Have you ever left everything you know and moved to a new state? (driving, travel)

[Lisa_from_Debary]

Let me set aside many of the reasons I LOVE Florida...the warm weather, never having to wear socks and enclosed shoes, the sun, the beach...

When I lived in Texas, I lived in a small town where everyone knew my name, as friendly as that sounds...IT WAS NOT...I was always known as my Father's daughter, or my Brothers sister...both of them had not always been known for the positive things they had done...not to say illegal on my Fathers part but he was an aggressive business man, you make enemies on the way up...

Unfortunatly I was treated like one of the herd...pictures of private family vacations would end up in the newspaper...I felt like I was under a microscope the whole time, I don't know how celebrities handle that kind of scrutiny on the kind of world wide scale they deal with.

I could'nt go anywhere without being likely to run into someone who knew my family...GOD forbid someone catch me buying alcohol...it was all over town that I was an alcoholic by the time I got home...you get the general idea...I was raised by Adventists and you can't drink at all if your an Adventist.

Here in Florida, I am known only as my Daughters Mother...or just as myself...there is no history for people to remember, I am known for what I have done and not anyone else...it has been like having a clean slate.

The last time I ran into someone at the grocery store I knew, she not only didn't care that I bought some wine, she invited me over to a party...

[yellowsnow]

I've lived all over and no regrets here! I feel sorry for people who spend their whole lives in one place! I love the challenge of a new city, new people, and a new job. It's exciting and not 100% predictable. Every place I've lived has had it's good and bad points. If your glass is half full, you will find joy and happiness everywhere you go. If your glass is half empty, you could be unhappy in paradise.

[mcmartian]

I did. my only regret is that i wish it was warmer in my transplanted area. We might move again, but not to my original home location. since i've moved away many of my friends have too and some of my family's passed away in the meantime. plus the housing prices have increased to the point of not being affordable in our original home town.

it's now 10 years later and we're considering moving again for job reasons. it took time to adjust to the move, but we've been happy without regret

[sweetz]

Hi I am new to the board. I stumbled across it in my apartment search, and I must say it has been quite useful. Unfortunately, my husband's line of work has caused us to move to two strange states within the last two years. We moved outside of Detroit MI in 2004... we made it alive and well and actually made some friends lol, and now we are in Westchester Co. in NY and preparing to move to North NJ.

We are both from TN and we have learned two things in relocating 1. There is no place like home and family 2. Racism still exists even in the Northeast US and ESPECIALLY in the midwest!!!

[KarlaT2]

Great post.
I moved from Oregon 10 years ago to Tucson, AZ when husband got job offer. I left all my family, a job I'd been at 13 years, friends, etc. We've since moved to SoCal, but I'm itching (LOL Plaidmom) to move back to AZ.
I would recommend everyone do that at least once in their life. I had never left Oregon. I had no idea there were places that had sun more than 3 months out of the year! LOL.
It's been weird in a way. In my hometown I always had a "rooted" feeling. Like you know you are there for the rest of your life. I've not felt that since I left. After moving I've found that not one place has everything you want, so makes you really think about what is most important to you. I would never have known the other options had I not left.
Plaidmom-thanks for the 7 year itch comment. Thought I was the only one that actually liked to move, and try new places.
Good luck all.

[Katarina Witt]

When I was 22, I married and moved from my home state of Pennsylvania to Illinois. It took a while to make friends, esp as that DH didn't have a lot of friends in the college town where we were living. But I enjoyed getting to know a new place. The flatland of central Ill is much different from the hills of w. PA. A big problem was that people there didn't seem to like easterners much, although one on one they were quite nice. He and I moved several times to several different states for grad school and jobs, then ended up back in ILL, where we got divorced. I was just ready to leave Ill when I met my present husband (27 yrs and counting!). We lived there a couple yrs till he finished his PhD, then moved to Colo.

Same thing as the move to Ill. Plus, there is a hostility here towards outsiders that is quite difficult to break through sometimes. Again, people are nicer one on one. Had a family here, made a life for ourselves here, will probably be here till our kids put us in a nursing home! My brother meanwhile got divorced and his ex, her new husband, and her kids moved out here so now we have some extended family.

It is always fun to explore a new area. Even moving just from Denver to Boulder County was interesting.

[easydoesit]

I think this has been a great thread. To me, it kind of stresses the importance of getting out of our comfort zone and trying new things. Sure, a lot of us --- me included ---have flopped a few times when it comes to the "greener grass" mentality. Doesn't matter though because we 1) learn to appreciate what we have or had 2) learn more about ourselves, including what we really like/want in a place to live and that sure beats saying "I wish I would have tried to live xxxxx"

[avantgarden]

I just can't understand this connection people seem to have with their home state/city. I moved a lot as a kid, and never really established roots, so maybe that is why it is so easy for me to leave a place without looking back. I moved away from my parents home in Missoula, Mont. at the age of 18 (hated the state, still do), and went to Phoenix, Arizona. I did the entire thing on a whim. I was looking at information about Phoenix one day online, and the next day my car was packed, with me, all my stuff, and about $1500 in cash. I had no job lined up in Phoenix, nor did I have a place to stay. I got there and stayed in my car for about a week (I didn't know anyone there either). I soon found a job, and found myself a place to stay, but the area was not what I had envisioned, so I picked up and moved again (this time to Fresno). Again, the area of Fresno was not at all what I wanted in a place to live, so I only lived there about two years, and again I picked up and left. I have been living in Portland for about 4 years, and I love it. It is everything that I was looking for. Still, when I am done with school, I will probably leave here and head somewhere else (maybe New Mexico). I guess you could say that Oregon is my homestate, I was born here and spent about 6 years here, which is about the longest I have ever lived anywhere. I have never had a problem with the idea of leaving though, and I can almost guarantee that when I am gone, I will not look back. Also, I will NEVER move back to Missoula, where my parents still live (but they're also looking to leave).

[in2legal]

Hello, I am about to move to New Mexico from CA. I have lived in CA for over 40 years, grew up here and have family here. CA has been my home for that entire length of time as well as security and familiarity. After my recent divorce, had to sell my home of 25 years. Have never lived in NM so are starting over literally with a new home, no job yet, no family out in NM and know no one out there. In response to your question, I have taken the BIGGEST LEAP OF FAITH in my entire life especially with no job yet. However, I firmly believe that the Lord has brought me this far and will continue to do His part, I have to do mine. I do not regret the decision to move to another state, it all depends on what you choose your faith, attitude and outlook are and will be.

[BorderGirl]

Absolutely and I loved it.

I'm 24 years old and I moved from a tiny town in Northern Minnesota to Salt Lake City, Utah and I don't have a single regret. I moved around a bit growing up but when my parents split we headed to Northern Minnesota to be near my mother's family. I grew up fairly sheltered in such a small town. I started out small by going to college 4 hours away in North Dakota. It was great to be out of my town but still close enough to go home on the weekends. After I graduated I couldn't find a job in Minnesota. I have a friend in Utah that told me to come out here and so I did.

Last August I packed up my belongings and had $500 in my pocket and drove to Utah on my own. What a trip! I slept on my friend's couch from the end of August until May 4th of this year. I stretched that $500 for two months until I got the job that I have now in October. I did one two day temp job in between that brought in another $150.

For the longest time I wanted to move back to Minnesota and find a job in the Twin Cities area. Last night I realized that I no longer want to do that. Utah is home now.