Exactly 2 years ago I arrived in San Francisco. It wasn’t my first time moving to a new place. Including San Francisco, I’ve now lived in 4 states and 9 different cities. I remember being a little girl living in New Jersey and dreaming about what it would be like to live in California. Somehow I thought it was the ultimate place to be. I never necessarily committed myself to moving here, but I flirted with the idea at different times. And then I met an amazing man and that was all the motivation I needed to pack up my things yet again, this time bound for the opposite side of the country. Now we’re happily married so I guess I can say it was a good decision. I didn’t, however, fall in love with San Francisco. I know, crazy right? Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who isn’t particularly fond of The City by the Bay.
I’ve enjoyed many different places and things within the city and even more so the areas just outside of it. I’ve also met some incredibly wonderful people here. But in the end it’s just not for me. This was the first time I’ve lived someplace that I felt extremely disconnected from. After two years it’s still the same. Can’t really explain it. But I do know that I’m not interested in wasting a good part of my life in a place I don’t really like. Fortunately my husband feels very similarly. It’s good to be on the same page about things that affect us in a big way. I’ve learned that where I live has a big impact on my ability to thrive. In San Francisco I haven’t been thriving, but merely surviving, when it comes to reaching my own potential. I’m not ok with that.
So what does that mean? Well, it means we are moving. The nomad in me is alive and kicking and very excited about embarking on a new adventure. We’ve stayed as long as we have because my husband has a good job here, and he’s been gaining a lot of great experience and professional growth. At the same time though, the job has been taking a lot out of him. It’s a very demanding position that doesn’t really allow for the time required to have a good social life & participate in a lot of the great recreational activities the Bay area has to offer. He’s very passionate about road biking but hasn’t had very much time at all to do the thing he loves. After two years he’s had about enough of that. And frankly, so have I! So we’ve made the choice to leave. We contemplated for awhile about whether or not we should move back to the east coast since we were perfectly happy there, but something inside me wanted something new. Really, really new.
While the idea of living in California was a childhood daydream of mine, the daydream I began having as a young adult was about one day living in Europe. My husband is a German national and I am the first in my Polish family to be born in the US. My parents were both born in the same village in southern Poland and I have always wanted to explore where they are from and write about it. My husband let me know that he was totally open to going back to Europe and at that point I just couldn’t resist the idea. We’ve decided to relocate to southern Germany. I’m very excited about this opportunity to experience life in a new country and to get to know and become a part of another culture and to learn to speak a new language. After living in San Francisco we’ve both come to realize that we’re not exactly city people so we plan to look for a home someplace quiet and peaceful not far from Munich. Maybe even further south if we like it and if we can manage to find some work down there. But first we plan to take our time and explore. We want to get a good feel for the different areas before committing to a location. Luckily we have his family to stay with while we do this.
While we are thrilled to move on to the next chapter of our lives in Germany, it wasn’t an easy decision to make to leave behind a great job and income that for the time being was pretty secure. In the end though, we realized it wasn’t enabling us to really live the life we want to live, with the freedoms and balance that we both value very much. So without a doubt, the bit of risk that is naturally a part of this decision is welcome. We feel confident that we can do better and we’re going for it. Life is too short not to have time for fun, relaxation & exploration. And it’s definitely too short to live somewhere that isn’t for us! The world is way too big to feel stuck in one city. So we’re not staying stuck no more! We’re heading out of San Francisco this coming Sunday. But not straight to Europe just yet. We didn’t have a proper honeymoon after our June wedding so we are going to do a little month long US excursion which I will document right here on my blog.
Our stops include Bozeman, MT, Jackson Hole, WY, Denver, CO, The Grand Canyan, Hawaii, NY and others. It’s gonna be so amazing to have several weeks together uninterrupted. I simply cannot wait. Another great part of this experience so far has been selling off all of our furniture as well as giving a bunch of stuff away. I find it so liberating to let go of possessions and start anew. It’s felt really really good to let go. I’m sure it’s gonna feel just as great or better to take off on Sunday! Until then, it’s all about packing up, clearing out and enjoying the things and people we have come to love here in San Francisco.
Let the next chapter begin!
