I would not have written this five weeks ago. Though the idea behind it was starting to work its way into my head. After five years of living in the city, I had hit a breaking point that I could only realize I’d hit by taking a step back.

The initial reason I left the city was actually rather simple. I had hit a patch of writer’s block for Yupfeed content. The southern exposure that made my apartment’s view amazing combined with 80+ degree weather and Chicago building regulations would make said unit a 100 degree sauna (something that I wonder how the complex has not been sued over). And, frankly, I had become homesick. A quick call, and a tagalong with a few friends who’d had the same idea, and I was bound for my hometown in Northern Michigan.

It took about three days for my energy levels to get back to a place that I felt I would be able to function effectively. My levels of self-confidence also rose. As well as quickly breaking out of the writer’s block I’d found myself in.

By then I had been chatting with friends who’d left Chicago and met up with a few at a few of the area’s breweries. All of whom had noted that I looked visibly healthier since leaving the city and I knew that I had changed for the better. But it took the news that a few of said friends were moving to my hometown, though all of them had preexisting ties to the place. It forced an examination of the place that made me realize that, with a few exceptions, everything that had appealed to me about Chicago could be found here. And that maybe there was a place for me here sooner, rather than later?

 In the weeks since, I’ve come to realize that it takes a certain kind of person to function effectively in the urban sprawl. To be an extravert is the starting point. There’s a demand that goes into living in the city. One that allows you to thrive amidst an environment of chaos where you need to be on guard and aware of your surroundings at all times. The best analogy I’ve made for being an introvert in said environment is. “Me operating at 100% in Petosky, is maybe 55-60% in Chicago. To operate at 100% in Chicago here, would require a quantity of caffeine that may as well be an amphetamine.” And that, at least for me, is simply not sustainable.

You’re also probably wondering what this means for the Yupfeed? God knows that I have since making the decision to move to a backwater town about five hours from any place worth moving to for an urbanist. To a certain extent, I don’t know yet. Part of the reason behind the lag in content is that my parents, with whom I am staying until my new lease begins, have established a very strict policy of not photographing inside their house/kitchen. Even writing content like this is difficult due to the fact that it’s almost impossible to focus because of the distractions caused by spending time with two retirees. However I can make a few educated assumptions about how things will play out.

 The recipe content and food articles will be more frequent, be of more general relevance, and will be of higher quality. The reality is that in leaving Chicago, I am leaving behind a culinary mecca where I could order almost anything I’d ever want through a few clicks on Door Dash or Grubhub. Since that will no longer be possible, it will force me to make things that I’d have gone out for or gotten through takeout. And though this may seem counterintuitive, knowing about the Green Street/Division Farmer’s Markets. I do have access to higher quality produce in my hometown due my own vegetable garden at my parent’s house, and their knowing the area farmers. And when it comes to ordering specialty products, such as truffles and other luxury goods. There will be links posted to where I was able to source those from. This will include links to the ordering page for seeds whenever I cook something I had to grow on my own.

The Bar content will be as frequent. The appearance of my old kitchen was a large part of why you never really saw recipe content from this page. And while that’s no longer an issue, it is why the original content was almost exclusively drink based in nature. The plan, as of this moment, is to write each recipe with a beer/wine/cocktail/(coffee/tea) in mind. The reality is also that my supplier will be a hometown cocktail supply store, instead of the regional wholesaler.

The Joint, because of the legality/public image is a complicated category. Even more so when your landlord, despite it being legal in your city, is threatening tenants over owning it. Since that’s no longer an issue. Content for it will also be more regularly produced, and, like the bar the content will be tied to/suggested with recipes. Which is to say. “To enjoy this to the max, find an indica leaning hybrid or something with (insert X weed strain in here) in the lineage”. Though more discussions need to be had with various stakeholders before we set any long term plans/goals.

And that’s just the changes that I see coming to the food category of this site. I could go on for hours about the things that are coming, and the visions that are coming into focus for this site and the brand as a whole. I was always excited to see where this could go, and now I’m finally in a place where I know that it will thrive.

Which brings me to my final point. If my memory serves me right, this was the first article to appear in our health category. I felt that it belonged here due to the fact that the changes in the Yupfeed brand only came because of the improvements in my own mental health that came from moving out of the city, and to a smaller town. After all, maybe you’re reading this and wondering if it’s time to leave the city? Take a week or two, get an Airbnb, and immerse yourself is the advice I have. Look at it as if you’re already living there and try to think about how you fit in to the town. And remember. There’s never any shame in admitting the urban dream is not for you