As my time in Iowa City draws to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to make a top ten list of things I will miss about this city I’ve lived in for 8 years…

10. The Hawkeyes – marching band, bowl games, underdog glory, and odd-defying miracles. My last moment in the HMB was marked by “the catch” against LSU…I knew then I would be a Hawkeye for life. A game day in Iowa City is like nothing else.

9. Manville Heights – One of the most beautiful and unique neighborhoods, Manville Heights was my home for five of the eight years I’ve lived here. From the apartment with April and Jenna to my little palace on River Street, it houses memories both fabulous and extremely painful. It’s where I met new friends, had my heart broken, and found the man of my dreams.

8. The Iowa River – Smelly, foul, and likely to eat your skin off if you happen to stumble into its current, the Iowa River is beloved and cursed in my book. It began as my landmark for finding my way around Iowa City. It now represents the destruction of the arts campus I held so dear. Damn you, Iowa River…I will miss you.

7. The Arts Campus – My first class was held in Voxman music hall. My second was in the old art building. That campus became my home for most of my undergraduate career. I loved that it wasn’t shiny and new, but rather lived in and historic. Thousands of music, theater, and art students had roamed those building and sidewalks. Sure, there were cockroaches in the auditorium and only two stalls in the ladies’ bathroom, but that didn’t matter because there was art literally all around you. I hope they can recreate that magical campus at a safer location. Preferably not in an old Menards.

6. University Heights – My current home. I will miss the cop sitting in front of Taste on Melrose every day, monitoring my speed. Scratch that…I will just miss Taste on Melrose. Pizza and Pinot!

5. Whitey’s – Hands down the best ice cream ever. Period.

4. The Ped Mall – Hippies playing banjo, progeny of Chicago’s suburbs, and local businessmen and women all come together on this bricked pavilion to enjoy the shops and restaurants of Iowa City. And the bars. My favorite part will always be the fountain. It’s like magic! Where does the water come from??

3. Food and Drink – Iowa City is full of fantastic places to eat – Thai Spice, Airliner, Pagliai’s, Saloon, Atlas, the Motley Cow, Bluebird Diner, Hamburg Inn, Wig and Pen, Oyama Sushi, Takanami, and let’s not forget my unswerving devotion to Whitey’s…oh there are so many more. I’ve never felt the need to eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger in this town. As far as drinks go, you will never be far from a bar in Iowa City. And I know I will dream of Java House coffee once I move away. It’s become a daily tradition.

2. Friends – I have met the most incredible people in this city. My oto crew, my HMB buddies, my yoga freaks, and my Melissa. Can’t everyone just move out to Virginia for a couple of years? That would make this a hell of a lot easier…

1. Summertime – Don’t get me wrong, fall is great ‘cause there’s football and spring is nice because everything’s all green and purple and white…but nothing beats summer in Iowa City. The arts festival, the jazz festival, the nights spent in a beer garden with friends or long afternoons spent hiking out by the Res and Lake McBride…the fact that the undergrads have vacated the town. Farmers markets, Saturday night movie series, everyone smiling as they greet you on the street…There are a million reasons why summer in Iowa City is the best.

But I definitely won’t miss the winters.

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