Thank you, Seattle

I’m sitting in our empty, 580-square foot cottage in South Seattle thinking about all the things I’ll miss about this place.

Our Beacon Hill hours we called home for three years.

The house itself, though it’s bellowing and should probably be knocked down for the safety of future tenants, has been a safe haven for us over the past three years. When the pandemic first began (and we thought it’d be a few months), we felt lucky to have our Oasis - a standalone home that allowed us to feel safe and unexposed. In the summer, we were grateful for our backyard, complete with our own veggies, an apple tree, and perfect second workspace.

But, it was time to go, time to shake the dust off. What better way to do that than on the road?

We’re well-positioned to do this. In the middle of the pandemic, I was laid off from a new job. Not because of the pandemic, but because myself and others called out all of the ways the President was racist. Instead of working on improving himself, he decided to lay off the whistleblowers. Good riddance.

I’m grateful I was only there for a few months; but, I had just been laid off in June 2020 - when many other people were looking for work. I took a moment to assess my life, the opportunity this represented for me. What did I want to do? How did I want to feel a year from now? Admittedly, I asked these questions while on several solo backpacking trips and hours in the hammock. Even still, tired of thinking about starting a job during the pandemic - when company culture was decaying in landslides - I decided to try freelancing.

In theory, freelancing would afford me the time freedom and location independence I really desired. I gave myself 6 months to build regular work that would sustain my lifestyle. And, in less than that, I proved that I could really build something sustainable and impactful. (And, quite successful - learn more about my business here). A few months in, my partner, Alex, quit is job and joined my venture.

With our lives merged in more ways than one, we now both had the time freedom and location independence to re-think our direction. Antsy for something new, we sat on the rooftop of our new favorite local bakery and hatched a plan over a bottle of wine.

Our plan would be to use our friend’s Florida wedding in early February as the “destination” for our timeline, and constructed a coast to coast road trip from there. We’d get a storage unit for things we were not ready to part with (i.e. bikes, big camping gear, etc), but otherwise, live out of our car and taking advantage of Airbnb’s long-stay discounts.

Me in front of Pike Place Market, taken during our first few months in the city, waiting for some grunge band to play.

So, here we are. On our final night in our Oasis. The rooms echo differently, and we have left a lot of holes in the wall. But, we won’t miss the rats in the attic or the teeny tiny bathroom. Instead, I find myself grieving leaving Seattle. Even though the plan is to be back next summer, this city gave me more than I bargained for and all I can say is thank you, Seattle. I will miss everything that you have meant to me and I'm so grateful for everything you have helped me become.

I started this blog for a few reasons, but primarily, to start publicly cataloging all of our awesome travel itineraries for the world to access. The first few posts on this blog will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about what we’re doing. I hope you’ll follow along - thanks for stopping by.