First post since settling (back) into NC- so long 2016!
My dirty hair, last night's make up I'm excited about opening presents face
As far as we got into the Christmas Eve Service so we had to take a picture
When Ben and I were in Revelstoke, Alberta we made friends at the local bar and told them about our trip and that we were moving from Alaska to North Carolina.
The woman looked at us both severely puzzled and said “Why on earth would you move from Alaska to North Carolina? That sounds like a terrible idea.
Alaska is beautiful, with clean air and untouched beauty, why would you ever leave that?”
When Ben and I were making our way across the Midwest I got into a discussion with someone online about how boring and dreadful I thought the middle of the US was.
I couldn’t fathom having to live there and aired these grievances to them.
Then the person replied “I realize that you’d hate me for saying this…but is NC really better? I mean if one has no family/friends there, it’s probably as
good
as Iowa”.
Granted these are the only two occasions in the dozens of times I’ve told people our plans where the persons questioned the reasoning, but they stuck out nonetheless.
Nothing like one bad apple to spoil the barrel? Or whatever the saying is.
Perhaps it was that their statements caught me off guard or that they were strangers, but in any case, it got me thinking more closely about a decision that had become material fact in the last 18 months.
Obviously my dad and other family are in NC, obviously my lifelong friends are in NC, obviously I said I was always coming back, obviously this makes sense, right?
I was obviously leaving my new friends.
I was obviously leaving my coworkers, peers, and the network of providers and resources I had made during school.
I was obviously leaving a job in the field I am most passionate for that was nearly handed to me.
I was obviously leaving a landscape that turned me into someone who loved to camp, ski, four wheel, and hike places with my dogs where they could run as far as the eyes could see.
Not only this, I was bringing someone else with me-someone who had never lived in North Carolina, had only recently gained friends and family in North Carolina and certainly had no intention of ever living in North Carolina until I made it a prerequisite of his consideration to date me.
We have been in North Carolina for 3 ½ months and I am happy to say it has been the most natural transition for us.
I never once had a moment of “I’m not sure if we made the right choice” or even had to have that mental conversation where you reassuring yourself that you did the right thing.
The only obvious is that this town is obviously our scene.
We stayed in an AirBnB for the first month in Weaverville which is a cute town about 7 miles north of Asheville proper.
We were lucky enough to find a host willing to accept our three LaRgE dogs as well as accommodations for our 37 foot travel trailer.
We used that month to ride around on the motorcycle a ton to get a feel for the geography around the area, look at dozens of houses with our amazing realtor as well as try as much new beer and food as we could fit in our ever growing bellies.
Ben was also able to work quite a bit with his new contracting job and I was able to interview for a job and subsequently be offered my first job as a Nurse Practitioner!
After searching high and low and looking at homes in every corner of Buncombe County, we finally found OUR HOUSE.
It checked all of our boxes- less than 25 minutes to downtown Asheville (only 23 minutes), acreage to stretch out on (7.4 acres), no HOA, potential for farming (zoned open use), and garages (which is the understatement of this blog).
It’s in such a peaceful location, drive through west Asheville a bit, past horses and dozens of black angus and the road just starts to weave and wind around the hills as you reach our place.
We love it more and more the longer we are here and I am very thankful for that.
But before we could move in, we had to wait.
VA funded mortgages take longer than conventional ones because #VA so we were starting a 45-50 day waiting period before we could move in.
We also had to leave our AirBnB fairly soon, so we moved back into the travel trailer and into a campground in West Asheville really close to the huge Western NC Farmer’s Market.
So after a fairly eventful month of exploring, house hunting, job finding, etc, we hit this dormant period all while confined to a 240 sq ft living space.
Talk about an exercise in patience and tolerance? It’s a wonder Ben and I still have all of our limbs and eyeballs…
Since I accepted a job at the major hospital system I knew it would take some time before I could start working, but I had no idea it would take
this
long.
I was offered the job Mid October and my orientation date is January 9 which is something I did not even have until yesterday afternoon.
I could go on about the trials and tribulations of getting this process complete, but all I will say is that it has taught me you have to be your own advocate; relentlessly, tirelessly, diligently.
I haven’t been completely graceful in this waiting period to start working, I get down at the fact that I have not made a substantial contribution to my family’s finances in over three years, I get bored and irritated, but I have tried to make the most of this ‘free time’.
It’s no secret I am most happy when I am working (Ben will aggressively attest to this), but I have found other ways to help keep busy.
