Have you ever thought about leaving your hometown and moving to a new place? Do you want to start over and surround yourself with new people? Are you feeling trapped in your hometown or feel as you don’t belong in your hometown? You have traveled to a new city and state that you fell in love with but are scared to move alone. I’m here to tell you that it is not as scary as it seems. I’m in my second new state since I left my parent’s house when I was 18 years old.
A New City After High School
We all went through the various scouting colleges near our parent’s homes, different cities, and different states. I applied to colleges that were 4 or more hours away from my birthplace of Miami, Florida. I also applied to out-of-state colleges in Georgia and New York. Most of my friends applied to colleges in Miami and Florida in general. Something in my spirit was ready to move to a whole new state. I ended up getting into Manhattan College in New York City but I was still scared of moving to a new state. Even though that is what I wanted. I ended up going to the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. I only relocated about four hours away from my parents. The distance helped with creating my own independence.
When I reached my senior year of college; I started thinking a lot about “where am I living after I graduate?” I knew that I did not want to live anywhere in Florida. Miami was always so boring to me because I felt my friends and I always went to the same places over and over. Orlando was boring and too much of a college town for me to live in. I went to New York about two to three times and I liked it every time. It was something about the New York culture of fast pace and hustle that I was drawn to. I remember meeting this waitress who was working two to three jobs and going to school. I was so shocked at how dedicated she was to being self-sufficient in New York.
Living in the Concrete Jungle after College
When I relocated to New York after college, I was scared. I knew only one person and I had no idea what it would really be like living in NYC. I’m going, to be honest, that I moved with $1100 in my pocket. Sometimes I look back at the time that I moved to NYC and I don’t know how I did it at 22 years old. I had no job, I wasn’t sure if I was going to find a decent place to live.
When I tell you that I struggled but with the help of the Lord and my spiritual team, my parents, and the support of friends; I made it. They say that New York City can break you and it does! At the same time, New York City builds you back up into this strong, independent, and fashionable person. Which, I’m forever grateful for because I would not have the self-confidence that I have now.
You learn so much about yourself when you move to another state. I highly recommend not going home for at least 6 months to a year. If I went back to Miami right away “to visit”; I would have moved back home because of the struggles that I was going thru in NYC. Living most of my 20s in NYC was the best decision that I ever made. I met people that have become lifelong friends, I got my second degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and worked with some of the best in the fashion industry.
Is West Coast the Best Coast?
I’ve finally made the journey to the west coast. I feel that I have been talking about living in Los Angeles since I was in college. It was always a dream that I thought wouldn’t happen until after I was married and had a family. I was always waiting for something big to happen to me before I made the move to California. I honestly cannot tell you what I was truly waiting for. The pandemic definitely pushed me to make the decision sooner than later. It made me realize things can change suddenly and I had to take any opportunity that I could to move to Los Angeles.
I have been living in Los Angeles for a couple of months and it has been an interesting one. LA traffic is truly the worst like they say. Everything is so far from each other and you must have a car to get around. It has made meeting new people a little bit more difficult than in New York City. If you don’t live in the same city or within about a 10-mile radius of one another then it is difficult to meet up with people. Also, in these 5 months living here, I have felt the most comfortable spiritually and emotionally. I am at peace with my decision in this move. There is no rush to learn everything about Los Angeles. I am enjoying LA day by day and letting LA’s energy flow through me as I explore.
Take the Risk and Relocate
If I can give any advice, it is to pack up what you own and relocate to a new city. Especially during my 20s and 30s, I have learned so much about myself during these relocations. I was able to truly find the place where my spiritual and physical body is happy to be. Sometimes the place where we are born and raised is to show us that we want more. You have to break out of your environment and truly find yourself. Sometimes that big risk has a huge reward in the end whether that is your sense of peace or a great paying job. I hope this post gives you the ease of mind to relocate to that new city/state.