NORTH MANKATO — Sept. 11, 2001, was a day that changed the way Americans lived — and the way many people thought about how they lived.

After witnessing the terrorist attacks on the Trade Towers in New York City and the Pentagon, people across America began yearning to once again strengthen the ties that bind, to pull their loved ones closer and start spending quality time with family and friends.

Bob and Elaine Peterson were living in Clifton, N.J., at the time of the attacks. Bob had driven past the Twin Towers on his way to a business meeting in Philadelphia 10 minutes before the first plane hit. Elaine was at their home, which had a view of the New York City skyline from their master bedroom.

“It still gives me chills to talk about that day,” Elaine said. “No one knew what was happening. Bob had just left on a business trip. Everything was crazy. We could see the smoke from the towers from our bedroom for weeks after the attack.”

“New Jersey locked down,” Bob recalled. “No one knew if there was going to be more attacks across the country or what was going to happen next. It was simply bedlam all over the place.”

The Petersons’ daughter, Robin Hughes, remembers the day, too.

“I was teaching in St. Peter when another teacher ran into my room and asked me if I knew where my parents were. I said that they were in New Jersey, and when she told me what happened, I called my mom right away.”

Living through Sept. 11 caused the Petersons to rethink their plans for the future. Elaine, who had retired in 2000, was ready to move away from the East Coast. Bob, who owned his own business and was also close to retirement, agreed.

With their daughter Cindy living in Naples, Fla., and Robin in St. Peter, they knew that they’d be heading either down South or to the upper Midwest. Youngest daughter Amy was living at home with her parents and her daughter, Gabriella.

“We called a family meeting to talk things over,” Bob said. As a group, the Petersons agreed that wherever they moved, they wanted to move together.

“My mother, Eleanor, was living down the street from us in New Jersey,” Elaine said. “The time had come for her to move in with us, so we knew we had to find a place where she’d be comfortable.”

After much discussion, the Petersons ultimately opted for Minnesota. They had been visiting the area since 1980 when Robin enrolled at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Remembering her first impressions of the Minnesota River Valley, Robin says that back then she didn’t think she’d stay at Gustavus for more than a few years.

“I remember seeing that gigantic cut-out of the Jolly Green Giant and thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’ll be living in the same valley as the Jolly Green Giant.’” But she quickly fell in love with her life at Gustavus, and after graduation, she married a classmate who was from St. Peter and stayed.

Another reason that helped the Petersons make up their minds was the lower cost of living in Minnesota compared to Florida. The Petersons agree that just about everything is less expensive here than in Florida or New Jersey.

“Especially the property taxes,” Bob said. “There’s a huge difference in those.”

“And the price of homes,” Elaine said.

Moving from the bright lights of the New York City area to a far more pastoral existence hasn’t been without its challenges. Bob, in particular, had a harder time adjusting to life in the slow lane.

“In New York, everyone is moving at about 150 mph. Here it’s more like 10 mph.”

But as soon as the family joined the Mankato Golf Club, the avid golfer found his niche. Both of the Petersons play golf, but Bob plays “24/7” when possible.

To further illustrate the affordability of the Midwest, he tells a story about when he first went to the Mankato Golf Club and asked about membership fees and was told that they were “15 hundred.”

“I asked, ‘Is that 15 hundred a month?’ and was told that it was 15 hundred a year. I thought that was great.” Bob now serves on the club’s board of directors.

After living in Minnesota for nine years, the couple has a long list of things they like about living in a smaller town. Elaine’s list includes the friendliness of everyone from store clerks to neighbors, having access to excellent health care and the “lack of huge potholes.”

“The only negative is the winter,” Bob said.

Robin is thrilled to have her family living close by after so many years apart. Although there were visits to each other several times each year, she recalls that holidays could be tough.

“We used to go bowling on Thanksgiving because we didn’t have anything else to do. Now we have big family dinners.”

Robin still remembers how happy it made her when her mother invited her family over for pot roast for the first time after her parents moved to North Mankato.

“It was so great to realize that I was going to my parents’ house for dinner and that they were so close by. It just seemed so normal,” she said.

Both Bob and Elaine think about the events of 9/11 often, and Elaine expresses concern that people might be forgetting what happened and how horrific it truly was.

“Right after the attacks, everyone had a flag on their house and a flag on their car, but you don’t see that anymore. I think it’s important that we don’t forget what happened and that we continue to work to protect our freedom.”

The couple, who will be celebrating their 50th anniversary next year, are happy with the decision they made to move closer to their family. In their dining room, among pictures of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is a large plaque that reads: Family.

“Family is everything,” Bob said.