81 days.
That's how long our journey took to get here. It took us 81 days after we listed our house for sale that we ended up in New York. We purged, donated and sold almost everything we had except for a mattress and 27 totes. We really didn't have a plan of where we were going to live so we decided to try the New York-Massachusetts-New Jersey-Connecticut region. We hired a company to help us find options.
Our house sold quicker than we had planned. We immediately had to fast track packing and preparing to get out.
I won't lie. I hate the process of moving and even more when I don't know where I am going. I got rid of my blood pressure monitor because I just didn't want to know how much this move was going to stress me.
And it has stressed me to the max.
We are here now. We ended up in a nice apartment which is MUCH smaller and MORE expensive than the house we had in Tennessee. Would I go back? No. Once we made the decision to leave I was ready.
Do I love it in New York?
I can't say "love" yet. I will start dating New York first and let you know in a few months.
So what are some of the things about this experience?
Driving! If I EVER thought Nashville driving was bad, it is more intense here because there are so many cars in small spaces. When we do have to drive, finding parking is the ultimate challenge. It's crazy and not something I enjoy at all. Fortunately we have a lot of things within walking distance and the subway is just a five-minute walk from where we live. I have learned that when you drive here, you can't be tentative. You do have to be an aggressive driver. I am hopeful that I won't have to drive much while I am here. The other issue is parking. Sometimes finding a place to park is more stressful than the actual driving.
Auto insurance is also crazy expensive here. I have been with Progressive for 15 years and called them to get a quote for my change of address. The monthly payment went from $170 to $1,000. I switched to GEICO which gave me discounts for being a Veteran and Retired Federal Employee which was MUCH less than Progressive.
I have discovered that everything is another level of frustration than what you would expect. Even doing the change of address at the post office was complicated.
No, I haven't handled it very well so far. I have been stressed and completely overwhelmed but sometimes that's just how it goes. I'm managing my expectations every day. I always pray that if God doesn't want us to do something that He would shut the door. So, I have to assume that this is a test or something.
On the positive side, I'm looking forward to exploring and seeing what I can. I have never experienced the city life before so this should be fun and exciting.
We are here now and I definitely don't want to go back now. We will have to make our way from here. Is this our permanent place? No, I don't think it will be. Until then, I will just continue to adjust and take one day at a time. All any of us can do is to live in the present. Can't live in the past or in the future.
