Moving
I have to move by the end of the month. This is nothing especially new, as I've moved many times before. It is also not a surprise at all, and is something I've been planning for quite some time. And it's not an especially big move, since I'm probably only moving a few miles westward (to Tempe, AZ) from where I currently live (Mesa, AZ).
Nevertheless, it's a disruptive and stressful activity, and it also causes me to reflect on the places I've lived and the ways that they have affected me.
I honestly feel kinda bad for people who are born in a place and then just stay there. I know that often those people will say they're content with that, but that doesn't resonate with me. I can't help but think that in some cases, they're just afraid of the unknown, and are clinging on to the familiar for no good reason at all. Or maybe they're just disinterested, or never saw it as an option financially. I don't know. I know from my own experience that there's a lot of world to see, and even with all my journeys I've only seen a minuscule sliver of it, but I've learned so much about people and myself by observing what has varied both within and without as I have relocated from place to place.
Do you give things up when you uproot? Yes, of course. Is it hard sometimes? Absolutely. Is it worth it in the end? One thousand times over, yes.
For one thing, I think American culture would be turned on its head if every American had to live in another country--any other country--for a year. Two years would be even better. I can say with confidence that inside the borders of the United States, we do not accurately perceive ourselves relative to the world in which we live, and we do not have a clear sense of how other nations view us. We are raised with a type of arrogance about America's place in the world, and most of us have no experiential context against which to validate or repudiate that.
By the same token, if we spend our entire lives in a particular city or region, journeying outside of it only for the relatively trivial, shallow experiences gained during vacations and business trips, we cannot possibly have a reasonable understanding of what kind of life we really want to lead, and whether or not the place where we dwell really fits us.
Anyway, the original reason I wanted to write this post was simply to present a list of the places where I've lived, so I can refer back to it in future posts. I have no smooth transition to offer. So here you go:
- Bristol, VA, USA -- born and grew up
- Lexington, KY, USA -- University studies
- Eugene, OR, USA -- initially for grad school, but ended up being for employment
- Seattle, WA, USA (area) -- for employment
- Washington, DC, USA (area) -- for employment
- Adelaide, SA, Australia (area) -- my then-wife wanted to move back to her home area
- Gold Coast, QLD, Australia (area) -- no good reason, honestly
- Seattle, WA, USA (area) -- moving back to the USA, originally as a transitional thing, ended up being for employment
- Phoenix, AZ, USA (area) -- to get out of the rain, and forge a new life...which is what I've done
So here I am in Phoenix, the place that I hope to finally call home once and for all. I genuinely love it here. I love the people I've met, and the things that I've become involved in. I have real faith in the future of this city, despite the many challenges and problems, and I want to be a part of it.
An ex-girlfriend of mine told me I have itchy feet. I really don't. I hate moving, but I don't really regret any of my past moves, as I learned something about myself during each stint in a new place. This is how I have learned where I want to be, and where I want to stay. My feet don't itch at all.
