For nearly four years, I’ve essentially been living two lives.
I’m a Connecticut transplant who has been living in Massachusetts during that time, three hours away from my hometown.
How did this happen, one might ask? Well, I came across a job opening online for a daily newspaper in Lynn, a city unknown to me at the time and decided to apply.
After hearing back, I got in the car and headed to Lynn for the interview, and was momentarily mesmerized to pass by an ocean in my travels. What was this new world? You see, there’s no ocean where I’m from in Connecticut. You have to drive at least an hour to encounter one.
I later accepted the job and two weeks later, I had moved into an apartment in Lynn. I have to admit, being near water was an appealing factor in my decision, but I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve been to the beach. Some people find sweating on top of a sandy blanket or towel enjoyable. I don’t happen to be one of them.
During my time with The Item, I’ve been splitting my time between Connecticut and Massachusetts. During the week in Lynn, I’m a reporter who covers city government, crime and a variety of other topics.
I spend my days at work speaking with public officials, police and others from numerous professions for stories, but then on many weekends, I go home to Connecticut, where, in contrast, it’s likely not many people know me, other than friends and family. Aside from my parents, nobody from my hometown is reading news from Lynn, Massachusetts.
It’s definitely like living in two different worlds.
Even the experience with sports is different. Back in Connecticut, I’m an hour outside of New York City, which luckily led to me becoming a Yankees fan. Moving to Lynn landed me in Boston Red Sox territory. Try finding another Yankees fan here. There’s only one that comes to my mind. It’s a novelty.
Going back and forth between both places can be challenging, but no matter where life takes me, I’ll always make an effort to go back home. As the old saying goes, it’s important to always remember where you came from.
