It’s official: I am now a full-fledged resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  I know, I know.  I’ve been living here a month now (I still can’t believe I live here, by the way), but it all became “official” last week, when the last vestige of my life in Florida went by the wayside: I got Massachusetts license plates.  I’ve discovered many things about this portion of the country, some good, some not-so-good.  My last entry was about the things I’ll miss about Tallahassee.  And sure enough, those all still hold true.   But rather than dwell on the negative of no longer being in a place I liked, I thought I’d make a list of the stuff that has impressed me about Lowell and the surrounding area.  Here goes:

1. The weather at this time of year is absolutely gorgeous.  I mean, for the last two weeks, it’s just been stunning.  Highs maxing out in the low 80’s (and by low 80’s, I’m talking 80, 81 tops.), bright sunshine, clear skies, light breezes.  And I live right on the Merrimac River, so it’s a pleasure walking Oreo (except that she still gets a bit crazy when other pets are around).  I know it’s only a matter of time before the weather gets miserable, so I’ll take as many perfect days  as I can get before Old Man Winter dumps all over the place.

2. I absolutely love my new apartment.  It’s bright and clean and spacious, thereby making me more fastidious about keeping it up.  I haven’t left dishes in the sink, I make my bed on a daily basis, and have been pretty good about not letting clutter build up.  Hopefully it keeps up once the school year starts.  Plus, I have a little balcony so I can enjoy the nice weather even more.

3. I have ready access to a major city (Boston) and its airport (Logan International).  Now, don’t get me wrong: I loved Tally’s airport and it’s ultra-low stress level, but it’s nice having travel options and seeing affordable flight prices out of an airport that’s less than an hour away.  Plus, I have access to Manchester’s Regional Airport, too, which gives me even more options.

4. I live two miles from school.  Literally.  My commute takes 10 minutes, tops, and that’s only because I have to deal with traffic crossing the Rourke Bridge.

5. The view from my UML office is great.  I’m on the fourth floor of the Fine Arts building, on the side that overlooks the Merrimac.  Here’s what I see when I look out the window:

6. The drive up to Nashua, NH (where I do a lot of my shopping) is scenic and low-stress.  It follows the Merrimac for the majority of the tree-lined 7-mile ride.  It’s going to be beautiful in the fall with all the leaves changing colors, and even in the early winter, with a light snowfall filtering through the canopy.

7. Since this area is so old, the streets are not organized very well (read: no grid and poor city planning), which can be interminably frustrating.  But instead of looking at it negatively, I’ve tried to see it as a challenge to learn a new part of the country.  I got to know Houston because I lived there for so long.  Chicago was very easy to get a handle on because the city is on a grid.  Tally was small enough that it didn’t take very long to know my way around.  Lowell is small, too, but the city’s one giant spaghetti bowl.  Learning my new digs will take some time, but the way I see it, if I can learn this place, I can get along anywhere.

It’s only been a month.  That month, however, has gone by rather quickly, and time is sure to fly once the school year gets rolling.  I can’t wait to discover more about Lowell and Boston and New England in general.