It’s Official: I’m Moving To…

Damn straight that’s a clickbait title. You’re just going to have to keep reading to find out the answer to where I’m moving.

If you’ve been following along on the blog for a while, you know that I’ve wanted to move away from DC for some time. It started last year, with a failed internal move and lots of job interviewing. And more job interviewing…and more job interviewing. I struggled with both my sense of ennui and my aversion to risk. Finally, I took a leap and decided to stop job interviewing and go into self-employment…slowly (because again, I’m risk-averse).

Now, I’m finally ready to pull the trigger on moving in the next few months. So naturally, I made a spreadsheet to help me decide where I should go. I want to buy a house when I move, so there’s a lot to think about! Last week, I visited my #1 choice from the spreadsheet–Cleveland. As a city, it also had a major leg up on the competition because my BFF Lyra lives there. So unless I hated it, I knew I was probably going to end up there.

As I told Lyra when I arrived at the beginning of the visit, I was 87% sure I was going to move there. It’d take a lot to convince me otherwise. After the trip? I’m 99% sure (unless someone randomly buys me my dream home in another location…that’s the 1%). We spent several days driving around neighborhoods, going to open houses, and talking about our awesome plans for when we live in the same city (dog playdates and boozy movie nights, basically).

So, it’s official–I’m moving to Cleveland!

I haven’t bought a place yet; my plan is to do that in October, with the hope of moving in December or January. But to make this decision even more official (short of spending a massive amount of money on property), I already booked tickets for an epic travel-hacking trip to Jordan next spring. Which leaves from CLE. I basically have to move there now, right?

The Waiting Game

Part of me feels like December is ages away. But it’s already August! The other part of me knows that there is SO. MUCH. to do before I move. But now I can finally start making progress on things. Like using all of those damn boxes I bought OVER A YEAR AGO when I thought I’d be moving quickly…My packing is no longer aspirational! I’ll actually be going somewhere soon! So I am so excited to start actually packing my stuff up…again.

I’ve also started telling a few people about my plan. Everyone has been super supportive so far, including my future boss (I figured he should come in knowing the whole situation). I’m really grateful for that because it should make the transition easier.

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It’s exciting to have a solid plan rather than talking about this move and transition in the theoretical. It’s happening, and I’ll be making so many lists in the next few months. I can’t wait.

If you have any advice on moving cross-country, life in Cleveland, or buying real estate, I’d love to hear it! Or just your random thoughts. Those are cool too. I don’t judge.