In the Fall of 2016, we left Massachusetts in search of a new life and we found it! We've met so many wonderful people, had fabulous experiences, and learned a lot about business, life, and ourselves. But now, you guessed it, we're moving back to New England. To be perfectly honest, we're homesick.
We absolutely loved our beautiful home on the mountain, the city of Chattanooga, and the friends we made there, but I missed the vibrant art community I had in Massachusetts and Kevin missed the ocean. Also, despite being in the same country, Southern culture is very different from that of the North. We never did acclimate.
Here in New Bern, we have almost the exact opposite situation: we're close to the beach, there's a thriving art scene, and the culture similar to home because of the many New England transplants, but the landscape is depressing. It's all vertical and horizontal lines: mile upon mile of either tall, thin pine trees or flat fields. I thought I would get used to it. It may seem trivial to some people but in Massachusetts and on Lookout Mountain, I spent time outside almost every single day. Now, I rarely go outside. Besides simply being unappealing, the grass is filled with spiders, there are huge snakes living under our house, and apparently, there are alligators in the rivers. Not very inviting.
Neither of us is happy and we've had many discussions about what to do. Since we keep talking about finding a place "like New England" to move to, perhaps it makes the most sense to simply move back to New England. No, the things that made us want to leave haven't changed but we now realize that it's those things that are part of the flavor of New England. Even though we've put a lot of time, energy, and money into making this house our dream home, with plans for an AirBnb apartment and yurt rentals for yoga retreats in the future, we've decided to fix it up to sell instead.
The past two and a half years could be compared to The Odyssey, but it's just a part of the journey of our lives. We have so much to be grateful for! And the Epic Journey continues....
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Thanks, Lucy! I don't really believe there are any mistakes. It's all growth. ❤️
It is refreshing to read your blog post. Each little decision we make forms the fabric of our lives. Some choices feel like mistakes but are just stepping stones for the next chapter in our lives. Looking forward to hearing more about the Epic Journey.