One of the most common things that make me think about moving to a different location from the Akron area is the idea of being in a place where the healthy lifestyle of people is more prevalent. It is a legitimate thought as the healthy lifestyle indexes for Ohio are middling at best.
However, just because the averages are not where someone would like it does not mean you need to let the lifestyle of where you live pick you.
One excuse I often think about is the seasonality of Ohio. You cannot always do the same things year-round. We love hiking as a family but not into Winter hiking. So I tend to do less in Winter.
However, if you look at some of the best places for active lifestyles in the nation, some of the top cities have the same seasons. Wisconsin, Colorado and Idaho all have highly ranked health indexes based on lifestyles.
So, what can you do to not fall into the trap of a less healthy lifestyle in Akron Ohio?
1. It is critical to have a year-round plan. You can choose activities that you can do year-round, such as a gym, indoor tennis, racket ball, basketball, working out on equipment you own, etc.
2. You can also tough out an activity year-round even if it is not traditional. One person I know who is very fit runs every day year-round with a group except for thunder storms. All other conditions she goes out, no matter the temperature or condition.
3. Not planning to do the same thing year-round, know what you can do in each season and have a backup plan for when the weather is not cooperating.
A healthy lifestyle is not just about the excursive. It is also about diet and let’s face it, we have less healthy places to eat and more easy but bad places to eat. But this is a matter of planning and doing a bit of research as well. Places like Chipotle have healthy options for something fast and most places will have healthy options. If you are looking for a breakfast or lunch, First Watch is a great option that is healthy and sprinkled around the Akron area.
We are not going to have all the options of a big city on the West coast any time soon but they do exist. Plan ahead and you will be able to not just default to a bad option when you are famished.
Plus, you can always start preparing some more things in advance and not needing to grab a meal out as often. If you are taking care of more meals at home and taking advantage of outdoor activities such as the wealth of walking paths and hiking trails in Akron you can save a lot of money, improve your fitness and choose the lifestyle you want, instead of defaulting to the one most common near you.
