How Wallingford Changed Me

Wallyhood is pleased to introduce a new writer and cartoonist, Shalini Miskelly. Shalini is a stay-at-home mom of two boys and a freelance writer. You can find more of her cartoons and writing at http://readingandchickens.blogspot.com or at http://twitter.com/booksnchickens.

My husband and I moved to Wallingford in 2005 from a dark, soulless crevasse of humanity (also known as Sammamish). We realized from our time in the suburbs that we were more of a city family, and so bought the cheapest house we could find in our favorite neighborhood, and haven’t looked back.

One curious thing we’ve noticed over the years is a slow transformation from suburbanite to Wallingforder (Wallingfordian? Wallingfordite?). For instance, when we lived on the Eastside, our groceries looked like this:

Now that we live in Wallingford, though, our food philosophy has changed a little. We buy direct from farmers, eat unprocessed foods, and love locavores.

When we moved to Wallingford, we had one pet:

Now that we’ve been here six years, we’ve had a few additions:

(The one with extensions is the top of the pecking order; she’s a classic Mean Girl.)

And when we lived in Sammamish, this was our primary mode of transportation:

This wouldn’t do for Wallingford, so now we get around like this:

As for what we thought of real estate? In 2005, we saw this:

and thought, “Outrageous!”

Now we see this:

and think, “A bargain!”

Oh Wallingford. I think our transformation is complete.

Any ways Wallingford has changed you?