This is a story for all those who think you can't go home again.
After college, I decided to do what millions of eager twentysomethings have done seemingly forever: I moved to New York. I loved it, and for a long time, it loved me back. I became a publicist, and I reveled in it. Every booking, feature, interview I got felt like a small victory. But, after years of riding the subway, sky-high rents, and exhausting dating rituals, I began to feel like the stresses of city life outweighed those victories—outweighed even those few magical moments, like when you're leaving a glittering party with your best friend, looking fabulous and buzzed on champagne. I moved farther away, to Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn, looking for suburban quiet and cheaper rents while I figured things out. I found myself making the trek to the great new restaurants and parties less and less. And I didn't miss them. By now, I had realized that I really wanted to work for myself, and work in a more creative capacity (even the exciting world of PR can become a little rote). I had made a lot of connections at my job, and I decided to start my own business. I got several clients right away, but it became clear that the jobs that I wanted were never the ones that paid the most. I didn't want to end up in another rut (or in debt!), so something else in the equation had to change.
I didn't really plan to move back home to Baltimore; if you had asked me five years before, I probably would have said it would never happen, that New York was the endgame for me. But now I had my life a little more in gear, and I found I could take my business anywhere. I found that I missed my family, especially my brother. Then my grandfather got sick, and when he passed away and I saw what it did to my father, it convinced me further that I wanted to be nearer to those I loved.
But that was just part of it. I began to really see Baltimore. I live a block from Patterson Park, an Audubon sanctuary, and I hear the birdsong every morning from my sunny home office on the second floor of my row house. I'm also a block away from my favorite pizza place in the city, and a five-minute after-dinner walk away from the Canton waterfront promenade. Baltimore's food, art, and start-up scene is exploding, which is perfect for my own fledgling business. Formerly very industrial, Baltimore is now home to major companies and has a thriving tech, design, and literary community. I suddenly realized that moving to my birth city was more than a convenient solution. I saw that I could really contribute, make an impact, and have a chance to help make it a better place for all residents. So I'm home in Baltimore, making a life of my own design, and every day feels filled with possibility.
—MARISA
