I'm Moving...Again
I have an important announcement.
Drumroll, please.
I'm moving to Canada.
No, this is not a drill, practical joke, or political piece (although my timing is great regarding that). I really am moving to the city of Calgary, Canada in one month's time.Why, you ask? Well, there are a couple reasons: chiefly, that my boyfriend lives in Calgary and since my job allows me to work anywhere, we decided to do away with the long distance thing and move in together. And also because I can never stay in one place for long. Just look at the last four years:
August 2013: Moved to Malibu, CA
May 2014: Moved back to Chicago, IL
August 2014: Moved to Shanghai, China
May 2015: Moved back to Chicago, IL
June 2015: Moved to Tujunga, CA (Thanks, Kay and Jim)
August 2015: Moved to Thousand Oaks, CA
May 2016: Graduated Pepperdine and moved to Chicago, IL
June-July 2016: Euro Trip
September 2016: Moved to Downtown LA, CA
September 2017: Move to Calgary, Canada
movingaway2 (2)
I know it's typical for college students to go back and forth and not settle during their university years, but I do think I've moved around a little more than the average student/young professional. This past year living in DTLA has been the longest I've been in one place since leaving home, and I'm moving yet again!However, the decision to move wasn't quite as easy as it seems, and I honestly have quite a bit of anxiety over it. First of all, even though I've moved around quite a bit, I always knew I was coming back to somewhere, whether that was Chicago or California. With this move to Canada, I have no idea if I will end up staying there or where I would move next.
Secondly, it is a BIG deal to me to move in with my boyfriend. Moving in with a romantic partner means we will be merging our lives. And the scary part, of course, is if things go south with the relationship, it is much harder for me to rebuild my life again after shifting all the way to Canada. Furthermore, I am moving to my boyfriend's home turf. His family, friends, and activities are already established in Calgary, whereas I will be starting from scratch -- no family, no friends, no social life at all. That is absolutely terrifying for me. I don't want to rely solely on my boyfriend for all of my social needs, but that is how it is going to have to be at the very start until I start getting involved in my own things. Moving to California the first time was different because I was a freshman at university, and everyone knows freshman are all desperate to make friends so we were all in the same uncomfortable situation. This time around, it is only me in the uncomfortable situation and I have to figure it out by myself.
Lastly, I was initially apprehensive about moving to Calgary. All my life I've lived in or around extremely large cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Shanghai, etc. These cities are enormous, gorgeous, and have tons of opportunities. Calgary, on the other hand, is a bit smaller and still developing. That's not a bad thing, but I'm not used to it. I also admit I've been spoiled by the sheer variety of activities, food, and landscapes afforded to me by those cities. Calgary has a much different feel to it and the major points of interest are things I had never even considered doing before, like skiing, camping, or cycling. I have visited a couple times and definitely felt out of my element.
So there you have it, in spite of my fears of not having any friends, not having a social life, not fitting in with the activities, being too bored, of my boyfriend and I breaking up, I still decided to move. I still decided to move because I decided it was important to continue to challenge myself.I know it's Canada and I won't have bigger issues to tackle, like language or vastly different cultural norms (although I will never understand the big deal about hockey), it is still a different country and I will have to build my life there. I'll have to learn what I like about Calgary and what I like doing there. I'll have to learn how to live with my boyfriend, and I'll learn how to create my own social life from the ground up. So while it's comfortable to live in places I know so well, with people I already love, I know I will grow so much more by putting myself in a place I barely know, with people I definitely don't know and force myself to make it a great opportunity.