our moving plan (or lack thereof)

it's almost july, which means we have to take our out-of-state move a lot more seriously! our move-out date from this apartment is july 26th, and we have no clear plan from that day onward. obviously, we've been brainstorming which cities to consider, but still have not felt confident about any of them. i'm beginning to realize that we never will feel confident about our choice.

here's the shortlist anyway, in no particular order:

1. cincinnati, OH

2. atlanta, GA

3. raleigh/durham, NC

4. richmond, VA

(there have been a few others but i would rather visit them first. so i guess these are the ones that i would move to sight-unseen)

the only city we've been to is cincinnati. we really like it there, but it won't be too different weather and region-wise. i want to escape michigan's gray skies and long, miserable winters. cincinnati gets very gray but the winters aren't as bad and at least it's hilly! we mostly appreciate the city amenities combined with low COL. i do think the city itself is pretty with the hills and historic architecture and the river and parks nearby. it also wouldn't be too hard to take road trips to other interesting cities from there, but it doesn't have the proximity to mountains and ocean that i was hoping for.

i've gone back and forth on atlanta for months! it would truly be an escape from winters but i'm sure i would also be getting out less in the summer. it's not too far from mountains or the ocean, but other cities on my list are closer. i'm also not too sure if i really do like big cities. i think dillon likes them more than me. but i hear it's green and has plenty of trees which i enjoy. i think if we did atlanta we would end up in a suburb. i feel confident about getting jobs there, and another plus is the diverse population.

raleigh/durham is somewhere that i keep hearing people are moving to. it's a growing city that's close to mountains with the climate that i think i'd like. i think the city might just be big enough. durham is grabbing me a bit more because i hear it's a little grittier/cooler but i don't know. housing might be getting a bit expensive there.

richmond is the city i really wanted to move to initially. the historic aspect makes me think it'll be beautiful with lots to learn and explore. now it sucks that it has those confederate ties but that's obviously changing. the river and hills and green space are calling me. it is a little closer to having 4 seasons but winters are mild. also, just a couple hours to the coast and a few to the mountains!

alright fine i'll put down the others:

1. pittsburgh, PA

2. kansas city, MO

3. chattanooga, TN

4. savannah, GA

5. charlotte, NC

6. new orleans, LA (don't think dillon is on board with this one but i still think about it from time to time)

i would say those are in order of preference this time. 

now before COVID the plan was to take another road trip, shorter than our west coast one, to check out these eastern cities since i've never really been to the southeast. but since it didn't seem right to travel during a pandemic, we just never did it. part of me wants to take a risk and just pick a city and go, but the other part of me doesn't want to miss any of the others! for the first option, we would just get an airbnb for about a month in that city while looking for jobs and a place to live. for the second option, we would pick 3 or 4 cities and get air bnbs for a few days at a time and probably end up doing a longer stay at the end of our route (atlanta i guess). i need to do the math and see if the latter would be much more expensive or what. also, the pandemic is still happening. we would have to be extremely careful and it might get tiring hopping from place to place. also! we will have all of our belongings with us!! hopefully? this is the confusing part. we are getting rid of most of our furniture and stuff and i am pretty sure everything can fit in both of our cars, but they will be stuffed and we have a dog and two turtles. if we pick one city, it would be easier because we can rent a storage unit or something while we look for an apartment. dillon seems to think that we're gonna take another round-trip road trip without sadie. no. this is a one-way, baby. plus sadie's separation anxiety got so much worse since our first trip that i don't think i can do that again. AND that is just making it more likely that we'll end up living at karen's for the fall/winter. i am not doing that again unless everything goes to shit and we end up broke and homeless. AND it will just cost more in gas and lodging. AND we'll have to turn around and go back out when we choose our spot. AND i don't think we would be landing jobs during that period. 

i'm most worried about not getting a job within a month of being somewhere, but at the same time i know we can afford that. i just worry that we won't be able to find anyone to rent to us without income. who knows what will change because of COVID. maybe it will be easier to rent. but i can't keep myself down by thinking of all these what-ifs or trying to predict how it's going to happen. usually things work out. we can get rid of even more of our things if we run out of room. we can also go stay in colorado with my sister if worst comes to worst. it will all be okay. still, we have to plan and take the next steps, like NOW! so while i look at airbnbs and purge my belongings, i'll keep this space updated more regularly so i can have evidence of the whole process. i wish someone had already done this for me! but hey, i don't think many people have had to move during a global pandemic while being unemployed and unsure of where to go because they're too picky. that's just me.

here's a quote i need to remember right now

don't decide the rest of your life, just decide your very next step.

three things i would do that seem way out of reach

1. work in an organization that is dedicated to science communication and media literacy

2. sell my photographs as fine art

3. make money writing and blogging

i just found out about this new album. i can barely remember any old bibio songs that i used to listen to but this stuff is lovely! i feel like a little fairy listening to it.

