Call me crazy but I love change. I thrive on change. Lucky for me, I have come to understand that change is the only, reliable constant in life.
And so here comes my next big adventure…I am moving to Miami! I am moving for a new job. It’s my dream career, in fact. And I am so very excited about it.
Learn more about this move and my thoughts on it in this quick update post.
Gratitude and Greener Pastures
Nine months ago, I had a serious relationship end, forcing me to deviate in a way I did not expect nor want at the time. But I soon embraced the change as a means to grow as an individual. Despite incredible sadness, I managed to accept all that was happening from a place of love and not fear.
With this optimistic outlook, I started assessing many different areas of my life, including my job situation. I had been considering a job change even before the break up. I wrote about this in my New Years blog post:
There were moments this year where I dreamed about changing careers. But this is when I put a stopper on it. After some deeper analysis, I learned to appreciate what I already have.
It’s funny how life develops. While this statement held true at the time, I figured I could appreciate the job I already have and explore my options. I was practicing gratitude while looking to greener pastures.
Green pastures—literally! (taken in New Zealand)
Let me tell you—there is great privilege in applying for job positions from a place of job security. I have never done this before! Over 3 years ago, I was unemployed while applying for jobs after returning from 15 months of travel. I was seeing a therapist during that period to help with my career anxiety. I managed to stay relatively positive but overall it was a terribly depressing, desperate-feeling experience.
This time the job application process was totally different. What’s great is I could apply for job positions anywhere now that I didn’t have a relationship keeping me in New York State.
The world was my oyster and I happen to love oysters.
Oyster sampler from my trip to in Boston, MA in 2018
By the time the new year rolled around, I had already applied for several job positions. I continued to apply through January and, as I did, I even starting dating again. I went on a trip to Curaçao (which I will be writing about soon!) and, upon my return, good things started happening all at once. I started getting serious with one of the women I was dating and I also started to get calls for job interviews.
When The Job Fits
In many ways, I didn’t really want to leave my job but in many other ways I was ready to go at the first sign of the right opportunity. The key word there is the right opportunity.
A few of the interviews I had were for excellent positions. They were exactly what I was looking for, in fact. But there was always something less than ideal about it. For instance, one was a little less pay than I make now and it was in the middle of nowhere. I would have resented the commute from a bigger city out to the country every day or otherwise become incredibly bored and isolated living there.
My face when I think about living in isolation…
Then the right opportunity came along—and I got it!
My new position puts me at the helm of developing a program to support LGBTQ students. This means a promotion, greater responsibilities, more opportunity to grow in my career, and a chance to make a real difference with a population I identify with myself.
The only catch is it requires moving to and living in a whole new state—Florida!
A Whole New Adventure
Moving to Miami is bittersweet for me. Friends, family, and my recently budding relationship still keep me tied to New York.
However, I am lucky to have support from all of these people in my life. Even my new relationship partner is, while sad, incredibly supportive and willing to try to make long distance work (an option I didn’t have previously).
I will be sad to put a strain on the important relationships in my life with this move. But for a world traveler/adventurer like me, this move is otherwise entirely exciting! It means a whole new adventure! It means opportunity for me to grow both personally and professionally! It means building a new network of friends and contacts!
Awesomely for this blog, it also means exploring a new place and sharing all its exciting secrets with the world! I’ve lived in New York State my whole life (besides New Zealand on a 1 year visa). And I’ve been writing about New York City as my “backyard” for years. Now I’ll have the chance to not only live but work in a new state. Um…and it’s MIAMI, baby!!!
I visited the Florida Keys and the Everglades not too long ago. I can’t wait to explore these areas more, too!
The Move To Miami
Everything has been happening very fast. I interviewed in May and was offered the job almost immediately.
What’s nice is the university flew me down there for the interview, so I was able to explore a bit while there. I stayed at a hostel in South Beach and got my tan on for a couple of days. It was good to slow down for a couple of days and reflect, “If I get this job, will I take it?”
Negotiations took about a week. But when that was finished, I knew the decision to move to Miami was the right one. From there, everything had to come together quickly.
I flew back down to Miami 2 weeks later, at the beginning of June, to look at apartments. I saw 15 different places in the span of 24 hours. It was INSANE. The place I went with ended up being one I had arranged to see on my own, separate from a real estate agent. Of course my own methods brought me to sign a lease—my DIY approach rarely fails me!
Next, I had to arrange a move company to move all my stuff. Accumulating “stuff” is what happens when you settle for 3 years. But I think I’ve actually been pretty good about maintaining a quasi-minimalist lifestyle. I certainly have expanded from my 40L backpack, but I’ve also purged several times because I was forced to move houses twice! (Housing on Long Island sucks!)
So, as I sit here typing this, the movers only left a couple hours ago.
My accumulated “stuff”
One of the movers said to me, “You know, most people don’t ever make a move like this. They get too comfortable and sit in one place never even leaving their town let alone the state!” Settling for a long period might suit some people. Maybe it’ll even suit me for longer term one day. But right now?
It’s time to go.
July 1st is my move date. But I will be back to New York often. I still have roots here and I will always be a New Yorker at heart.
Whatever is meant to stick to me or stick with me will. Whether my stuff, my friends, or my relationship—the strongest will maintain or be made even stronger by this move! I look forward to seeing how things evolve and where this new deviation takes me!
#deviatingtomiami
♥
-Rikka