Seeing the City Through the Trees

When I moved to Boca Raton about four years ago from Miami, I was hesitant.  Boca Raton has a reputation for being boring and old. So for the sake of being with my love and being a bit over city life, I welcomed the change.  I’d spent some time in Boca so I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. Yes, Boca is quiet and lacks big city culture but it is also safe and clean. Since I’m a mom to a 10 year old girl I figured it wouldn’t be the worse decision I could make.

One of the things I mostly enjoyed about Boca was being able to go to the supermarket and park relatively close to the front door, while in Miami it was always at the back of the lot.  Another great relief was in the lack of traffic.  Let’s be honest living in a big multicultural city is amazing but dealing with the traffic and crime really stinks.

At first it really felt nice to change the scenery.  I really enjoyed all the comforts of living in a suburban city close enough to Miami so that if there was an event I could get there in 45 minutes time (without a wreck on the highway or construction, of course). Another amazing feature of living in Boca is the marvelous school district consisting of mostly “A”rated schools and offering a good amount of magnet programs.  I can say my child has really taken well to her school and is an excellent student. The parents really care and show it by contributing their time and/or money.

View behind our house – Super relaxing!

We just purchased a home in good ole Boca after living in a rental for about 3 years. The neighborhood is quiet and the people seem very friendly. I love my house and the serenity that surrounds it. However there is a time of year when it’s not as serene. That is the winter time. Yeah you know when all the snowbirds migrate down to hog up the nice weather. There should be a law- if you’re not in Fl to endure the summer then you can’t enjoy the winter here, kidding!  Sure Florida thrives on tourism and the slow birds but it gets a little annoying to those living here year round.

The issue here is when you move to a not so cultural city for quiet, from another city which is not quiet, then season kicks in, well you kind of miss your old more cultural city. This time of year a sizeable influx of people coming into Boca makes it so that it takes me an hour to grab a few things at CVS then pickup some dry cleaning.  They are both in the same plaza, dammit! Well, for this, I’d be better off in Miami!

Street art in Miami

Alright maybe I wouldn’t be better off but I often miss my hometown. So Boca isn’t that far from Miami, I get that. I frequently drive down to the magic city, get my fix and drive back home, maybe the best of both worlds. To Boca’s defense, cool places seem to be popping up around town these days.

I guess living away from Miami gives me some perspective. For instance I miss my Cuban cafesito on every corner. I miss Spanish taught in elementary school, or being able to spontaneously decide to go somewhere fabulous. I even miss some of the grittiness, really!  A conundrum indeed, so maybe I just need to find another city with the quiet of a small city and the culture of a big city. What is a city girl to do? Does this even exist? I’m taking suggestions…