There are a number of questions you could ask yourself. Would you quit your job? Would you move to a new city? Would you get bangs? The list is endless. We are creatures of habit. We slip into our routines and put one foot in front of the other and go on autopilot.
A year ago my husband and I took a chance.
In November 2013, I went on my first plane ride. Yes, I waited until I was 31 years old to set foot on a plane and go somewhere I had never been before. It wasn't until our honeymoon in 2011 I went to another country; albeit it was the Bahamas, but hey that's somewhere right! My husband on the other hand is a seasoned traveler. His previous job would take him all over North America and to Europe where he would spend at times a month in London, or Paris. So, when it came to choosing a place to go on vacation it would usually come down to one question: where have you not been to? After some thought, we chose Seattle. Obviously, I had never been to the west coast and since I had never flown, why not make it a cross country trip?!
We decided to go to Seattle during the "rainy" season since well, it was cheaper. If you haven't heard Seattle is a tad expensive. We definitely got asked- why Seattle? Doesn't it rain all the time? Don't you want to sit on a beach somewhere? Personally I don't mind the rain or cooler weather. I prefer it over sweltering heat and humidity. Nonetheless, we armed ourselves with waterproof shoes and rain coats, and set out to see what this city was all about. We walked the whole city trying to fit in as much as we could before we left. We ate breakfast at Le Panier twice and filled growlers with local craft beer. We people watched on the waterfront and squeezed into crowded buses at rush hour. You can definitely see the best and worst of a city on foot. Seattle is far from perfect, but I can tell you the exact moment I knew I wanted to live in Western Washington. It was on our third and last full day in Seattle. We had already done all of the tourist things we wanted to do: Space Needle, Pike Place Market, duck tour, ferry rides, etc. So, to fill our last full day in Seattle we decided to hop on a bus and go to the zoo. When we stepped off the bus we were greeted to this view:
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| The Olympic Mountain Range |
When we left Seattle, I remember looking out the window of the plane and seeing Mt. Rainier below us. The image is still burned in my memory and I remember feeling homesick for a city I had just became acquainted with.
Fast forward three years and we had purchased a home in Florida, both had steady jobs, and occasionally talked about Washington. We often thought of going back to visit again and expand our stay to somewhere outside of the city,or take a cruise to Alaska. We would also talk about moving, but I cannot tell you how many times we talked ourselves out of it. It's too expensive. Not a good time to sell. I don't want to leave my job. A list of cons that went on and on.
Then in May 2016 my husband had come to the end of his rope so to say. He hated his job. He had left his company of 10 years for something that required less travel, but he felt limited, and wanted to go possibly in a different direction in his career. So, for him moving to tech-centric Seattle was a no-brainer. For me, I liked my job. I liked my coworkers and was still learning the ins and outs of my fairly new position; the thought of leaving scared me. Also, my family was only 5 miles away. I have three young nieces. We just finished remodeling the house to how we wanted it. Did I mention my family? Why leave?
However, in the back of my mind was the thought of if not now, when? Florida is what I knew. After graduating college I moved back to Jacksonville and started to make a life for myself. The thought of living somewhere else was definitely intriguing, but the thought of the unknown terrified me. Would the grass really be greener?
But we took the risk.
A year ago today we were going over the offers made on our home, and feeling overwhelmed with our decision. Was it the right one? Was this a massive mistake? Why are we leaving the things we worked so hard for? We chose a city on the other side of the country. We knew no one there, but set out to start a new chapter.
Yes, I miss my family like crazy and there are moments where I have wanted to jump in my car and drive back east. But I am living the life I have wanted and missed while living in Florida. I missed being in the mountains. It's a different vibe, and I feel more like myself here. I am still trying to figure out my place here, but it's an adventure, an experience I do not regret.
So, I ask again- what would you do if you weren't scared?
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