EDIT: nevermind, i do remember this song!

my clifton strengths

lately i've been feeling so jumbled and lost so i caved and bought this strengthsfinder test. it says my top 5 strengths are:

1. intellection

2. input

3. responsibility

4. futuristic

5. learner

 

intellection means that i'm introspective and like to spend time alone with my thoughts (true). i'm "probably" a critical thinker (working on it!) and love discussing intellectual topics with people. i'm eager to extend my knowledge base and should work on sharing the information i've learned with others (i've been trying to figure out the best way for me to do exactly that). 

input means i have a craving to know more and i'm likely to collect and archive all kinds of information, which is definitely true! i'm totally a collector and i have this blog, pinterest, and my pocket app to prove it. it confirms that i revel in having time alone to read. i gain facts and insights that help me coordinate trips, events, or projects. i thrive when i'm encouraged to acquire knowledge and skills (yessss). my mind is crowded with information on numerous subjects and often one or two of my newfound findings consumes the majority of my thinking time (oh yes).

responsibility is my tendency to take psychological ownership of what i say i will do. this is so true and the cause for a lot of guilty feelings. i am committed to honesty and loyalty. it also says i might be disappointed in myself if i fail to make someone feel welcome. that is such a surprise to hear but yes, it's so true! i want to give my approval to everyone regardless of age, nationality, income, handicaps, etc. i strive to be a dependable person and i willingly assume accountability for tasks/assignments and please people by being reliable (sometimes to my detriment). this part here really got me: "your strong desire to be deemed worthy of others’ trust motivates you, so you tend to concentrate on things about yourself that need to be fixed, enhanced, or upgraded." this is very true and exhausting! i want to think more about the fact that it's tied to being trustworthy...

futuristic! this one means that i'm inspired by the future and what it could be (❤). i spend a lot of time pondering the behaviors, activities, skills, knowledge, processes, and ideas i want to perfect in the coming months, years, or decades. i gain a lot of satisfaction from envisioning what my life and the world might have in store and am energized by my plans. it says i sense that i have the power to transform whatever i think is possible into tangible outcomes (gonna work on that one). i have vivid mental images of the coming days, months, or years that impel me to action.

being a learner means, again, that i have a desire to learn and continuously improve. the process of learning excites me more than the outcome. i'd say that is true. i seem to get a little bored when the learning part is over. i seek opportunities to increase my capacity for fixing things, correcting mistakes, or overcoming weaknesses. i'd rather be left alone with my thoughts than engage in small talk. because of my strengths, i occasionally figure out what factors caused someone to behave in a certain way (oh yeah!). once in a while, i present evidence that explains why a particular event occurred. i resonated with that one but never really put it into words or had it confirmed. i do often feel like i know the "real" reason behind someone's behavior, like i can see through them.

takeaways:

1. i should figure out my favorite way to share my obtained knowledge with people

2. i would be happy utilizing my searching and information-gathering mind in order to organize things for other people

3. bringing my ideas for the future to life is exciting for me

4. when i have an idea for the future, i should slow down and spend more time figuring out how to bring about that outcome (maybe document my path?)

5. take notes while reading!

6. make it a point to befriend people with whom i can have intellectual or stimulating conversations with

i need to use the other part of my brain

i want to paint again.

thinking so much about jobs

"Use this hiatus to do something you would never have done if this emergency hadn’t hit. When the lockdown lifts, move to another state or country. Take some job that never would have made sense if you were worrying about building a career—bartender, handyman, AmeriCorps volunteer.

Don’t worry about where the job you take puts you on any status hierarchy. Our society’s career status hierarchy is in the midst of changing anyway. Instead, try to do something that people will ask you about for the rest of your life. What was it like to work on a fishing boat off of Maine? What was it like to teach at a nursery school for the children of Mexican farmworkers? You’re graduating into an extremely uncertain time. You might as well get a master’s degree in handling uncertainty. If you use the next two years as a random hiatus, you may not wind up richer, but you’ll wind up more interesting."

hmmmmmmmm