Happy New Year!
I hope your year is off to an exciting start! Ours sure is 🤪We got back from London & Berlin (make sure to watch my Instagram highlights to see everything we did) on New Year’s Eve and started off 2020 with a bang.
Last week, we got some amazing news and found out that we would be moving cross-country at the end of this month (keep reading to find out where)! I have been in Los Angeles for 6.5 years and Doug for 7.5 years, so this news is bittersweet.
I moved to Los Angeles at the ripe age of 22, weeks after graduating from college at the University of Florida with 2 suitcases and the car that I’d had since I was 15. I had accepted a public relations job at an up-and-coming social media startup and knew no one except for my boyfriend Doug.
Since the first time I visited LA, I knew it would be the perfect place for me. The electric yet chill vibe, creative energy, beautiful weather & landscape, and endless amounts of opportunity was exactly what I was looking for. This city served as a launching pad for my career, many of my passions, life-long friendships, my relationship, and my mindset. It has molded me into the person I am today, and I couldn’t imagine spending my 20’s anywhere else! I became a grown-up in Los Angeles, and it will forever hold a special place in my heart!
That being said, I am SO excited and very much ready for this next chapter of life.
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Outfit details: LA Graphic Sweatshirt, $20 (Wearing the XL, also comes in plus size) | Frayed shorts, sold out (similar here for $15) | Heart-shaped sunglasses, $10
Where are we moving to?!
Doug recently accepted a senior corporate sponsorship role working with the University of South Carolina and Gamecock Sports Properties, and we are moving to…
Columbia, South Carolina!
Doug and I are both from Florida, love the SEC (but it’s always Go Gators!) and have been looking for the perfect opportunity to get back to the East coast, so we’re both super excited about this. The company I work for is 100% remote, so I will continue in my role in Columbia. The stars aligned perfectly to make this all happen, and we couldn’t pass it up.
I’m most excited about being closer to family and friends, the ability to start saving WAY more money, increasing our quality of life, PUBLIX, and getting to explore the South a bit more…especially the emerging wine scene! We are a short drive from some major southern cities like Charleston, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Ashville to name a few. And fun fact…I have NEVER been to this city and only know what I’ve read online and seen in videos…so this should be a fun adventure 🤣
This is all happening very quickly, and we are moving in less than 2 weeks! I am traveling to San Francisco for work for 4 days this week, so I have even less time. Yet, as I type this, I’m sitting in our apartment filled with tubs and boxes and avoiding finishing packing 😅The movers come the day after I get back from my work trip, so I have to be done packing by tomorrow….send wine, thoughts, and prayers my way, haha.
I put a question box in my Instagram stories yesterday and I’ll be answering all of your questions about the move below! If there are any questions you have, comment on this post and I will reply directly.
Q&A
How long is it going to take to move cross country?
If we drove, it would take about 3 to 5 days. When Doug first moved to Los Angeles, we drove all the way from Gainesville, FL in 5 days (with a one-day stop in New Orleans bc DUH). Luckily this time we will be flying…so it’s about a 5-hour flight.
Where are you two moving? Congrats!
Thank you! We are moving to Columbia, SC 🙂
Do they have a Publix where you’re going?
YES…praise be. If you know, you know.
We might be moving across the country later this year. What’s your #1 piece of advice?
This is a great question! My biggest piece of advice is to get organized and stay organized. Make a list of EVERYTHING that needs to be done and tackle it day by day until it’s complete. There are a lot of moving parts (pun intended) and it’s easy to get overwhelmed or forget to do certain things.
We created a spreadsheet with multiple tabs tracking everything from apartments we liked, bills we needed to pay, accounts we needed to cancel, moving company quotes and more that has been a total lifesaver.
How often will you visit Tampa now?!
Hopefully much more often! It’s a 10-hour drive or a ~2-hour flight….so I see many more visits in our future 🙂
Are you moving to Florida?! Or NY?!
Neither! But I’d love to live in either of those places in the future.
Are you excited?! I wish you luck, it’s going to be great!
Thank you so much! I am so, so excited. Ready for a fresh start and change of pace!
Outfit details: LA Graphic Sweatshirt, $20 (Wearing the XL, also comes in plus size) | Frayed shorts, sold out (similar here for $15) | Heart-shaped sunglasses, $10
If you’ve gotten this far, you’re a real one. I so appreciate all of the love and support we’ve gotten since making our announcement!
Things might look a little different around here, but I’m looking forward to creating more travel, style, wine and lifestyle content from the perspective of a South Carolinian.
If you live in or have visited Columbia, what are some tips or recommendations you have for us?
Thank you for reading and sharing! Cheers to 2020!
Xo,
