Right, so, I’m nearly two weeks into the move now and still feel like I’m banging my head against a wall sometimes. Have you ever made a big move like this? Where suddenly your bank doesn’t exist in a three state radius and your ID gets scrutinized everywhere (really, just carry two on you, is something I’ve learned). A move that requires every last cent you have just to get through to your first paycheck? Social life goes out the window, and that’s only if you have a social circle to fall back on in your new home. Life seems to revolve around organizing, scheduling, OCD-ing, cleaning, and then re-organizing everything all over again because you finally got a dresser for your bare bedroom. Oh, and did I mention the sleeping on an air mattress?

Don’t get me wrong, this move is possibly the best thing that has happened to me in nearly 27 years on the skin of this planet. I am lucky to have a strong network of friends, coworkers, and family in this area (and I still get a kick out of already having coworkers!) and I’m unbelievably blessed to live in a house where, when I moved and said “so… can I pay you for the first month at the… end of the first month?” they shrugged their shoulders and said, “eh, sure, why not?” I love this city, I love the new job, I love getting to reconnect with friends from DC and elsewhere, I love spending so much time with my new boyfriend (who’s very patiently helped me re-organize my basement like three times already).

So, I’m not complaining. Not really, anyway. It just seems to me that there’s gotta be an easier way to do this! Instead there are licenses to change at DMVs that you absolutely cannot get into and out of during a lunch break, and of course there are fees and paperwork involved. There’s insurance paperwork to be filed on a deadline, but you need money in the bank first, just in case. There are all the bills you had before you moved that still expect you to pay. And then, when you finally feel like you’re getting a handle on everything, and go to cash your very first New Home Paycheck, you find out your bank doesn’t exist in the entire state. Either branch of it. Not even an ATM. So what do you do? You enlist some of your awesome coworkers, track down the bank the check came from, pray they’ll cash it for you, and start looking to send your business elsewhere. Which begins a whole new slew of forms, bills, address changes, account numbers to memorize, and ATM cards to wait for.

Ah, moving. I think it was more adventurous and glamorous when I was 19.