I’m excited to finally share this news with you…we’re moving to Portland, Oregon!
In 11 days!
If you’re new to things around here, I’ll give you a quick run down on the backstory. This post turned into a bit of a brain dump, sharing lots of info and feelings on our journey. If you’re interested to hear where we’ve been, why we’re moving and how I really feel about it, keep reading!
Where We’ve Been & Why We Keep Moving
Let’s go way back. After college (me in Michigan, Matt in Boston), MM and I both immediately moved to NYC. We didn’t meet until a few years later though. We both really loved New York and it’s an amazing place to live, but neither of us saw it as a forever place. MM and I wanted a change but didn’t know where to go, so we waited until the right thing came along. MM went to grad school in NY and after graduating looked for jobs all over the country. There was a great opportunity in SF and a move to California excited both of us, so after 9 years in NYC we headed west.
We spent about a year and a half in SF. MM’s job was part of a rotational program and he was then given the opportunity to spend his last rotation abroad. Again, another opportunity that excited us, so we jumped at the chance. We moved to Barcelona for that final 8 month rotation and that’s where we are now (& love it btw).
This is the end of the rotational program and time to find our next destination. MM will be staying with his current company so our options are limited to where there are offices. We narrowed down the list to SF and Portland. We’ve been discussing the pros and cons of both cities for the last 8 months, trying to decide what would be the best fit for us.
Central Park blizzard, 2 minutes after getting engaged! One major thing I miss about NYC is Central Park.
Taking in the views of the Golden Gate. After living in SF for 1.5 years, this view never got old.
Why we Chose Portland
After lots of lists, discussions and comparisons, we decided on Portland. We really loved living in California but we weren’t totally in love with SF. I thought I’d move there and be obsessed and I just felt okay about the city. I think it’s hard to move anywhere after NYC and not compare it, but for me, SF didn’t measure up as I expected it to. Plus, the cost of living is well…unlivable.
While SF does have a lot going for it and there is a lot to love, all of our favorite attributes of living in Northern California are also present in Portland. A few examples: focus on a healthy lifestyle, outdoorsy, young city with a lot to do, driving distance to wine country, close to epic skiing, solid hiking nearby, good job opportunities. All of those great things, plus the cost of living is far more sustainable than the bay area.
Portland will be another new start for us. When we moved to SF we didn’t know many people (maybe 3?), didn’t know our way around and had to start a totally new network for work, friends, life, etc. And now onto Portland, I know 0 people and have spent about 48 hours in the city (& wrote a blog post about it!). I’ve got a lot to learn.
How Long Will you Stay in Portland?
This is the question I get asked a lot. We have no idea! Since MM’s rotational program is ending, there isn’t a specific end date. If we love it, we could stay forever. If we don’t, we can leave. We do talk about potentially ending up back on east coast. It’s where our family and many of our friends are, but we have no idea what the future holds. We’re going to take it one step at a time, start our Portland life with an open mind and see what happens.
Are you excited to go back to America?
Yes and no. I know there are a ton of things I’ll be excited for when we return. Also SO much that I’m going to miss about living in Europe. It’s funny because even though we are moving back to the US, we’ll be nearly the same distance from our families. The flight from the east coast to Spain is 7 hours and the flight from the east coast to Oregon is 6. So yes, we’re going back to America but we don’t have the feelings of going “home” because it’s totally new for us. Lots of emotions to say the least.
Thoughts on Change
While change is scary and stressful and puts you out of your element, I’m excited for the next leg of our adventure. After finding my footing in a foreign country, I hope that the move to Portland will be a smooth one (for starters, I’m glad to not have a language barrier for this move!).
It’s hard moving to a city that you don’t know much about. Maybe you’ll love it, maybe you’ll hate it. You just have to remind yourself that you’re in charge of your direction and you can always move again. Nothing has to be forever, you decide that. It’s good to put yourself in uncomfortable situations, like making new friends and navigating a new place. Change helps you to grow and evolve.
Yes, it sucks to move to yet another city where none of my best friends live and ideally I’d love to move to a city where all my friends and family are close by, but I’m focusing on all the good things about the move and all the new experiences we’re going to have.
It’s funny to think back to when I was living in NYC for 9 years and feeling totally over it and stuck. I wondered if I’d end up just staying there forever because I didn’t know where else to go. Who would have thought that within 2-ish years we’d be moving to our third new city. I feel lucky to be on this adventure. Getting to experience different parts of the country and the world has been so rewarding and special. If we talked 3 years ago I would have never of guessed this is what was in store for us.
We’re moving in a little over a week. We’ll live in temporary housing for a month while we look for an apartment. I’m also starting the job search (full time work and also for fitness teaching gigs).
If you live in Portland, I’d love to connect! As I said, 0 friends so far 🙂 And if you have any Portland recos (good areas to live, gyms, etc), please share.
Thanks for reading this and following along on our adventures. Cheers to this next journey!
