Monica and Brooks Holland

For Monica and Brooks Holland, moving to Spokane involved expanding their world and shrinking it all at the same time.

While living in New York City, the Hollands rented a 750-square-foot apartment and didn’t own a car. Here they own a 2,000-square-foot home and two cars.

The move also meant transitioning from a huge metropolitan area to what, in comparison, feels like small-town life.

“It was a shock,” Monica says of her first glimpse of Spokane. “It struck me as small.”

The two attorneys and their then-baby daughter, Karenna, moved here in the summer of 2005 when Brooks took an assistant professor post at Gonzaga Law School. Since their arrival, they’ve added a second daughter, Eva.

And while the move has involved some adjustments, they both say it has given them opportunities they wouldn’t have in New York.

“I’ve loved being able to be home with my girls,” Monica says. “That’s a luxury you can’t afford in a major metropolitan area.”

“We’re first-time homeowners,” Brooks says. “It’s nice to be able to have that kind of stability, those kind of roots. In New York, it’s hard to crack into the homeowners’ market.

“We were both lawyers for over a decade, and it’s still really hard.”

Why Spokane?

Brooks worked as a public defender in New York and part-time adjunct law professor. He wanted to teach full time, Monica says. “We had to be someplace where we could tolerate living after New York. This was a good offer and a great opportunity.”

Brooks says he is thrilled to be teaching at Gonzaga. “I like the work environment,” he says. “It’s a lot more than just a job. It’s a community.”

Real estate

The Hollands rented a small house before buying a 1927, one-story, stucco home in the Cannon Hill area.

“It’s funny going from apartment dwelling to a house,” Monica says. “We’re acquiring all this stuff. We’re used to being very minimalist because of all the space limitations.

“Now we’ve got patio furniture and a barbecue grill.”

“The house is bigger than any apartment we ever lived in,” Brooks says. “But it’s still pretty small by Spokane standards.”

What do you miss?

Both Monica and Brooks say they miss New York’s diverse population, endless activities and abundant restaurants. And they really miss walking.

“One of my favorite pastimes is just walking and people watching, living a pedestrian city life,” says Brooks, who grew up in San Francisco, another city where many people walk everywhere. “I really enjoyed that feeling of connectedness.

“In a car, I find myself very isolated.”

Settling in

Shortly after moving to Spokane, Monica made fast friends with a neighbor near the house the couple rented.

Now, she goes out most Thursdays with a group of “dynamic women” she met through her former neighbor.

Like she is, she says, many in the group are transplants.

Brooks says he’s found a great group of friends and co-workers at the university.

Overall, he says, “the move has been a real positive experience.”