Next Stop: New York

Posted on June 12th, 2017

If you follow my Instagram, you may have noticed a pretty big announcement over Memorial Day: Ian and I are heading back east!  This will be our last full week in Seattle before moving to New York on June 21.

This was not a decision made on a whim.  The Pacific Northwest is an incredible part of the country, and we have both been really happy in the way our careers have developed here.  We have made friends, grown our relationship with one another, and gotten involved in the community, too.  In the back of our minds, we knew we would probably move closer to friends and family eventually, but we had not planned on it being so soon.

But this spring, my grandfather entered hospice in St. Louis.  We flew back and forth from Seattle to be with him before he passed away, and it led us to a sobering realization.  Yes, we were happy in Seattle, but if our family and friends were our #1 priority, our actions should reflect that.  We could get other jobs we loved, but we could never get back time we lost with our loved ones.

Serendipitously, a career opportunity based in New York presented itself to Ian a few weeks later, and careful consideration proved to us that it was the right one to enable our bicoastal transition.  With my parents’ move to New York last fall and Ian’s parents’ Virginia relocation a few years ago, this allows us to align our life choices with our priorities.  I got to tell my grandfather two days before he passed away that we were moving to be with our family, and felt so proud to let him know that I understood the family-first lessons he had taught us.

You may recall that I actually didn’t really love living in Manhattan, but don’t worry.  I have a plan.  This New York chapter will definitely be different.  And in the meantime, we’ll enjoy the last of our beautiful, important Seattle chapter.