At age 14, I got my first taste of a big city when my family took a trip to Chicago.  I’ll never forget sitting in the backseat with my younger sister and watching the skyline as we drove in.  I was immediately memorized by skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of the big city.  From that point on, I told myself I was moving out of Grand Rapids when I got older.

I remember being in high school and thinking, “Grand Rapids is so boring.”  Or, “there is nothing fun to do around here.”  But as I got older and wiser I learned to appreciate the things that really matter and make Grand Rapids such a cool city.  Over the past 10 years I’ve seen Grand Rapids transform into a place with excellent schools and health care, diverse restaurants, music and art institutions, growing tourism, innovative “green” initiatives and a caring community.  In fact, it makes me proud to be raising my daughter in a place that is the best of both worlds…..a big city feel and strong mid-west values.

I recently came across an article in Rapid Growth Media and it sparked my interest.  Do you think Grand Rapids has the potential to be the next Chicago?  We shall see…..

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For the past few weeks I’ve been procrastinating about getting outside and raking the blanket of leaves that cover our front yard.  As I looked out the window last Sunday I realized that my house was the only one on the block without a neatly lined row of yard waste bags along the curb.  The time had come and I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I got the troops up off the couch and the three of us headed outside to work.

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