Living in 4 States in 7 Years: What I Learned

The short version: North Carolina to Texas to Michigan to Florida.

The longer version (feel free to skip over if you don’t give a shit about the details): I was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina after high school until 2015. Summer of 2015, I moved to Austin, Texas. I met my husband there and we moved back to his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2019. Then, a bitch got cold. We moved to Gulf Breeze, Florida in October of 2022. 

People always ask … so there ya go. Now here’s some valuable shit I learned.

Be comfortable with being alone. 

When you move to a new place and you don’t know anyone there, you’re going to be alone a lot at first. Be comfortable with this. Embrace it. Go out to dinner by yourself, go see a movie by yourself, go on walks by yourself. I promise no one is looking at you and thinking, “Jeez! What a loser!” There’s something about being alone, enjoying your own company and being present with your own thoughts and experiences without the distraction of other people that is so incredibly fucking peaceful. Try it sometime. 

Blah blah blah the traffic sucks here! 

Everyone in every place I have lived in says the same shit. My take? It is what it is. Perhaps, find something better to listen to in your car, homie. 

Outside of your comfort zone is where you will see the most growth.

It is scary. You will constantly doubt yourself and question if you’ve made the right decision. I tell anyone who moves to a new place that it’s going to suck for the first six months. Keep pushing through, get out of your house and go out and do things. It will get better. And if it doesn’t, you can always move somewhere else or back home. Try things you’ve always wanted to try but you’ve been too scared. What would you say to younger you on your death bed? Which would you regret more? Trying the thing or not trying the thing? If it excites you but it’s a little scary, lean into that shit. Go for it. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen? Okay and then what? Mhhhmmm, and then what?” You’ll often find, it’s not that bad. 

To be continued ... since you all have a 10 second attention span.