Working on getting the house where we want it including having every room painted except for one room.
That was such an adventure in paint picking out!
If I can offer one piece of advice if you are considering overhauling several rooms/entire home- invest in a paint consultant.
When I first hear that title I thought it was some made up job, but paint colorist are totally a real thing and invaluable.
The one I worked with listened to what I wanted and knew how to interpret that into color schemes that flowed perfectly with our home.
It looks 10,000% better than it did with the other colors.
Master Bath Before
Master Bath After
Laundry room and living room before/after
Ben digging the trench for the invisible fence which has be AH-MAZING for the dogs
Hiking up Mt Pisgah
Something else that I have gotten into to help use my time is working out regularly again.
Ben and I did a beginner’s CrossFit- GASP! – class in October and we both really liked it. I had been skeptical of CrossFit for several years because we all know
those people
who don’t stop
talking about it
, all the crazy rhabdo stories, and insane competitions.
I knew I wanted no part in that nonsense.
But in the last year or so I noticed that most of the fitness accounts I followed on Instagram had sloooowwllyy morphed into people that used CrossFit to help reach their goals.
I don’t just mean really fit competitors’ pages, I follow a lot of women who are trying to reach simple, obtainable goals and had found CrossFit as a way to help reach them effectively.
They were trying to become strong, not just lose weight which is a main goal of mine.
I also liked the way their bodies were changing in addition to the comradery that always seemed to accompany their posts.
All this to say, I made several goals for when we finally moved to NC and trying CrossFit was one of them.
Due to some physical limitations I am working through right now, yoga is not a healthy option for me unfortunately.
I hope to one day be able to go back to yoga, but I thought trying CrossFit would be a fun new adventure.
I just so happened to have an old ECU classmate who is in the area for grad school and she goes to one of the local gyms here.
After looking online at several gyms, I decided to give her gym a try.
I won’t go on (and on and on) about how much I have enjoyed going to CrossFit, but I will say that I am really enjoying going.
I have met some awesome folks in the classes I am attending who are encouraging, down to earth and genuinely excited to work out together every day.
The team mentality is amazing for my workout performance as well as mental health.
I am looking forward to seeing what changes come for me as I continue to learn and grow there.
Here's to making my baby muscles grow!
Another thing on my list is take a pottery class.
I have found several around here, which is no surprise, but I will wait until I know my work schedule before I pull the trigger to sign up for one.
Next is buy a piano and dust off my piano skills from 20 years ago.
Non grad school goals are so fun!
Especially when you are living in a city that is so conducive to creativity.
Our realtor is a life long Asheville resident and she says that the reason Asheville is full of artists is not because native Ashevillians are so creative and artistic but rather the native people were so welcoming to artists over the years.
Asheville became known as a safe haven for expression and non-conformity and over time, it has become a hub for artists from all over.
We went to a fall festival when we first arrived and I was AMAZED at the artistry there.
It’s definitely not your average arts and crafts event by a long shot- these people are making careers and livelihoods out of their creative outlets which is hugely inspiring to me.
My mind has always shifted to science, medicine, coloring inside the lines, following the recipe by the book, etc.
I have tried to be more conscious in allowing things to get a little more messy creatively- now more than ever since school is finished!
I can focus on learning things that I want to and only because I want to.
Pottery? They have a class for that.
Chicken rearing? They have a class for that.
Animal husbandry? They have a class for that.
Glass blowing/jewelry making/metal smithing? They have a class for that.
My crazy hair fun
You want crazy colored hair and piercings I’ve never heard of? They’ll love that.
You want to build a terrarium and grow your own herbs?
I’ve seen at least three stores/floral shops that will help you with that.
You want to be considered a non-binary vegan Christian who is a member of the NRA? Step right up.
You want to brew your own beer/cider/liquor? Well, duh. This is Appalachia after all in addition to being Beer City USA according to some famous travel site.
And don’t get me started on the creative realm that is the food here.
I.
Can’t.
Even.
I am stoked to see where our creativity takes us in this new place and what amazing things we can make with it in our new home, careers, and social circles.
I am proud of myself for the connections I have already made that were NOT work related which I think is a huge accomplishment and cannot wait what else we can get our hands into.
We
obviously
picked the perfect place for us in this season of life and that’s just simply a fact.
Thank you for all who have been a part of our 2016, we feel honored to have so many wonderful and inspiring people in our lives (and to be living closer to many of them now).
Happy New Year!
