Sometimes you just have to stop planning and make it happen.
On April 16, 2019, my husband Dakota and I decided to move from our home of 5 years in Hattiesburg, MS to Charlotte, NC. In less than two weeks. We had no plan, no guaranteed jobs, no apartment arranged. We each had two job interviews and an idea of where we wanted to live, but nothing was set in stone. We said a teary eyed goodbye to friends and family, and on April 29th we drove the 622 miles to our new home. I drove my Jeep, and Dakota drove the 15' U-Haul truck that was loaded down and pulling his truck on a trailer. It took us nearly 14 hours to get to Charlotte, and by the time we arrived we were exhausted. Our first night here was quite interesting, and we ended up parking our U-Haul at our Airbnb instead of at the storage facility we originally planned on. On our third day in Charlotte we unloaded all of our belongings out of the U-Haul truck and into a storage unit. If I'm being honest, the first week was full of frustration, anxiety, stress, exhaustion, and uncertainty. We stayed in an Airbnb for 5 days and a hotel for 3 days until we were finally able to get the keys to our apartment. Thankfully, we were both able to get jobs within a few days of being here. Now, here we are 3 weeks later and we are exhausted but happy. The apartment is filled with boxes and bubble wrap, but we are slowly but surely making it a home. We are adjusting to the smaller apartment, having to use Google Maps to get everywhere, new, conflicting schedules, and being away from friends and family, but we are good. We are hopeful and happy. We are figuring things out.
We first fell in love with Charlotte about a year ago, when we came here for a week-long vacation. Ever since, we have talked about moving here. We have tried to plan, save money, find jobs, and just work toward a life here. But unfortunately our move was always delayed for one reason or another. Plans just never seemed to work out. Charlotte isn't the best place for my career, as there are hardly any opportunities here, and for that reason we kind of put a hold on moving and decided to see where jobs take us. Until we decided to stop waiting and to just go. We jumped in. If you know us, you know that this decision was so out of character for us, because we both like to plan things and be responsible and cautious in pretty much everything. In making this decision we were getting out of our comfort zones, which is scary as hell. We were excited and terrified and honestly didn't know what in the hell we were doing, but we were doing it together. And to be honest I have been so thankful for Dakota throughout this entire experience, because doing this with him has made things easier in so many ways. I have felt a lot of anxiety and depression throughout this entire experience, and Dakota has been there to reassure me, hold me, and help me through it all. He and I have experienced so much in the past 4 weeks, and throughout it all we have figured things out together. This has definitely tested and strengthened our marriage, and I am so proud of us for making our dream a reality.
We haven't been able to do much in the city yet, but we have so many plans to explore and experience as much as we can. We don't know how long we will be here, or where we will end up next, but for now we are making the most of where we are. I've learned so much from this experience, and I couldn't have done it without my best friend at my side. Sometimes when life doesn't give you the opportunity you want, you have to create it yourself. I'm so thankful for this opportunity that Dakota and I have created for ourselves. The only thing holding you back from living the life you want, is you. Make it happen. Create happiness.
(ok I'm done being cheesy.)
