Coming to you live from ... Cleveland, Ohio (Go Cavs)!
Last year, when my partner broke the news that he'd landed a job in the US, I was so thrilled for him. Absolutely ecstatic. What a great career opportunity! And, of course, I agreed to tag along. Any excuse to leave Melbourne for a while and see something new. Why not?
So where would we be based? I asked, giddy at the prospect of living in New York or San Francisco –
"Cleveland," he said, with a double take of his inbox. "It says here I’ll be based in Cleveland, Ohio."
To which I replied ... "Come again?”
After that, I briefly recall trying to get my head around America's northeast on Google maps. Head tilted, zooming-in on the state of Ohio, my initial thoughts were, well ... it's kind of close to New York City – actually it's about an hour plane ride away.
Fast forward to February 2015.
It's been almost a month since we moved into Cleveland's Theatre District, Downtown. I can honestly say I am quite impressed with what we’ve found here. Cleveland is a quaint little city. The people are friendly, honest and welcoming – and they absolutely LOVE Aussie accents.
Downtown | Local basketball legend LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers).
In the heart of North American winter, the weather in Cleveland is FREEZING with temperatures ranging anywhere between 0 to -20C (32 to -4F). Each morning, while sipping on my filtered Erie Island black coffee, I watch the snow fall outside our apartment window.
Some days the white snowflakes are so thick and fluffy they resemble feathers, floating down from the sky. I love when Cleveland turns on the snow globe. I don't think I’ve ever appreciated winter so much. One minor caveat, walking the streets can be a bit of a battle when it’s been snowing heavily or the plough trucks haven’t come through. And I am not the type to remain housebound when things need to get done. The other day I almost fell over while carrying bags of groceries and trudging through about two feet of foamy white snow in the Warehouse District.
Cleveland, Downtown | By night ...
Cleveland, Downtown | By day ...
