It has been four months since we sold our house, left Washington and moved to Texas. I’ve been reluctant on writing this post because I just didn’t feel like I was ready to express all the emotions that come with a move/relocation, a new city, new state, new town, new life, new everything. As the end of 2017 nears, I’ve had a few months to reflect and am ready to share my thoughts on our recent move.  It has been both exciting, liberating and joyful, yet there are times I feel sad and miss the place I was so familiar and comfortable with. Being a Seattle native, I’ve only lived away from Seattle to go to college in Pullman and to study abroad in London England for a semester. At age 32, the biggest move for ME at the time was moving from Seattle to the Eastside (Issaquah to be exact).  It was the first time in my adult life that I’ve felt such passion and connection about a place and a home before.  I felt more content than I ever had before. It wasn’t until my husband, children and I did life there that I discovered a new found appreciation for everything about it. I loved the natural beauty surrounded by mountains and trees, the lake nearby, the landscape, the proximity to Seattle and Bellevue, the charming small town feel, the craftsman architecture, the neighborhoods and the excellent schools. I loved how we had access to everything outside our front door and could walk to the park, playground, community center, library, market, shops, and hiking trails.

 

 

With the real estate market up and more equity built up in our home, we knew we wanted to sell to buy and design/build our next dream home and stay in Issaquah.  What we didn’t know was how quickly our home would sell. We listed the last weekend of June and by the second week of July, we accepted an offer and went into contract.  This gave us very little time to go with the plan to build a new home in Issaquah and we hadn’t found any listings that we loved.  The same week that we accepted an offer on our house, John got a call from his employer about a position in Fort Worth and if he was interested, he could start in August.  As in next month August. Freaking out, with no plans or leads for any Issaquah homes, we jumped online to check out potential Dallas/Fort Worth real estate listings. We were surprised by what we saw, especially for the price point. You get a lot of house and land in Texas for half the price of what you would pay in the Seattle/Eastside areas, allowing us to increase and save our net proceeds, and invest in another project.

After discussing the opportunity and weighing our options, whether to stay or move, I wholeheartedly agreed and supported John’s decision to relocate our family for his job.  After all, John has supported my career choices during our entire relationship, going along with my career plans and changes.  It was time to return the favor and encourage his career decision.

As John and I began discussing and comparing our wish lists and requirements in a new home, we compromised and agreed on a ranch style home on half an acre in a country setting about 35 minutes outside of Fort Worth. We worked with a virtual agent who was so helpful in touring and video recording properties for us all over DFW. She wrote up the offer and within days we had mutual acceptance, an inspection date and tentative closing date.

Everything happened so fast that we didn’t have an opportunity to see all of our friends and family that we would have liked to or for a proper farewell. Packing seemed like it was never ending, but we managed to get it done in two weekends and all the hours during the week in between. The task of packing in such a short window gave us the opportunity to purge a lot of unnecessary “things and stuff” that we kept and collected for no reason over the years. I applied some elements of the KonMari Method during the purge and it felt so good to get rid of stuff that we didn’t need or that didn’t spark joy.  I also had fun selling a lot of stuff quickly on OfferUp, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace.

Moving day came and I found it feeling similar to how I felt first going off to college. There’s excitement and fear of the unknown. I remember those college days well… I was homesick at first, yet I knew it was time for that next chapter.  I had no choice but to go forward.  Looking back, those were some of the best years of my life. I never learned so about myself and what I was capable of doing.  It’s a different time now and it’s not just about me anymore – I have a husband and two children now.  I need to show them that life here can be and will be great. It already is great in many ways if we open our eyes and look for it.  It’s also an incredible opportunity, a chance to try new things, explore more of the world, make new traditions, celebrate life and grow.

No matter how much I miss my old life, there’s no better time to move forward – for my husband, our sons, and for myself.  The timing of it all just fell into place organically as if there was a bigger plan for us just waiting to unfold but it was up to us to put in the work and make it happen.  We feel truly blessed.

So here we are, in our new home and new state. The boys have adjusted so well, better than I expected. I know it’s their age that has helped make the transition easier. Jonah at age 7 going on 8 at the time of our move, loves his new school and hasn’t looked back. Baron at age 2 during the move is just enjoying everyday. We like to look at photos together on fb and Instagram of our friends and relatives from back home and the kids do remember the fun memories we had.  We love our new home and are happy with our decision on where and what we purchased. I have plans to make some updates to the house in stages, but for now, I am finding joy in making this house our home through projects such as decorating, repurposing, and styling a whole new blank canvas. (House tour pics coming soon).  Frequent trips to Target (Super Targets in Texas) have been therapeutic and have helped me ease into my new environment here, while discovering new places to eat, shop, play and explore have made it an exciting adventure for the entire family.  There are also Drybar‘s here in Dallas and Fort Worth, hallelujah! I just need to find a new hairstylist and I’ll be good to go.  Speaking of shopping, Dallas is the place to be if you love to shop. John has found his outdoor gun range, and the kids have a cute little park, beach and lake nearby.  At the end of each day, we find tranquility in our new country surroundings.

We appreciate the close friends and relatives who have been supportive and those who have rooted for us (you know who you are) in our decision to move. It really means a lot to know that it is your true friends that have your back no matter what, and uplift and encourage you to live your best life. I’m all about #goodvibesonly. Designing the life you want involves risk, challenges, uncertainty and figuring some things out as you go. There will be voices and negative nellies that tell you “It’s too hard” or “It just doesn’t make sense.”  In fact, our brains are scientifically wired to prevent us from doing things that are uncomfortable, uncertain or scary in order to protect us and survive. But at the risk of sounding cliché, I believe sacrificing a life inside a comfort zone for the sake of living a better, richer and fuller story is the best kind of life worth living.