A couple of years ago (2019) we moved here and people were really surprised. Shocked actually. A year later many people wanted to do the same thing! I thought I’d finally write this post to answer some most asked questions I get in my direct messages about moving.
Why did you move?
We were living by the beach which has always been a dream of my husband’s. He is a water person. He loves surfing and swimming in the salty ocean. He had even spent years driving our exact neighborhood, dreaming of living there one day and taking his kids surfing.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE living by the beach but I’d be just as happy living a bit away from the beach, saving the $ and having a quiet yard.
Well, a job came up close enough to this neighborhood and we decided to buy a home there. Chris showed me house after house and we found a beauty. IT WAS A DREAM COME TRUE! The house was gorgeous and unique and we thought it was our forever home! We renovated it and it was stunning!
We had 2 really little kids at the time (4 months & 2 years old) and after living there, realized that the beach lifestyle wasn’t the best fit for us.
Also, I had to get a really solid, lockable mailbox installed. A lot of us in the neighborhood had our mail stolen. Cars parked on the street were a target too. One time had to call the police because of a person on drugs walking in the center of the street. The homeless population was growing very quickly.
Weekends were busy with events and we were spent. We had this expensive, beautiful beach house and didn’t see each other much. I wanted to have more kids as well as work more. We both wanted to spend more time together.
We realized we were living in someone else’s dream house and we were ready to find our own!
We thought maybe a masterplanned community with a yard would be more a fit. So we even put an offer on a house that was inland of the beach house. After the inspection process, we found it was a scam! It was a quick flip that they were trying to pass off as some kind of “architect’s pet project.” WOW! The floors were bouncy like a trampoline! HA! So that one got cancelled.
That got us thinking…is this a temporary solution? What would really be changing if we moved to this suburban neighborhood? Would it be meeting our goals? It’s such a big financial and lifestyle decision!
Well, a couple years prior to this, we had started fantasizing about moving out of state and we had even taken trips to visit areas we had researched. Slower, family centered, less expensive areas. We decided to revisit a place we liked and ended up putting an offer on a house.
"People have asked me where I live and want me to help them move here. Many people have the same goals as us. I tell them this."
-I’m not always the best person to look to for hometown opinions. I like EVERY PLACE! I’m a sunny side up person. I have lived in a million cities, a few countries and travel a lot ever since I was little. Each place is a wonder and treasure. If I gave you a tour of any one of these places, you’d fall in love with it and want to move there. I do that!
So as for Texas, I may not share a lot about the scorpions or giant spiders I see INSIDE our house, the coral snakes (red black yellow) we see on our walks. The tarantulas crawling down our front door window. The eternally itchy, chigger bites on my thighs. The snake on the back patio the other day.
Or the issues with having your own well and septic system. The sweltering 4/5 months of mosquito summer. I thought my milk wouldn’t make it home in this weather! All that said, this place serves us in many ways and that’s what I see each day.
-We are actually very private people and are cool doing our own thing. We thrive on it.
-There is somewhere even better suited for us than here but we took a leap and we are making the best of it.
-Moving to a place where you know no one has it’s challenges. It’s something I’m so used to but other people may not find it so simple. Remember me trying to find a hair person? I’m still recovering from the orange dye, a year later. 🙂
-There are goods and bads here. Like everywhere! You have to find what works for you. It’s a VERY personal journey. Travel, get a VRBO, Yelp restaurants if you want to try a new place.
-Whenever I moved somewhere, I would learn the culture, the vibe! I didn’t try to change it or impress my ways upon it. When people do that, the place they fell in love with ends up being something different and they don’t love it so much anymore. I saw it for it’s greatness and respected that whether I loved it or NOT.
-Many Texans express that they don’t want Texas to become California. I don’t want it to turn into California either. I love both places and they are very different!
-We moved to have a life of simplicity: Lowering expenses, independence, flexibility in being available for our kids & each other. There are many places that check these boxes. We used to be super social people before kids. We are in a season of life that’s about our family.
Growing up in a military family, our family was very close. We moved a lot and spent all our free time together. My mom did charity work and my dad worked full time.
I do miss our friends and extended family and we enjoy quality time with them on trips. We are like friendship and family-time camels. It does get hard sometimes but it’s part of the lifestyle we choose.
Thanks for making it to the end! I hope it sheds some light on our process!
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