After getting to know me for just a few minutes, many people ask, “You must have been born and raised in Buffalo, right?”

The answer to that question is no. I moved to Buffalo roughly six years ago for college and was fortunate enough to have a job offer in the city before I graduated.

I have only just begun to scratch the surface of its history and culture. Yet I am completely captivated by Buffalo. I don’t just love this city, I adore it.

When I’m not shamelessly promoting Buffalo, I’m doing my best to listen and learn more about the city that has fostered my growth these past few years.

Ask anyone who has taken the time to learn about the quirks of Buffalo — like how Hoyt Lake serves as the perfect backdrop for both a wedding and an afternoon run; how the developments downtown reinvigorated a conversation that has been long overdue; how getting stuck in traffic really only puts you a few minutes behind schedule; the way a stranger always helps get your car out of the snow after a bad storm.

Buffalo is named the “city of good neighbors” for a reason. You can feel it when you’re here. There’s a lack of judgement and an abundance of stories just waiting to be told.

The same could be true for your city, too.

Awhile ago I was talking to my friend who works in New York City. After admitting some apprehension at the thought of living in a large city one day, she said,

“You find ways to to make the city feel smaller — by spending time in the corner of your favorite coffee shop, or sitting underneath a tree that reminds you of where you grew up.”

She was right. I believe you can find ways to make any location feel like home.

Maybe I’ll live in Buffalo my whole life, raise my kids here and show them the same love for this city that others showed me. Maybe I’ll move to a different city and fall in love with that place, too.

Yet how long I stay here doesn’t matter as much as what I do with the time that’s right in front of me. Because when you’re fortunate enough to have home be a place filled with such kind, witty, generous and charismatic people like those from Buffalo, you’d be a fool to not consider yourself lucky.

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[originally published on Medium.com]