I have lived in the same city for six years (Eugene, Oregon) and the same state for twenty-four and I wanted oh–so-desperately to get out—live somewhere else, explore something new, and travel.

Most people thought I was crazy and my friends and family were sad that I wanted to leave, but I had this itch I couldn’t get rid of. I always admired those adults that were like “well I grew up here, lived there, and happy I settled here.” My parents were amongst those people. You see my father grew up on Long Island, my mother in Arkansas and Washington and both lived in many places before they settled in Salem, Oregon. I believe they appreciate things they may not have otherwise; they are wiser about their understanding of life and the world we live in. I wanted that. I didn’t really know at the time that I would move 3,000 miles away from where I called home all my life, but my adventure started with applying to jobs.

Some would have advised me to just move somewhere I liked and then look for a job. But, knowing myself and what makes me happy, I know that going about things this way would be more difficult. I need a purpose and to feel like I am contributing to something or someone. That’s not to say I couldn’t have found a job if I just up and moved somewhere, but I think it may have been more difficult to do so AND be happy. My life was very established in Eugene–my friends, my work, my routine, and my fun. Leaving all that is difficult to begin with, not to mention for so much unknown. I needed something solid, something I knew would make me happy, I needed a job I would enjoy.

I can’t even count how many jobs I applied to. I would stay up for hours filling out what seemed like the same application, rewriting my cover letters until they seemed perfect, and after applying I would then Google most of these cities because I had never heard of them. I had faith that something was going to work. It had to. I then landed three job offers. My experience is in non-profits and in coaching track and field. I had one job offer in Portland, a city I already know I love and one in Ashland, Oregon, a beautiful town that I have mostly only read about because it is supposedly one of the best tourist spots in Oregon. The last job offer was in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a town I had never heard of until I applied for the job, a state I have spent less than four days in three years ago, and a side of the country that I could count on the fingers on my right hand the number of times I have visited. The job in Portland was working for a non-profit in the healthcare industry and would have been the option most would have taken. It paid three times that of the other jobs, provided me with health insurance, and was in the best part of the city. I know I would have loved this job and I know I would have been good at it. The job in Ashland was a coaching position that was completely comparable to the coaching job in Bethlehem. The teams were both small but winning their league, they both would allow me to get my master’s degree for free, and they both would allow me to pursue my coaching career.

This was an extremely tough decision. Part of me thought I should go for the non-profit job, because this would allow me to make money in order to travel. Part of me thought I couldn’t pass up getting my master’s degree for free and I really wanted to coach. Every day was different. Some days I told friends I was moving to Portland, other days across the country, and sometimes I would announce I was headed south to Ashland.

I had a very long talk with a mentor of mine and this talk is what swayed my decision. She was my boss and didn’t want to see me even leave Eugene, but knew that I had talked most about wanting to get out, wanting to explore, wanting to learn, and ultimately by the end of the conversation I was telling her that I wanted to move to Bethlehem. You see a good mentor never really tells you what to do but allows you to sort through all your thoughts and leads you to exactly what your heart desires. I remember leaving her office saying, “I’m moving across the country.” The next question was how….

I looked into flying but I have a dog and for him to fly across the country was extremely expensive. Paying for him in addition to shipping a few boxes of stuff started to add up very fast and soon tipped the cost over the edge of what I could afford. That left only driving which seemed like a daunting task at first. But, then I started to look at where in the country I had friends and family; I had a stop almost every eight hours. It was crazy to think how perfectly my friends and family fell on to a map of the country and almost crazier as to how understanding, accommodating, and almost eager they were to have me pass through their city. I had my whole trip mapped out in a matter of a few hours. All I needed was a place to live when I got there.

Craigslist really is your best friend when you are moving. I found roommates, a part time job for the weekends, and started to sell my stuff and all in the matter of a couple of days. My roommates said they had everything and lived four blocks from the college where I would be working. My part time job is at Unionville Winery that I applied, interviewed for over the phone, and got the job before I even started packing. I knew nothing about this winery before I applied. Not where it was located and not even what kind of wine it had to offer. To my surprise I fell into a job with not only terrific wine but a group of terrific coworkers as well.

Next was selling all my stuff and that wasn’t easy. I had to significantly downsize all of my things. I could only take what was in my car and I could only store so much at my parents’ house. I sold almost a house full of items. We are talking everything. Living room set, rugs, trashcans, mirrors, four bags of clothes, and other random odds and ends. It was truly a freeing feeling detaching from everything I had collected the past six years. I kept some memorabilia, which I stored at my parents’ house, and brought my clothes, my bedding, and of course my coffee maker.

This may not sound like much but you would be surprised how much puzzle-piecing I had to do in order to fit everything into my car. On the flip-side, everything I owned (minus a few boxes at my parents’ house but we will leave that out for the sake of emphasis) was then in my car. My life was in my car and I was about to pick it up and move it 3,000 miles away from my home, my friends, and everything I knew. I was scared. I have never done anything like this before. But, at this point in my life. If you go about doing the same thing day in and day out you won’t learn anything. You won’t grow, you won’t change. And at this very moment in my life there is so much that I want to accomplish and I know I can’t do that by staying in the same place and doing the same old thing. I have the rest of my life to feel secure with a routine right now life is about challenging yourself past what you think you are capable of in order to accomplish what you know you were meant to do. I needed an adventure, I needed to get out of my comfort zone, and I needed new challenges. And if you drive 3,000 miles all by yourself, that is exactly what you will get.

Please stay posted for my adventure city-by-city and a few towns in between.

PS. All Pictures are taken by yours truly.