8 ways moving helps the pursuit of a simple life

It’s been quiet around here lately, and I feel bad about that. But it’s mostly for a good reason: we’re moving!! That’s right; my husband and puppy and I are moving to my hometown of Seattle. I’m super excited. We’ll be close to my family, which not only means that we can occasionally toss our dog in a fenced yard, but also that we won’t spend every vacation traveling to see one family or another.

This move kind of came together all of a sudden, and it’s a bit of a leap of faith. Neither of us have jobs there (except my contract position, but that won’t keep us afloat). So my past couple of weeks have been filled with many, many job applications and the bit of existential angst—is this what I want to do? What do I want to do? What if no one wants me?—that goes along with it. Fortunately, my awesome parents will let us stay with them until we’re on our feet. It’s going to be a major shake-up…but for me, that’s part of the appeal.

See, neither of us are what you’d call spontaneous. We’re planners and thinkers who like to make sure there’s a net at the bottom if we’re going to jump. This move is a pretty significant diversion from our methodical, cautious psyches. Yes, we have a great safety net in my parents, but we aren’t leeches. We fully intend to make our own way as quickly as possible. And although moving is expensive and stressful, we believe that it will be an overall boon to accomplishing our long-term goals—even if it takes a couple of years of sacrifice before we truly Make It.

Plus, there’s an awesome inherent minimalist challenge in moving 2,000 miles, which not-so-secretly delights me. I love the idea of culling our stuff to the necessities and being able to start fresh on the other side. Sure it’s daunting, a little scary, and logistically complex. But moving is also a time rife with opportunity for focusing on your minimalist or simple-living goals. I’ve thought of several opportunities that this kind of major life change allows, which I’ve listed below. Over the next week or so I’ll be exploring each opportunity in depth. Here they are: eight ways moving helps the pursuit of a simple life.

When you move, you get to:

1. Reassess your short- and long-term goals.
2. Take stock of your stuff—ruthlessly.
3. Discover what material things are important to you.
4. Reevaluate the people and activities in your life.
5. Adjust your lifestyle to the environment where you’re going.
6. Consider other life changes that you want to make.
7. Take a road trip with your family.
8. Be discerning about what to let back in.

Tune in tomorrow for the first in-depth installment: Reassessing your short- and long-term goals!

 

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