Have you ever been anywhere or met anyone where everything felt and fit right? It’s happened to me only a few times in my adult life. For those of you that know me well, you’re quite aware that it happened to me almost exactly two years ago when I met the BootsnAll Boyz. They were building a very impressive travel web site from Eugene, Oregon and I couldn’t stop coming up to visit them. The city of Eugene, meant nothing to me other than them, so it was always their friendship that was the draw, and I’ve made nine trips up to see them since. (That doesn’t count all the trips they’ve made to SF to see me).
Well, Friday I found myself an hour and a half outside of Eugene with a van full of clothes, kitchen stuff, a few linens, and a desk–turning talk into reality. The past month has been exciting and exhausting with all the opportunities that have come in, but San Francisco wasn’t the place for me to do it. Since my return from traveling last year, I haven’t been happy in the City, even if I love her dearly. After BootsnAll.com offered me some publicity work, I decided that it would be better to really get into it if I were near them, rather than 500+ miles away. The clock was also ticking on turning in my manuscript for Hold My Purse While I…, and I saw the temporary move to Oregon as a perfectly timed work retreat. So, how long am I staying?
Probably six months, though I’m going after a month to month lease that will continue to allow my life to be flexible. I still am working towards building enough credentials for a long term move to Australia, but that’s another story.
Rent is so cheap up here I’ll be able to get a one bedroom apartment for $350-$475/month. I’ll keep doing web work for Travelers’ Tales, and coming down to San Francisco every 3 weeks or so to do taping for the radio program. I’m looking forward to putting my head down and really digging into it, especially since so many projects I haven’t even had time to mention have been waiting patiently in line for their turn at my time. The best part of this move is that when I lift my head up out of the books, I’ll have some of my best friends here to be smiling back at me.
Life is good. If you can’t feel that, take a look around and see if it’s time for a change.