Like or dislike City Manager Victoria Simonsen, there is one particular aspect of the choice to take a job in Colorado that most anyone can agree is admirable.

Even though the new job as administrator for Lyons, Colo., pays less, she took it for quality of life reasons anyway. Her boyfriend is out there and her children were excited about going, too. Family matters.

A quotation from her resignation letter: “It is my hope that I will be able to start the next chapter of my life with those that I love, in a simpler, less demanding lifestyle that will assist me to find more balance between my home life and my career.”

Pay attracts talent, indeed. But there are less tangible aspects to employment of skilled people than money. As recently as the 1980s, the workplace was about upward mobility, yuppies and how much a person can pull down. But more and more workers these days see quality of life as the big picture. Pay is but one part of that. Money alone doesn’t equal a better life.

So it is admirable Simonsen chose a simpler lifestyle, even if it means less pay, to be near a loved one and to start a new chapter in her life and the lives of her children.

We wish Simonsen well in her endeavors and respect her decision. Thanks for the hard work at City Hall.