While it might be the worst kept secret, ever, I wanted to give myself time to tell each of my friends (as best I could) the news face to face before posting it here on the web. But, yes, I am moving to back to California, and quite soon. In fact, as of this writing, I have roughly 21 days left of life in Missouri before I head west to the Golden State.
With the move to California come a handful of other changes. First off, I won’t be working for Pure as a full-time employee. Starting November 30th I will a free-agent working freelance for Pure and whoever else will have me! I have already set up work in California, Texas and Florida. The opportunities seem to be promising. I am also looking at doing some work for the wine industry. How exciting would that be?!
My roommate and friend here in Columbia, @davidrhansen, will continue to live at the condo. That is unless we manage to sell it, which is something that recently came up as a possibility. Selling the condo would relieve a sizable amount of financial burden every month but it also cuts Columbia that much more out of our lives. Ideally we would rent the condo out to a responsible, long-term tenant. However, in a college town, those don’t come around too often.
I will be moving back to San Francisco, one of my favorite cities in the world!
There Ryan and I will pick up where we left off with our lives together. Long distance relationships aren’t fun! We are both incredibly excited about the move. No more Skype dates or months of not seeing each other. We have a great apartment in an awesome part of the City with striking views, quick access to public transit and grocery stores… Oh yeah, there are also like half a dozen wine bars and sushi joints within a couple of blocks! To me, that’s pretty much as good as it gets.
Plus we have the house in the wine valley about an hour north where I used to live. It’s still being renovated slash still being held hostage by a squatter who we can’t seem to kick out of the place. I plan to spend as much time as I can in the wine country, once that place gets finished up.
Over the next few weeks, when I’m not traveling to Texas or Florida, I will be packing and preparing for the move. So many things are up in the air. Do we rent or sell? Do we rent furnished or unfurnished? What can I move vs what do I have to sell/give away? Do I rent a van or a full on Uhaul? Do I plan to sell most things and buy new furniture, again, once I get there? Do I bring my car or get rid of it, saving on insurance, parking and the massive fees when bringing a car into the state? If I get a job outside of the city, a car might be a necessity.
The next few weeks are going to be crazy for me but the end result will be something really good.
Quitting a job in the middle of a financial crisis and moving from a remarkably cheap city to one of the most expensive in the world isn’t one of those things most people would do. Some might even say it is irresponsible.
I have always lived by the mantra, “With great risk comes great reward,” and as my grandmother always says, “You can always make more money.”
Sure hope she’s right!
If you want to hang out with me, help me out, buy some furniture, get some last minute drinks @TopTenWines, let me know in the comments or on Twitter or however else. I would love to have a going away party but no promises!
Congrats! Sounds awesome.
Congrats! Sounds awesome.
Thanks! I can’t wait to get back out there!
Thanks! I can’t wait to get back out there!
Having made the cross country move several times, here’s my advice…
Sell/donate everything you can. A new place deserves new stuff. Also, that $600 couch you bought 4 years ago will cost you $100 more to move. Save the moving expense, sell the couch, and buy something once you’re here.
Get rid of your car unless it’s brand new. Bringing a car into CA is expensive and a pain in the ass. You’ll be living with all kinds of mass transit nearby. If you discover that you will need a car to commute it’s cheaper to buy one here that already meets all of CA’s standards. Spending a couple of months without a payment, insurance, and parking fees will do nice things to your wallet too (like allowing you to buy replacement stuff for what you didn’t haul out from MO). Consider buying in to the CarShare program…
As far as the place in MO – sell it. Managing a property from long distance is a nightmare and if you’re not careful it will become a giant money suck.
And finally, hang out with me often. I’m ten minutes from SF.
Having made the cross country move several times, here’s my advice…
Sell/donate everything you can. A new place deserves new stuff. Also, that $600 couch you bought 4 years ago will cost you $100 more to move. Save the moving expense, sell the couch, and buy something once you’re here.
Get rid of your car unless it’s brand new. Bringing a car into CA is expensive and a pain in the ass. You’ll be living with all kinds of mass transit nearby. If you discover that you will need a car to commute it’s cheaper to buy one here that already meets all of CA’s standards. Spending a couple of months without a payment, insurance, and parking fees will do nice things to your wallet too (like allowing you to buy replacement stuff for what you didn’t haul out from MO). Consider buying in to the CarShare program…
As far as the place in MO – sell it. Managing a property from long distance is a nightmare and if you’re not careful it will become a giant money suck.
And finally, hang out with me often. I’m ten minutes from SF.
@Jestertunes Thanks for the awesome comment.
1. the car is brand new, well, it just turned two, which is why I’m tempted to bring it with me. I could always leave it parked up north at my house there…
2. I’m with you on getting new stuff, actually I 100% agree with you on EVERYTHING YOU SAID! Can you convince q???? of that for me? Thanks 😀
Thanks so much for your comment. It really solidified much of what I was thinking. But seriously, convincing Ryan of it will be a little more difficult haha. We just bought all of the furniture like a year ago. But it is also mid-west furniture, made for bigger living spaces. Our apartment in San Francisco is pretty nice, bigger than I thought, but still, not nearly as large as our place in Missouri.
Again, thanks for the comment, I really appreciated it.
@Jestertunes Thanks for the awesome comment.
1. the car is brand new, well, it just turned two, which is why I’m tempted to bring it with me. I could always leave it parked up north at my house there…
2. I’m with you on getting new stuff, actually I 100% agree with you on EVERYTHING YOU SAID! Can you convince q???? of that for me? Thanks 😀
Thanks so much for your comment. It really solidified much of what I was thinking. But seriously, convincing Ryan of it will be a little more difficult haha. We just bought all of the furniture like a year ago. But it is also mid-west furniture, made for bigger living spaces. Our apartment in San Francisco is pretty nice, bigger than I thought, but still, not nearly as large as our place in Missouri.
Again, thanks for the comment, I really appreciated it.
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
@mccoyca Thanks! You will have to go out and visit me!
@mccoyca Thanks! You will have to go out and visit me!
Hey! I have no idea why I just caught this. You should swing by Livefyre HQ one day soon to meet the team. We love meeting our bloggers in person 🙂 We’re in SOMA, shoot me an email and we’ll set it up if you want.
Hey! I have no idea why I just caught this. You should swing by Livefyre HQ one day soon to meet the team. We love meeting our bloggers in person 🙂 We’re in SOMA, shoot me an email and we’ll set it up if you want.
@jkretch Sounds like a fantastic idea. I live right on Market near the Castro so only a brisk walk away.
@jkretch Sounds like a fantastic idea. I live right on Market near the Castro so only a brisk walk away.