Confession, I have only ever really lived in two places. I grew up in a small suburb of Boston and then I moved to New York City when I was 18 for college. My parents ended up moving to a suburb of New York during my senior college, essentially following me here. It actually was great since I lived with them for a short time after my graduation to save money for an apartment. Anytime I want to escape the city, I can just hop on a train and visit them.
The problem is that I am no longer that same girl who moved to New York City when I was 18. My friends and I are all slowly realizing that we are beginning to want a new adventure...somewhere else. New York is gradually losing its sparkle for me. I will always love it but I think it will soon be time to love it as a visitor.
Now I'm not up and leaving New York yet--I still have some unfinished business here that I want to settle. But I think in the next two to three years, I will be gone. I do know for a fact I do not want to move back to Boston-- way too cold for me. So the question remains, where next?
Here is my short list of places that I am considering moving to. I figure I will take the next two or so years visiting and researching them before I make the jump. Any recommendation or warnings about them would be majorly helpful. I do plan on living in another city as I am not quite ready for suburbs yet.
Santa Monica/LA area: Confession--I have always wanted to live on the beach. Not to mention LA's weather could not be more appealing to me, especially after this polar vortex of a winter. I already have several friends who live in the LA area and even more from that area who could help me meet other people. Another plus would be there is a chance I could continue working for my current company there. The downside is that I would be across the country from my family.
Dallas: I have only heard great things about Dallas. It's supposed to have great food, weather, and people-- so what's not to love? In fact, I almost moved there this past January, but I realized I could not take the plunge yet. Fun fact, my parents met and started dating in Dallas! Maybe it would give me good luck on the love front since New York has been no help. Downside is I have this crazy irrational fear of not being near the ocean (although my friend that lives there says there are ways for me to get around this).
San Francisco: There are so many companies that I would love to work for that are either based in San Francisco or close to San Francisco. Not to mention it would be the city most similar to New York so that the transition would be slightly easier. And I have only heard amazing things about their restaurants, which is always something of importance to me. The downside would be that it's on the cooler side all year long. I really do like my warm weather so I'm not sure how I would feel about a cool summer.
Austin: My darling sorority little is always trying to convince me to come and move to Austin. It is apparently supposed to be one of the best cities to live in if you are a Millennial. And it's warm all year long, although it might be way hotter than what I am used to. The downside is in every other city I've listed, I know several companies that I would want to work for, except for Austin. I would have to do major research to find a place that I would want to work for.
DC: I feel like DC would be an interesting combination of things I loved about Boston and New York. I really especially like Georgetown and it's cute shopping area! DC also has better weather than New York (you would be surprised how much warmer it gets there than New York) and I would be an easy train ride away from my family. The downside is that DC still gets very cold in winter and I am so tired of grey snowy winters.
Before I leave New York for good, I am compiling a list of things I need to do and I am proud to say I have already started crossing things off of it. Don't worry, I will be posting the list on this blog soon (and in the tab for NYC Musts!).
