This decision has been a topic of discussion since election night, but it is now finally official. I will always remember putting that I Voted sticker on my laptop when I voted early. I wanted to keep the sticker because I thought it would be a monumental election – the first female president of the United States. As in 2016, that did not happen in 2024.
On election night, now living in an entirely red state where as liberals we only had 3 things to even vote for on the election ballot (most races in SC were uncontested Republicans), Rahul asked if we could put moving back to North Carolina on the table for discussion. The question came early in the evening, and after only one tumbler of whiskey and a Drumstick ice cream, so I knew it was a real question. And it was a question I eagerly said yes to.
We really did try to make it work in the Low Country. I worked HARD to separate downtown Charleston from the place we lived in Charleston, but I will always associate downtown Charleston with one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me. For more on that awful birthday, check out this post.
We moved here when we couldn’t afford the Charleston housing market and lost our college tuition benefit when we needed it most. We lived separately for a year so we could pay for college and live here. But after some family health issues and screenings of his own, I convinced Rahul to take out loans for the expensive college tuition so we could have a “live together house” in town. That saying life is too short becomes real on another level at our age. The move challenged our marriage in ways that it had never been challenged before. But we made it. And we learned a lot about ourselves individually and as a family.
I am proud of Rahul for recognizing this was not the right place for us. Like my therapist reminded me, most men would have doubled down on their decision vs admitting they were wrong. I am also proud that we are making job and house decisions as a true team this time around.
Our multi-racial, super liberal family just didn’t fit in Charleston. I feel like we tried to fit a square peg into a round hole for 1.5 years. I have a lot of stories from our time here, most of which are jaw dropping to my Chapel Hill liberal friends, but I am not sharing those here. I do not want to dwell on the negative. I hope that a few years from now we can look back on our time in the Low Country and see it as a good learning experience.
One of the big things we learned from this experience is what we ALL need to be happy in a home:
Trees on either side of our house. Being able to see into your neighbors’ yard did not work for us.
Woods for the pups to poop in private. I have literally had dogs my entire adult life and have only used poop bags on hikes and vacations. Dogs should have a proper private place to poop that does not require bag pick up. Bailey is 100% supportive of this goal since she likes to poop in private and has been shamed to do her business in front of others since July.
Chickens. Okay, not the actual chickens, but we miss the eggs. Fresh eggs are so good. We are officially too snobby to eat the ones from the grocery store.
Land but also close to civilization. This might be the hardest one. We miss all the conveniences from Wild Azalea Lane. She was the best and will never be replicated. But we can find our Wild Azalea Lane 2.0 in North Carolina.
So as crazy as it sounds, this summer we will be moving for the THIRD time in two years. My therapist is helping me set small daily goals so I do not get overwhelmed with the process. I am hoping we have decluttered enough after the first big move, and we will pay people to do the packing, so it will be manageable.
The move also means that I will need to return to being a family income earner, and I am actually excited about that. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t sit around eating Bon Bons during my time in the Low Country. I wrote and published two books, helped get a new nonprofit up and running, and managed the Partnership and Outreach division of a big dog rescue. But this new job will mean I need to generate income again. I am hoping the nonprofit I have been helping with will have funds for me to continue my role as Operations Manager (AKA the person willing to do any and everything) remotely with a paycheck, but I have also activated my LinkedIn and Indeed profiles to make sure I am an income earner by June of 2025.
This feels super full circle since it is all happening right before my 52nd birthday and our 22nd wedding anniversary. What an amazing gift to be able to head back home to our liberal bubble of likeminded people in just 130 days (and yes, I am counting).
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