For those of you who don't know, I came to visit Patryk in Kansas for Christmas. Coming back to Illinois wasn't really an option for him, seeing as he had to work on the 26th at 5:00 a.m.
We spent Christmas Eve in Kansas City, and we'll head back tomorrow for the weekend, since that is where I'm flying out of. But most importantly, we have spent the past few days here in Newton, KS, which will be our new home.
I pause here because I'm not sure where to start.
Newton is a town of about 26,000 people. Geographically, I'm not sure what the square area is, because 26,000 sounds awfully generous to me. Or it may just be because I'm used to living in a town of that size, Palatine, which happens to be surrounded by a couple dozen OTHER towns of that size. Not really the case here. We are about 20 miles from Wichita, the largest city in Kansas. We considered living in Salina, which is about 40 miles north of here, but chose Newton because, although much smaller than Salina, is much closer to a "city." Patryk, bless his heart, knows that I am a city girl at heart, and I agreed Newton sounded like a better idea.
Christmas Day I was second-guessing that decision.
Newton is TINY and OLD. Or at least it seems old. I haven't finished all my research of the town yet, but the buildings all look like they haven't been updated in about 40 years or so. There is Main Street, which goes for about six or seven blocks, and then quietly tapers off into the neighborhoods around the downtown area.
I nearly panicked - I thought, "there is NOTHING to do here and I will HATE it."
Of course, I am a firm believer that perception and attitude are everything. So Wednesday morning after Patryk headed off to work, I vowed to make myself find something redeeming in this little town.
I decided to literally run into town, since Patryk had his car, and since town is only about 1 mile from the hotel we're staying in, I just took my hotel key and my phone and a few bucks.
Rather than make this long entry even longer, I will just list some of my pleasantly surprising observations:
1) Lots of people have dogs around here. I saw lots of dogs in fenced backyards and people walking their dogs. There is even a pet boutique downtown. Go figure!
2) People you pass on the sidewalk are very friendly. This may be because it's a small town, or because a LOT of the town is Mennonite. Another side note, I have learned from the Mennonite USA website and various other legit Internet sources that Mennonites are very welcoming to us "outsiders" - they seek to connect with the larger world rather than seclude themselves from it, a la the Amish.
3) I found a coffeehouse/bookstore called Pages. I was so happy when I went into it I nearly hugged the woman who made my hot cocoa. It is a quirky little bookstore with free wi-fi, homemade baked goods, soups, sandwiches, and hot cocoa that is made with real chocolate and steamed milk - I watched them. No powdered cocoa here. I may live there tomorrow, seeing as I have to vacate the hotel 3 hours before Patryk gets done with work.
4) The local supermarket is Dillon's. Same company as Kroger, and it was AWESOME just like my old Kroger I used to go to in Kentucky. I even tried using my Kroger card and it RECOGNIZED ME!
5) I always like a place that has a Walgreen's 24 hour pharmacy. Somehow, I trust them.
6) Lots of little "mom & pop" cafes and bakeries abound, but they legitimately look like they have good stuff. There's a place called The Breadbasket and a place called Karen's Corner, which is cute because if your name is Karen you get your first meal free there and they hang a picture of you on their Wall of Karens. A wall of Karens! Love it.
7) After seeing lots of interesting little restaurants, I checked online and lo and behold, Newton is on TripAdvisor. And there are 26 restaurants in Newton! I was impressed.
So, it's clearly not Naperville, but that's fine. It might just be more charming. It sort of had the opposite effect on me than a place like Midway, KY has. Midway is absolutely adorable as soon as you see it, and then after 20 minutes there you realize you're kinda bored. Newton is not adorable in the least, but after perusing around downtown for about 45 minutes (and also finding a wonderfully-smelling spice store and a tanning salon, because apparently every town has a tanning salon), I think I'm going to be just fine here.
You know, for a year. :-)
We spent Christmas Eve in Kansas City, and we'll head back tomorrow for the weekend, since that is where I'm flying out of. But most importantly, we have spent the past few days here in Newton, KS, which will be our new home.
I pause here because I'm not sure where to start.
Newton is a town of about 26,000 people. Geographically, I'm not sure what the square area is, because 26,000 sounds awfully generous to me. Or it may just be because I'm used to living in a town of that size, Palatine, which happens to be surrounded by a couple dozen OTHER towns of that size. Not really the case here. We are about 20 miles from Wichita, the largest city in Kansas. We considered living in Salina, which is about 40 miles north of here, but chose Newton because, although much smaller than Salina, is much closer to a "city." Patryk, bless his heart, knows that I am a city girl at heart, and I agreed Newton sounded like a better idea.
Christmas Day I was second-guessing that decision.
Newton is TINY and OLD. Or at least it seems old. I haven't finished all my research of the town yet, but the buildings all look like they haven't been updated in about 40 years or so. There is Main Street, which goes for about six or seven blocks, and then quietly tapers off into the neighborhoods around the downtown area.
I nearly panicked - I thought, "there is NOTHING to do here and I will HATE it."
Of course, I am a firm believer that perception and attitude are everything. So Wednesday morning after Patryk headed off to work, I vowed to make myself find something redeeming in this little town.
I decided to literally run into town, since Patryk had his car, and since town is only about 1 mile from the hotel we're staying in, I just took my hotel key and my phone and a few bucks.
Rather than make this long entry even longer, I will just list some of my pleasantly surprising observations:
1) Lots of people have dogs around here. I saw lots of dogs in fenced backyards and people walking their dogs. There is even a pet boutique downtown. Go figure!
2) People you pass on the sidewalk are very friendly. This may be because it's a small town, or because a LOT of the town is Mennonite. Another side note, I have learned from the Mennonite USA website and various other legit Internet sources that Mennonites are very welcoming to us "outsiders" - they seek to connect with the larger world rather than seclude themselves from it, a la the Amish.
3) I found a coffeehouse/bookstore called Pages. I was so happy when I went into it I nearly hugged the woman who made my hot cocoa. It is a quirky little bookstore with free wi-fi, homemade baked goods, soups, sandwiches, and hot cocoa that is made with real chocolate and steamed milk - I watched them. No powdered cocoa here. I may live there tomorrow, seeing as I have to vacate the hotel 3 hours before Patryk gets done with work.
4) The local supermarket is Dillon's. Same company as Kroger, and it was AWESOME just like my old Kroger I used to go to in Kentucky. I even tried using my Kroger card and it RECOGNIZED ME!
5) I always like a place that has a Walgreen's 24 hour pharmacy. Somehow, I trust them.
6) Lots of little "mom & pop" cafes and bakeries abound, but they legitimately look like they have good stuff. There's a place called The Breadbasket and a place called Karen's Corner, which is cute because if your name is Karen you get your first meal free there and they hang a picture of you on their Wall of Karens. A wall of Karens! Love it.
7) After seeing lots of interesting little restaurants, I checked online and lo and behold, Newton is on TripAdvisor. And there are 26 restaurants in Newton! I was impressed.
So, it's clearly not Naperville, but that's fine. It might just be more charming. It sort of had the opposite effect on me than a place like Midway, KY has. Midway is absolutely adorable as soon as you see it, and then after 20 minutes there you realize you're kinda bored. Newton is not adorable in the least, but after perusing around downtown for about 45 minutes (and also finding a wonderfully-smelling spice store and a tanning salon, because apparently every town has a tanning salon), I think I'm going to be just fine here.
You know, for a year. :-)
