The Plan
So here we are. We’ve figured out that what we have and where we are now aren’t working. Now what?
We struggled with this. Do we move to a different part of Durham? Do we switch jobs? Do we move into an RV and travel around the country? (Caroline’s idea). Do we move to Germany? (Chris’ idea). Around and around we went. We knew we wanted a change - a big change - but we didn’t know how to do it. And for over a year, that’s where we sat. Stuck.
On our back porch while celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary in 2016.
And then, in June 2019, Chris got a new job. The job was based in Raleigh, but almost everyone worked remotely from home. And it meant that Chris could work from anywhere in the world. This changed a lot of things for us.
First, and foremost, it meant that wherever we went, Chris would have a job. Moving to a new location, but only one of us needing a new job seemed much more manageable. We set up a home office for Chris, but we also started talking again, with renewed excitement, about the possibility of moving. Suddenly, the ideas that we had been tossing around seemed much more realistic and achievable.
I really wanted to stay in the US. It seemed less daunting for me to try to find work if we weren’t dealing with a new country, and possibly a new language. So California? That’s what Chris had always pushed for, but I was never quite on board. And the 2 locations we would want - either San Francisco or San Diego - meant that we would be able to afford a shoebox. Chris always wanted to live at the beach, since he HATES the cold weather. I have lived my whole life in North Carolina, except for college and the year after college, so anywhere else seems pretty foreign to me.
We talked and talked and talked and kept coming back to one location - Hawaii. It made sense to us, so we started talking logistics and before we knew it, we had a plan.
At my parent’s river cabin in Ashe County, where we got married.
In the fall of 2019, we contacted a realtor about selling our house and formulated a loose timeline:
Fall 2019 - Spring 2020 - all the research on everything about Hawaii
March 31 - April 16, 2020 - our 10 year anniversary trip/scouting mission to Hawaii
April - May 2020 - sell house and everything we own (seriously, EVERYTHING)
June 2020 - rent a furnished house in Durham for the remainder of the year
End of 2020 - I quit my job
January 1, 2021 - Be on a plane to Hawaii
February 2021 - take the Hawaii Bar exam
Chris looking off into our future in May 2020.
Well that plan completely fell apart almost as soon as we put it together. But that’s a story for another day. What we have learned over the last 6 months is that this is a journey, a loooooong journey. We’re learning to be flexible and go with the flow and pivot when we have to. Although that journey is not unique - I think everyone is having to learn that in 2020.
So this is our beginning. I hope you stick around with us to see where we end up!