Jul 20 2007
Why We’re Moving
On the eve of our last weekend in New York, I thought I’d talk about why it is that we’re moving to Maine. I’ve been asked that question a number of times in the last few days and weeks, so it’s time I tried to put something into words. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, one of the big reasons we’re moving is that we simply fell in love with the area last summer. She and I have been talking about a change of scenery for a couple of years, and there’s not many places we’ve seen that provide nicer scenery than the Maine seacoast.
There is another reason though, and this is one I’ve come to understand after already deciding to move. I picked up a copy of The Four Hour Work Week back in April and have read it through once so far. One of the concepts that Tim Ferris espouses is freeing yourself from the confines of a traditional office environment. I’ve realized that the idea of working remotely and controlling my working life a little more is something that is quite appealing to me. While I certainly don’t consider myself among the New Rich, I am starting to design my lifestyle. The first step toward that is finding a job that will let me live where I want to live, and I’ve done that.
Finally, She and I want to challenge ourselves a bit. We’ve never pushed ourselves outside our comfort zone, and this certainly changes that. Yes, I have a job. And yes, we have each other. But that’s all we really have going into this. As much as this move is a change of scenery physically for us, it is also something of a mental change of scenery. We’ll be forced to go out and make new friends and develop new relationships. We’ll have to find a new church and new people to dine and drink with. Basically, we’re placing ourselves into a new situation to see how we’ll handle it. I’m not sure if that’s exciting or scary, but it certainly gets the blood pumping.
So there you go. These are the three main reasons we’re moving to Maine. No, we don’t have family up there. Hell, we hardly know anyone. We just like it up there. There’s something in the air. After crossing the bridge at Portsmouth, you just feel like the air is fresher, cleaner, freer. We like the idea of challenging ourselves and forcing ourselves and each other to branch out. And yes, I also really like that my morning commute will now involve a pair of slippers and a stop in the kitchen for coffee rather than 30 minutes on the New York State Thruway. And it all starts for us in less than 72 hours…