As a self-proclaimed “city girl” I can’t help but think how lucky I am to live in a city that has vast variety of things to do within the city and outside the city. If you happen to be a “city person” who loves nature like me, it is easy to leave the city for a day or a week to go hiking or camping during the summer or skiing or snowboarding in the winter and only an hour drive away. If you happen to not like nature then you can stay in the city and attend a variety of events such as Emerald City Comic-Con, Bumbershoot, sporting event, Broadway shows at the Paramount Theater, concerts and many museums. I love living in Seattle because I am able to do city life stuff and able to take a short drive out of town if I need to get away.

Another benefit to living in any major city is the many opportunities people have in regards to employment, services (i.e. health care, hospitals, homeless shelters, mental health services, food banks) education and volunteer experiences. For me an important part of living in a major city is being able to seek mental health services. Being able get the proper care for my mental illness is key to my recovery. I am not saying living in a rural community is a negative thing it is just not for me especially when it comes to my recovery.

In regards to my recovery, I am beyond grateful that I live in Seattle. As some of my regular readers may know I once had the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Having such a difficult diagnosis like Borderline, living is Seattle is the hub for research on people who live with it or who once lived with it. It is the hub because Marsha Linehan is the creator of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and created it here in Seattle at the University of Washington. If it wasn’t  for being in an intensive two year outpatient DBT program I wouldn’t be in recovery and most likely not working much less blogging. Most importantly I wouldn’t be a Recovered Borderline. Recovered Borderline is something I call myself because I no longer meet the criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

For me the benefits of living in the city out weigh the negatives of living in one. Most importantly living in the city gives me the opportunities that I wouldn’t necessarily get living in the suburbs or rural areas. Opportunities that I am forever grateful for.

Thank you for reading. When I saw the choices of images I had to choose from I chose the one at the beginning of this post because of the opportunities I have had. Again thank for reading. I know it is not very inspirational but am grateful that I was able to share with you why I was inspired by the image. Just like blogging 101 I am enjoying writing 101. Have a great day.