My family from the East Coast visited Albert Lea last week.

Every time I get company it makes me think long and hard about why I initially chose to move to Minnesota and why — after almost 10 years — I’m still living here.

Minnesota, like anywhere, has its ups and downs. But I have to say, I think Minnesota has more ups than downs.

It started out that I moved to Albert Lea for my job — at that time I was a reporter for the Tribune.

I was fresh out of college and eager to begin my career as a journalist. It didn’t matter that I was moving to a city I had never been to before or that I had no family here. I was ready to conquer the world.

As time went on, I made new friends. I felt like I was becoming a part of my community.

I married my husband, and I now have two children. We bought a house.

The friendships I had strengthened, and I began to see Albert Lea as a place that was more.

What’s so great about Albert Lea?

Well, first of all why are you still living here? I bet we have many of the same reasons in common.

Aside from the people here, there are many great things about Albert Lea.

I love the lakes. Though we have some work to do to get these lakes dredged, the lakes are definitely our biggest natural asset.

Whether you like swimming in them, fishing in them, walking around them or simply looking at them, we all can enjoy them.

What else is there?

I love downtown Albert Lea. I have always been fascinated to see old buildings — especially those that have been renovated.

A few years ago, I wrote a story about the upstairs apartments in downtown Albert Lea and was thrilled to get a sneak peek into some of these buildings. Some of these buildings have since been renovated and others are getting renovated as we speak.

I never saw downtown Albert Lea during what some call its glory years, but I am proud of our downtown and the business owners who work diligently to help that area grow.

I could go on and on about some of my favorite things about Albert Lea — that’s how much I enjoy living here. But to save you from that, I will leave you with a simple list of some of my other favorites:

• The schools

• The library

• The parks

• City Beach

• My neighborhood

• My church

• Proximity to things in town

• Proximity to bigger cities out of town

Above all these things and quality of life benefits, however, my favorite thing about Albert Lea is the people.

Albert Lea has a lot to offer. Let’s not take that for granted.

 

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.