what i learned in nyc

I'm so sorry that I've been MIA lately, but I have a very good reason. I had the chance to visit New York City, which I've wanted to do for years, and it was even more amazing than I thought it would be. If it is possible for a person to be in love with a city, I am head over heels for New York. I love all of it: the view from the Empire State Building, shopping on 5th Avenue, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, West Village, the subway, Times Square, Bryant Park, the Chelsea Market, Broadway, Grand Central Station, the crowds, the lights, the history. And I'm sure I will love the many things I didn't have time to do, which is why I need to go back. Soon.

As I explored the city, I thought about how great it would be to just pack everyone up and move there. Joel could work in Finance, we could live on 5th Avenue, across from the Park, and I could spend my days discovering the city with the kids. Perfect! OK, maybe not 5th Avenue, but the West Village was just as nice.

But as we were landing back home in Vancouver, I saw the mountains and the trees, the ocean and the lakes, and I realized that we have it pretty darn good right here. We live literally minutes from the mountains, and at least 5 different lakes. We have a lovely home that backs onto a wooded park. We have space. None of that could happen in an apartment in the West Village. Not to mention the awesome homeschooling laws here in BC, which would definitely be an issue in New York state.

But then I came to a realization: we don't do school, so we have the freedom to travel. Of course, I already knew that, but up until this point "travel" for me has mostly consisted of sitting on a beach in Mexico for a week, and one of the perks of home educating is being able to do that anytime we want, without being a slave to the school calendar. But it didn't really occur to me until now that there would be nothing stopping us from packing up some stuff and living in New York for a month or two. We would be able to really experience the city, instead of being tourists. We would be able to experience city living, versus suburbia. We would have time to soak it all in, rather than cramming as much as we could into five days.

And then why stop at New York? There are so many places I'd love to experience, rather than just "visit." Just think about the learning that would happen if you are immersed in a culture that is different than your own. Why read about Egyptians and pyramids in a textbook when you could be there and experience them? Why try to learn French in a classroom when you could move to Montreal for three months?

Now all we need is a business that we can run from anywhere in the world. Or maybe someone out there wants to fund a trip around the world...? Well, I can dream, anyway. But I love that home educating gives us this freedom, even if it will be a while before we can actually take advantage of it.