts to avoid traffic on the beltway.

9. Two words: Value Village. It's my favorite new shopping experience. It has turned me into a thrift store junkie!

10. All the nature around us. When we get seasons in Maryland, it is truly obvious. I didn't mind the insane snowfall because the cherry blossoms growing on all the trees in the spring made it worth the wait. And the fall colors are everything I've wanted out of one season. This will be our first full summer living here, so we'll have to see what is in store.

Honorable mentions also go to having a country music station (there wasn't one in NY or NJ), the ongoing used book sale at the library, the cheese fries at our favorite Kosher pizza place, and finally the feeling of contentment and confidence I have from living here. It really should be pronounced as it looks--Merry-land--for I feel truly merry where I live now.