This month marks one year of life in Austin! (good thing there was an extra day in February so I could get this post in) It's hard to believe we've been here an entire year. It seems not all that long ago that Joey and I rushed to move one Saturday because we each had job interviews on the following Monday - aware of the fact that heavy snow was possibly coming to Texas - but what choice did we have? The weather is as up-and-down here as it is in Louisiana after all. So we hurriedly packed up and headed out for the eight-hour road trip. Sure enough, we moved our furniture out of the UHaul into our apartment in the snow and bitter cold of the night. . .did I mention that for extra fun the trailer door on the UHaul would only open halfway? Awesome. Once we finally got moved in, all I wanted to do was soak in a warm bath - much to my chagrin, there was no hot water in our new home. I wish this recount was over, but I have to mention that in the morning the roads were of course iced over. We needed to return said UHaul, so we thought we'd take our chances (dumb). People in Texas are just as clueless when it comes to driving on ice as Louisianians and so there were the subsequent wrecks resulting from inexperienced snow bunnies on wheels, but as an extra challenge, Austin is quite the hilly terrain. So when you try to drive up a fairly steep hill on ice, chances are you'll slide right back down. That's what happened to us, except we had a large trailer behind us (double dumb). It was actually pretty scary if you think about it - the weight of the trailer could have flipped the truck over with us inside. Of course Joey realized this in the moment, and commanded me to jump out of the truck with Polly Browne. I love a man who can quickly think on his feet, don't you? It all ended up okay; some of our new neighbors were able to help us out of our. . . situation. After all this, I just had to keep telling myself that if moving to a new place was easy then everyone would do it, and Joey and Fleur are adventure seeking FIGHTERS! Well, that's what I had to tell myself anyway. Last but not least, the interviews we rushed over for? They ended up being rescheduled. . . something about a snowstorm. . .
The challenges of moving to Austin of course didn't end with the logistical nightmare of moving in the snow - as I'm sure anyone who has relocated would agree, it's a huge adjustment. Learning the lay of the land, securing employment, acclimating to a new position and colleagues once you've landed a job, meeting new people and trying to form new friendships, and the list goes on . . . none of this is easy, and it takes time. I guess that's why many people choose to stay in one place their entire lives. I think about the relationships I've formed in my life - many of them are at least a decade or more in the making - I wonder at times, will it even be possible to form new friendships like those? Of course the answer is yes, with time. And the truth is, as long as I have my best friend and partner in life beside me, that's all I really need. The little girl helps too.
Some of you know that we recently moved to a different part of Austin for Year Two. Last February, neither Joey nor I had secured employment yet, so we didn't have jobs to be geographically close to (Austin is a pretty big place, so where one works is something to take into consideration when it comes to a residence....a difference from where I'm from). So not having jobs to center life around, the obvious choice was to live as centrally as we could to enjoy all that Austin has to offer. We have really loved the area we have occupied over the past year. Besides being close to all things Austin, it was just a really beautiful and convenient place to be. Of course there were downsides - our loft style town home got old, my commute to work was around 45 minutes each way and we had some serious issues with a neighbor's aggressive dog (NOT ok to threaten our little girl). Oh, and in order to purchase a home in this particular area, we'd need to spend about half a million big ones just for a 2 bedroom home . . . not happening.
So while we might not be in as "cool" an area as we were previously (we're not that cool anyway), we now have a house with many rooms and a fenced in yard in a lovely little neighborhood that's still quite convenient. It's so nice to have real space again. And my commute to work has been chopped down by more than half, which is a huge perk.
All this to say, I feel like our first year was our tour of Austin. We experienced Austin in the way that people do when they come here for a vacation, and it was lovely. We had the pleasure of playing host to MANY friends and family during this first year (and we're hoping that will continue into year two, so come on down!) Year two is for settling on in - and livin' life on the reals. Of course we still enjoy the city - which is why we moved here in the first place - but we're moseying into the saddle of life, if you'll pardon the pun (God bless Texas?). I am really enjoying my job as well my freelance writing assignments (so pretty much always working!), and Joey is doing extremely well in school while working part-time in a group of clinics. Staying busy for sure. We've found a church we really like, and we hope to continue to grow in our walk with the Lord with the help of this church body.
Not to imply that everything is all pink and roses all the time because real life is not that way, kiddos. But even when I'm in a sad little corner, I am very much aware of all the blessings that surround me so gracefully, knowing that I deserve none of it. Speaking of blessings, we are celebrating our sixth year of marriage this weekend! WHOA!
So here's to closing out our first year in Austin. We are looking forward to all things to come in year two - bring it!
Love and light,
The challenges of moving to Austin of course didn't end with the logistical nightmare of moving in the snow - as I'm sure anyone who has relocated would agree, it's a huge adjustment. Learning the lay of the land, securing employment, acclimating to a new position and colleagues once you've landed a job, meeting new people and trying to form new friendships, and the list goes on . . . none of this is easy, and it takes time. I guess that's why many people choose to stay in one place their entire lives. I think about the relationships I've formed in my life - many of them are at least a decade or more in the making - I wonder at times, will it even be possible to form new friendships like those? Of course the answer is yes, with time. And the truth is, as long as I have my best friend and partner in life beside me, that's all I really need. The little girl helps too.
Some of you know that we recently moved to a different part of Austin for Year Two. Last February, neither Joey nor I had secured employment yet, so we didn't have jobs to be geographically close to (Austin is a pretty big place, so where one works is something to take into consideration when it comes to a residence....a difference from where I'm from). So not having jobs to center life around, the obvious choice was to live as centrally as we could to enjoy all that Austin has to offer. We have really loved the area we have occupied over the past year. Besides being close to all things Austin, it was just a really beautiful and convenient place to be. Of course there were downsides - our loft style town home got old, my commute to work was around 45 minutes each way and we had some serious issues with a neighbor's aggressive dog (NOT ok to threaten our little girl). Oh, and in order to purchase a home in this particular area, we'd need to spend about half a million big ones just for a 2 bedroom home . . . not happening.
So while we might not be in as "cool" an area as we were previously (we're not that cool anyway), we now have a house with many rooms and a fenced in yard in a lovely little neighborhood that's still quite convenient. It's so nice to have real space again. And my commute to work has been chopped down by more than half, which is a huge perk.
All this to say, I feel like our first year was our tour of Austin. We experienced Austin in the way that people do when they come here for a vacation, and it was lovely. We had the pleasure of playing host to MANY friends and family during this first year (and we're hoping that will continue into year two, so come on down!) Year two is for settling on in - and livin' life on the reals. Of course we still enjoy the city - which is why we moved here in the first place - but we're moseying into the saddle of life, if you'll pardon the pun (God bless Texas?). I am really enjoying my job as well my freelance writing assignments (so pretty much always working!), and Joey is doing extremely well in school while working part-time in a group of clinics. Staying busy for sure. We've found a church we really like, and we hope to continue to grow in our walk with the Lord with the help of this church body.
Not to imply that everything is all pink and roses all the time because real life is not that way, kiddos. But even when I'm in a sad little corner, I am very much aware of all the blessings that surround me so gracefully, knowing that I deserve none of it. Speaking of blessings, we are celebrating our sixth year of marriage this weekend! WHOA!
So here's to closing out our first year in Austin. We are looking forward to all things to come in year two - bring it!
Love and light,
