So I’m moving to Seattle

Wednesday morning, I accepted a job offer in Seattle. Like the hiring process (first interview to offer in under 48 hours), my start date is accelerated as well: August 19th. This gives me essentially 10 days to get most of my stuff packed up and in a whole different city in a whole different state.

Conveniently, the logistical challenge is a bit eased by that since I have to give 30 days notice on my apartment, I’ll have a couple of weekends available to come back and get all my big furniture and boxes and move into the apartment that I will presumably have found in Seattle by then. Also conveniently, is that two wonderful friends have offered me their couch to stay on while I get myself sorted in the city.

Logistics aside, there’s a lot that goes into moving away from a city you’ve lived in for the last four years. I’ve made so many connections to people, places, and things. I have a soccer team and a weekly poker game. I attend all Timbers (and some Thorns and T2) matches as a journalist. I’ve collaborated creatively with people and helped friends with their businesses. I have so many wonderful friends who flavour my life with support, spontaneity, and sentiment. I’ve moved cities a few times in my life, but I’ve never left so much behind.

Someone asked me earlier, when I told them the news, if I was looking forward to the fresh start. I took a moment to consider, but I pretty quickly realized that I wasn’t really considering this a ‘fresh start’ at all. Yes, it’s a new job in a new city, but I don’t feel like I’m starting over. I’m still going to have my friends (although I’ll see some of them less often), I’ll still be working in the same career, I’ll still have all the skills I’ve been working to develop, and I’ll still be the same me. I’m not going off to restart my life, or to reinvent myself. It’s just the next step in the journey I’m on. A big step, sure, but still just a step.

All of that said, there are some things I’m really excited about, too. For one, this new job is an undisputably good job, and I have a friend who works there (who referred me for the position; thanks, Alex!) who says good things about the company. Beyond that, the whole thing’s going to be an exciting adventure¹. There are so many things to discover in a new town, and Seattle has a lot of great things going on, too (except their Soccer team, obviously). Before long, I’ll find new places, groups, activities, and presumably friends.

When I first moved to Portland, I was worried that I didn’t know how to make friends as an adult. This time around, I don’t have any of those fears.

Quick Notes

• Yesterday I also accepted a small project helping a startup get their marketing stack set up and integrated properly. It’s nothing major and I’ll be done with it before I move, but it should be a fun little thing to work on.
• I read an AMA by Raphael Bob-Waksberg this week. One of the things he talked about was how in college, a friend challenged their group to write a blog post every day and doing that is where he feels like he became the writer he is today. I think that sounds like a great challenge, so look for me to be attempting that, especially with this big new life change I have to talk about.
• The office I’ll be working at is actually in downtown Bellevue. Since Seattle only has two bridges (point for Portland), it seems like living in Seattle proper and commuting across would be not good, but I’ll be weighing the pros and cons as I search for an apartment. My one ask today is that you leave any tips, tricks, or recommendations regarding neighborhoods and apartment hunting in the comments below. I’ll probably talk more in-depth about this in a post in the next few days.
• I’m really disappointed that I won’t be able to do the youth coaching I was getting setup to do here. This week I found out that I was going to be working with an ’06 girls team instead of an ’09 boys team, and I was really excited about the opportunity to work with older kids who play 11v11. I feel like this is something I’ll probably pursue in Seattle once I’m settled in.

Curator’s Corner

Just this tweet today.

1. I normally don’t like to use the word ‘adventure’ primarily because of how overused it is on dating apps, where somehow everyone loves going on adventures constantly and it’s all they do. Somehow it seems like anything you can do with that much regularity can’t possibly qualify as an adventure, but I feel like picking up and moving to a new city in ten days does actually count, so I’m giving myself a pass here.