What's next?

Happy Monday friends!

After the bomb dropped on us Friday morning with the news of R's layoff and the closing of DDMG-FL for good, we spent a lot of time reassessing what our new life as a married couple will look like-- We're about 175 days away from tying the knot, and as we learned this weekend,  A LOT can happen in a short amount of time that can dramatically change the course of your life.

The layoffs have been ALL over the news! 
(my friends are on the video loading up their car)

In all honesty, we never dreamed of settling down in Stuart, Florida-- BUT I know R saw himself starting a good part of his career with DD-- getting some credits under his belt, experience as a lead artist, and the cost of living here is relatively low, so with my recent hiring-- things were looking up in the financial department for us.

Anywho, as the trend has been in my life, once you become complacent (which we were) the universe likes to give you a swift kick in the ass, and boy are we grateful for it!

When stuff like this happens it reminds me that I am alive, and that life is about change, and adjusting, and experience.. and as I mentioned last week, a JOB is just A JOB. 

So what's next?

We have a few cities on our list, I prefer some more than others, and there are some he prefers more than others, and the only thing we really agree on is that as long as we are together, it doesn't matter where we end up.

Right now the major contendors are:

(in no particular order)

Austin, TX ~ Seattle, WA ~ Southern California ~ NYC

My top choice is SoCal-- my mom is there, yoga is big, and southern California is probably the most incredible place on the planet as far as I am concerned. I am sorry if you disagree, but you can't beat the weather, and I am into the whole green thing-- I also dig that Cali is home to palm trees, and with the ocean right there, and tons of climates to explore I think the only think about Fl that I will be missing is my family. 

I think R's first choice is Austin. I get it, Austin's motto is "Keep Austin Weird" so it might be a pretty neat place-- my fear is, however, that once we get outside of Austin, it is Texas. I was born in Texas, so I'm not trying to hate on my birth state, but I've meet some Texan's, and their affinity for George W and hunting kind of makes me feel like I'll be a fish out of water.. Not to mention Austin is landlocked, the closest beach is a few hours away, and it is a gulf beach-- Love the gulf, but nothing bets the shear force of the ocean. I am trying to see the good in Austin too-- Everyone I have talked to about Austin LOVES Austin.. not just likes it a little, or thinks it's pretty cool, they freaking love it..

Seattle is a place nither of us have been before, and my only real hesitation there is the weather. If it is true what they say about Seattle-- Lots of rain and lots of grey, I worry about my mental health as the sun and vitamin D play a huge role in keeping me level. But I mean, Nirvana started in Seattle, and there are a bunch of Granola's running around up there, so I'd be down to at least give it a try. 

Then there is good ole NYC. Who doesn't want to live in NYC at some point in their life? Having been away from Chicago for over 4 years now, the thought of big city living is kind of exciting, and NYC has a ton of opportunity for artists, but... the chances that we'd have to live in a 250 sq ft apartment with 3 cats, in a slightly sketchy neighborhood is pretty likely, and we both like our space. 

So there you have it-- We don't know if we are going to move in 2 weeks, or after the wedding.. but the idea of change in our life is pretty exciting. 

Have you been to or lived in any of the cities I mentioned?

As for our weekend, it was a mixture of optimistic and sad. Sad because we met some really incredable people who are leaving the state now, and it is very likely we will never see some of these people again.. and optimistic because, everyone is so talented, and can only go up from here in their careers, and it is exciting to see who will end up where. 

So we spent the weekend with some of our friends, talked about the future, drank a LOT of beer, and everything is going to be allllll right!

How did the weekend treat the rest of you?

Namaste, 

R