A Moving Story …

When I last wrote at length on here (July 9, 2017), I was in the process of moving. Now as we all know, moving is never fun. But somehow my move was by far the smoothest I’ve ever accomplished. It was a combination of a well-suggested moving company and, of course, my amazing organizational skills (if I do say so myself).

I moved for some very specific reasons: I was tired of where I lived and had been there for almost 18 years. Downtown San Diego is getting more and more difficult to live in, for a variety of reasons. But the big thing was simple: I desperately needed a change. So, here’s what I learned in this experience:

A change of location can change your life.

I moved to the island of Coronado, just across the bay from downtown San Diego. I’ve visited Coronado too many times to keep track of in my 18 years here, and came here even before I moved to SD, when I was just a “tourist.” I knew—just like I knew with San Diego—that the island was a place I really wanted to live someday. I’m lucky I could find a place that I can (sorta, kinda) afford. Coronado is like being on vacation every day, and my apartment complex is an amenity-filled “resort.” Too bad I’m so anti-social I don’t take much advantage of it all!

Every workday, my commute involves a ferry boat. Fun fact: I don’t know how to swim, so for most of my life I have avoided almost every opportunity to interact with water, especially cold, deep, ocean water. I also am extremely prone to motion sickness. But the quick ferry ride each way (about 15 minutes across San Diego Bay) has yet to (knock wood or, more appropriately, porcelain) make me sick. (I had one “rough” passage a few weeks ago, when the Bay was totally socked in by fog, but everyone else on the boat was engrossed with their respective smartphones, so I guess I was the only one concerned with the fact that you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you outside on the water.)

That commute is such a relaxing and enjoyable part of my day, each way. My commuting time used to be about 8 minutes door-to-door; I lived that close to my workplace downtown. Now it’s almost a 45-minute commute: about 10 minutes from my complex to the ferry boat dock, 15 minutes across the water, and about a 20-minute walk to my office. The good news? I get my 10,000-step step-goal in each day. The (sorta) bad news? My morning routine is suddenly very rigid, since I have a ride to meet every morning.

I live in a giant apartment complex near the bay. It’s a bit noisy at times, with lots of dogs (I swear, I think I’m the only person who doesn’t have a dog, and NO, I’m not getting one. I have trouble taking care of just me) and kids (the latter surprised me), but by 9:00 each night, things pretty much shut down and it’s quiet. No sirens, no screaming homeless people, no revving motorcycles at the wannabe biker-bar across the street, no hard-partying 20-somethings under-dressed for a chilly San Diego weekend evening out. I sleep much better.

I’m an extremely lucky person to be able to do this. While the alleged president and the Republican party work overtime to decimate personal freedoms and social reform growth in this country (including now trying to limit 401K contributions, because, you know, middle class people  like myself trying to save for retirement is a BAD thing … God knows the middle class shouldn’t be TOO comfortable), it’s becoming more and more difficult to get ahead a little. I don’t want to turn this into a political rant, but WTF Trump, Ryan, and McConnell? I’m sick to death of a bunch of old, rich, white dudes trying to get even richer while they’re supposed to be working for the well-being of their constituents.

But I digress.

Here’s the deal, if you’ve read this far. Every once in a while, you just have to hit the RESET button and sorta, kinda start over. I did this in August. I’m just now catching up to life. But I’m so glad I did it.

I’ve said this before: I am not exactly the poster child for change. But if I can do it, so can you, IF you need to or want to. Trust me on this. Just don’t quote me.