“I’ve been knitting like crazy. I did yoga for a long time
at Yoga on High. I am a festival junkie and I love to
go see bands. Columbus has one of the most burgeoning
music scenes.”
[most recent vacation]
India for two weeks - “It was amazing. It was the furthest
away I have ever been in my life, and it was eye-opening
and humbling. I don’t know if I would call it a
vacation, but more of a life experience.”
[on being transient]
Born in Houston, Alex’s father’s work took the
family all over the country. Alex moved quite a bit, living in
Connecticut Colorado, New York and Massachusetts. She moved to
the Midwest the summer before 9th grade and has been
here for 16 years (with the exception of a few short stints in
other cities).
“It’s so comfortable to live here. I lived in some
really big cities and people tend to be more image-conscious
there,” she says.
Alex likes that Columbus has a good urban
sensibility without all the baggage. “It’s really expensive to
live in some of those cities, there’s a lot of traffic and it
seems like everyone is trying to prove something,” she says.
“There’s something about it here that makes it easy going,
relaxed, nice and approachable. I think that’s why I like it
here.”[on infidelity]
Despite her love for Columbus, Alex did try
other cities. “I did leave a couple of times, but I just kept
aching for Columbus, it was the weirdest thing. I had a friend
tell me a long, long time ago, it’s like a magnet here. There
are so many people who have moved away and come back.”
She went to college at Washington and Lee in
Lexington, Virginia where she majored in Journalism/Mass
Communications and Spanish. Founded by George Washington and
Robert E. Lee, it is a very southern, historical school.
“It was interesting, more
conservative than I would have liked. I didn’t realize that
until I got there because I visited during the summer,” Alex
says. “When I got there in the fall and went to the first
football game, all the women were wearing dresses and all the
men were wearing suits and ties. I thought, ‘oh boy, what have I
done.’”
Another adventure was her year in San Diego.
“There’s a certain allure about another city and you go visit
it and it’s not all that’s it’s cracked up to be,” she says.
“When I lived in San Diego, everyone thought ‘what an amazing
place,’ but I was disappointed, I didn’t love it there. I
thought it was okay but I didn’t feel comfortable with the
people, everything was three times as expensive. I sat in
traffic all the time and everybody was just kind of out to
impress everyone else and I couldn’t relax, I couldn’t take a
deep breath.”
Alex doesn’t regret making those moves. “When
you come back, then you have double the appreciation for
Columbus and the people,” she says.[on strip malls, cineplexes and the price of convenience]
Alex has lived in the Short North for seven
years. Before that, she did her time in suburbia. “I grew up in
Bexley and had an apartment in the suburbs. I wanted to die. I
was so miserable. I was close to strip malls and cineplexes,
which was convenient but so depressing,” she says. “There were
no mature trees. Here you look out and see green. I love these
big old trees.”
Alex and her boyfriend, Ben, live in a 100 year-old home
they bought recently. She says her neighborhood is vastly
different than her home in the suburbs. “It was all new stuff
and chain restaurants. I just felt like I was lost. After a year
I came back down here and I felt so happy,” she says.
Alex also lived in German Village. “I loved
German Village. It’s quieter, charming, cozy and easy to go for
walks and get lost. It’s just amazing, but Short North has so
much energy and vitality because of nearby campus, they are
night and day,” she says. “Living over here forces you to come
out of your shell. You can hide in German Village, you can be
quiet, do your own thing there. Living here forces you to come
out and talk to people and communicate.”
[on gritty, beautiful places]
When it comes to getting out, Alex has several
favorite places she frequents. “I run around Goodale Park a lot.
I feel like I have memorized every single pebble and crack,” she
says.
When it comes to bars, restaurants and
nightlife, Alex likes the independently-owned business.
“I like to go get a drink at Victorians
Midnight Café. It’s not just a restaurant and bar, the people
who own it are into progressive thought and holding forums. They
always have demonstrations and benefits. They also have open mic
night for poetry.”
Alex says while there are many beautiful new
restaurants in the area, she goes for the smaller, “grittier”
places. “I like the patio at La Estrada. It’s fun to sit out
there and have a beer.”
She also enjoys the North Market, a place she
worked during high school, and Benevolence Café.
This summer Alex and Ben are working on
starting their own business, going to see bands and looking
forward to one of the many next big summer festivals.[check out Alex's favorite haunts]
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