Georgia on My Mind

The time has come.... we’re moving back South!

For so many years, Cal and I would daydream about living in NYC. It was a always a goal and we wanted to give city life a try. We wanted adventure and felt like we could no longer get that in Knoxville. Knoxville felt conquered. We knew every backroad, every restaurant, every secret spot within hours of the city.

When Cal was offered a job in Seattle, we knew this was our chance to sell our house and hit the streets of the bigger city. It wasn’t NYC but it felt almost as exciting. It was exactly what we wanted: tons of outdoor activities, a big city, ocean, and a whole new source of adventure. Nathan strongly encouraged us to go and he was far more wise than me. We knew the boys didn’t have many more years in them that we could all fit in a high rise apartment, so we jumped at the chance.

Seattle is second to none with outdoor adventures and the best weather you could ever ask for during 4 months of the year. We’ve been here almost 2 years and have barely scratched the surface (and y’all KNOW we are always on the go!) on all there is to do. In a few hours you can be on the coast, in another country, in several different states, in a rainforest, in a desert, in the mountains, on a volcano (or 5), in a mini Grand Canyon, in the snow, on an island, or in a big city. We totally fell in love with all the beauty in this area!

But what we didn’t know, is Seattle is HARD. The Seattle freeze is REAL. People are cold and nothing like what we’re used to. In the South, people stab you in the back, but out here they stab you in the front before you even meet. This wasn’t a deal breaker though because we honestly don’t have a lot of time for friends in this phase of life. Plus, we only know about 2 babysitters out here.

Then the struggle was food. I know this sounds crazy but if you’re like me and just like a simple routine of your favorite easy food spots (ie: “just grab some soccer taco or calhouns on your way home”) moving far will literally wreck you. Cal loves trying new food so this was nothing to him, but I do not... at least not when I’m tired and don’t want to think. Also, Seattle CANNOT make good southern food or bbq... don’t even bother trying any. The mexican places aren’t much better and don’t even have queso. It’s taken until now for us to find some spots that we get regularly. And if you’re thinking “just cook” you should try learning all new grocery stores! Once we surrendered to trying things Seattle is known for like Japanese, seafood, Korean, ramen, and ANY Ethan Stowell restaurant we found our go to spots. Seattle does have great food, it just wasn’t things we were used to getting.

We certainly weren’t the first people to move to a new place that’s very different from home. We’ve slowly gotten in our groove here. There’s been some bumps we didn’t expect: the violence downtown, the open drug use, needles on playgrounds, transients in crisis with no clothes on, etc. I felt pretty prepared for all of this with a history of working in mental health, but I wasn’t. My anxiety has become crippling at times. Plus, nothing could prepare me for shootings, stabbings, fights, and suicide jumper below our windows. My mental health has taken a HUGE toll.

Then came 2020.... of course NO ONE was ready for this year. When we planned on living downtown in 1000 sf with 5 people, a global pandemic wasn’t in our plans. We said “it doesn’t matter, we’re never going to be at home” every time we talked about downsizing our square footage. We hadn’t ever planned on the kids doing school in this apartment while Cal attempted to work. We certainly didn’t anticipate our amenities and parks closing for months or smoke from forest fires forcing us to stay in our apartment day and night. We never planned for going 9 months without being able to have a babysitter, but that’s 2020 for you. Now the boys have started a new school year 100% remote learning at home and as amazing as the effort has been from their FABULOUS school, remote learning just does not work for our kids.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for our health in 2020 and I have definitely had worse years, but we’ve learned A LOT this year. The most important lesson being that we need to be closer to family. We need to be able to jump in the car and get to family fast when shit hits the fan. We need a home with a yard where we aren’t crammed if another pandemic hits. We need more time with the people we love most. Our biggest issue with Seattle is how FAR it is from everyone we love. We never realized how big of an issue this would be, especially given everything this year. Plus, it’s hard to choose a flight to Knoxville when flights to Hawaii are half the price. Ha!

Actually, while we were in Hawaii this year we learned that the coast just feels like home and it’s not something we feel like we can ever give up. The coast has become my therapy. I always loved it but didn’t know how much I NEEDED it and cannot live without it. So we’re off to Savannah, GA! Well... technically outside Savannah but right down the road from my in-laws! We found a neighborhood in Richmond Hill that encompasses everything we’re looking for: saltwater marsh, miles of walking trails, sidewalks for kids to ride bikes, 5 miles of lake to kayak and fish, a marina, pools, playground, etc! The neighborhood is conservation based with a strong emphasis on water (Hell, they even partnered with Bill Dance to make the neighborhood lake fishing trophy worthy!) So I feel pretty confident that we will fit right in.

Cal’s AMAZING employer (T-Mobile) graciously agreed to let him work from Savannah so that we could be closer to family. It’s only because of this that we’re able to make this move. Y’all, this has been a HUGE blessing and I can’t put into words how thankful we are for this company.

We want the boys to be able to roam free outside without fear. I want them to come back home for dinner to tell me stories of their adventures out with friends. We want to some space to spread out so Cal can work productively. I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I don’t want the boys to be afraid. I don’t want to sift through emails from our building everyday, or see people in the lobby, or smell their candles and cigarettes through our walls, or wait for a Conceirge to let me in to pick up my packages. (And I have almost nothing nice to say about living in our building period.... HUGE MISTAKE. You can read my review of West Edge Apartments here.)

But, onward we go! We’re turning this move into a killer cross country road trip with national parks and friends to see along the way! Then heading back to Knoxville in mid-November. We will stay in Knoxville through Christmas and then head to Fort Lauderdale for winter while we house shop (or potentially build) in the neighborhood we found. We’re going to be wandering gypies for a little while, but I know the journey will be worth it! 

So naturally that means, I will be homeschooling the boys for the rest of this year! I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing and will happily welcome any advice. Since we will be living some in TN, some in FL, and some in GA I’m not even sure which state to tell I am homeschooling. Anyone know which is the easiest? Ha! But I’m excited for the freedom it will give us and the time I’ll get with the boys doing it. Will they learn anything? TBD.

See yall on the East Coast ✌🏼

Xoxo- Hannah