Goodbye, New York – Hello, Pennsylvania!

268 Miles. That’s how many I drove in a Toyota Rav 4 with 2 cats and my husband in a U-Haul a behind me. We checked two items off our dream list. He wanted a better job, and I wanted to live closer to my sister. She’s not just my sister, she’s literally my other half. We’re twins.

The process was arduous at best but fulfilling. He lived in PA during the week, starting his job over a month ago. On Friday night, he’d make the 4.5-hour trek to Central New York. I spent the weeks meeting with the realtor, painting, cleaning, and packing enough boxes to cram into our Rav4 for his trip back on Sunday afternoon.

We made a tradition out of it. Every Sunday at 9 AM, we’d load the Rav. Once we finished, I’d run to Dunkin Donuts for two coffees and two breakfast sandwiches. We’d eat them together at the little sideboard set up in our dining room area for staging purposes.

We closed on our new house on May 1st and moved in right next door to my twin. Yeah, you read that right. It was my husband’s idea. He came down to look at apartments and all of the available ones we liked on Zillow had bizarre floor plans in-person. I’m not sure why this city likes stairs going through the middle of a living space, but it does. That night, he returned to my sister’s house dejected and still hovering on square one. He noticed a “for sale” sign on the neighboring house.

“How would you like to live next to your sister?” He asked.
“I won’t object,” I replied.

I quit a job I loved so my husband could take a fantastic opportunity down here in Pennsylvania. We’ve been here 4 days. The boxes are slowly getting unpacked, and it’s starting to feel more and more like home. During the moving process, I played quite a bit of Oxygen Not Included and Starbound, and I am considering starting a Let’s Play channel on YouTube to feel productive while I find a day job for myself. My husband teases me about enjoying my vacation while I can.

It feels like a fresh start, like I don’t have to stick to being just a graphic designer anymore. I am using this “vacation” to bolster myself in the avenue I love the most: writing. Here’s to the magic of new beginnings.