Moving to Media: Why we chose a Transition Town

This past February my husband, Ibrahim, came back from an interview at UPenn brimming with excitement about his new job prospect.  Philly?  I could hardly wrap my head around it.  I grew up an hour outside Philadelphia, and while I longed for the rural landscape of my childhood, I could not for a moment picture myself living in Center City.  Not even a suburb, for that matter.  I wanted to move from Boston, be closer to family.  But I was envisioning being "nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains".  What about the position at UVA?  Moving near my sister in Charlottesville?  No.  Ibrahim clearly had found a home at UPenn and was excited too about the varied acting opportunities the Philly theater scene presented.  I had to figure out a way to get behind this plan.

I locked myself in the office for the next two hours and poured over google maps, web resources for Philadelphia parents....  I began by searching for outdoor activities.   Where do people go apple picking, hiking? Where is there a Farmer's Market?  It didn't take long for me to hone in on Upper Providence, a township just west of the "Blue Route".  There one can find easy access to Tyler Arboretum, Ridley State Park, and Linvilla Orchard, but still take the train into the city is under half an hour.  I then started to sift through the surrounding towns:  Newtown Square, Swarthmore, Wallingford, and Media.

I was immediately struck by Media's town website.  The self-proclaimed "Everybody's Hometown" boasted a variety of family friendly community oriented events:  a Farmer's Market, several music festivals each year, and a "Dining Under the Stars" event, when the main street through town is shut down every Wednesday night through summer to allow for al fresco dining.  But it was when I noticed Media's status as the "First Fair Trade" town in the United States that I really began to be intrigued.  Perhaps we were onto something here.  As I dug deeper into my research (all the while locked in my office refusing to answer either Ibrahim or Aya's pleas for me to join them in the playroom), I discovered that Media is also a Transition Town.  A what?  I'd never heard of the term myself, but the more I read the more I suspected I had in fact found our new home.


I learned that the Transition Movement was started by a permaculture educator, Rob Hopkins, in Ireland in 2005.  The first Transition Town emerged in 2006, followed by the Transition Network in the UK and Transition US in the United States in 2007.  Today there are 117 Transition Towns in the United States alone.  So, what the heck is it??   The Transition Movement, in a nutshell, recognizes that the way in which we are currently living on the planet is completely and utterly unsustainable.  We simply do not have enough fossil fuel resources to continue in our present manner of consumption and waste, and we must begin to prepare for a post-carbon economy.  The way to do this is from the ground up, building resilient communities working creatively and collaboratively to "design new ways of living that are more nourishing, fulfilling, and ecologically sustainable." 


Having discovered a passion for ecology and sustainable development in college, I spent my junior year abroad traveling to various "eco-villages" and learning about passive solar heating and cooking, organic farming, permaculture, and living in intentional community.  I stayed at Tich Nhat Hahn's Plum Village in France and Auroville in Tamil Nadu, India, among other places.  For several summers I also lived and worked on Pinon Eco-village in Pojaque, New Mexico.  I am the kind of person who is fascinated and thrilled by the prospect of converting cow dung into usable methane gas for cooking oatmeal (the best oatmeal I've ever had!)  And I live with a general sense of anxiety knowing with each disposable diaper that I throw into the trash that I am through my daily existence contributing more to the problem than the solution.  The last 5 or 6 years I have been wholly focused on "establishing a career" and motherhood, but deep within me has been a not so quiet yearning to escape city-life, plop down on a farm somewhere, grow my own tomatoes and learn how to can them for winter (and maybe give those cloth diapers a try).  This past year my book club read "Radical Homemakers" by Shannon Hayes and I recognized for the first time that one does not need to escape society in order to live a value creative life with a smaller carbon footprint.   You can make your own soap wherever you live, and if you live in community, all the better to do so collectively.


So, after 2 hours locked in my office on the computer, I emerged to the playroom.  "Ok, you can take the job at UPenn on one condition: we have to move to Media, PA so I can join this Transition Town team they've got down there."  Followed by a whole lot of explaining.....


Since then I have made connections with the Transition Town Media, and have been overwhelmed by the welcoming response we have received from members of the community.  I am excited to discover what role I can play in supporting this amazing initiative.  In fact, tomorrow I am heading down to Media, PA for a 2 day "Timebanking in Transition" conference.   Curious about Timebanking and how it connects the the Transition Movement?  Stay tuned!  I will have much more to report in a few days.