Member-only story
I Left New York for Greener Pastures — and a Puppy
The rolling hills of Appalachia have been my refuge from the coronavirus epidemic
GEN asked two writers to explore what it means to stay in New York, and what it’s like to leave. Glynnis MacNicol stayed in the city. Meghan Daum left New York to quarantine in Virginia’s Appalachian mountains:
Three weeks ago, I fled New York City for the countryside. I know there are arguments against this, some expressed more thoughtfully than others. I ran through them one by one as I was sitting in my Manhattan apartment, wondering whether my limited options were even worth contemplating. The shaming campaigns against defectors hadn’t quite begun yet, but I knew they would soon enough. I also knew that guilt awaited me no matter what I did, and not just because guilt is the organizing principle of my existence. I had a new guilt source in my life: a puppy.
Nearly a year after losing my Saint Bernard, Phoebe, I had, somewhat unexpectedly, acquired a 10-week-old Newfoundland. At first, I thought the timing would be perfect. Due to coronavirus, my upcoming trips and engagements were being canceled one by one. Not yet grasping the seriousness of the situation, I thought, “This is great!” So much uninterrupted time with the puppy and no need to pay dog sitters or lean on…
