So I uh, quit my job again.

I have written this blog post 3 separate times with 3 separates intentions, but none of them felt quite right. I think the main reason is that I feel a strong urge to defend myself, because starting and leaving 3 jobs in 1 year isn't something most people would praise. I had solid reasons for leaving each one, but long story short, every time I intended to stay, something in my life would change. Whether it was leaving for a better opportunity or fleeing from a toxic culture, sometimes you just can't stay somewhere for an extended period of time.

So instead of going into the details about why none of those jobs worked, I think I want to talk about what has worked: moving back to Utah and leaving my favorite place in the whole world 2,322 miles away.

If you are new around here, let me briefly catch you up. In 2018 my husband and I were living in a somewhat small town called Logan, Utah. We sold our house and all of our furniture, put what was left into a u-haul, and drove across the country to live in Florida. It was always our dream. We had no jobs and no real plan beyond "find jobs". We settled on Tampa, because we thought, "if we are going to Florida, we want to be by the beach," and I demanded that we live close enough to Disney World that I could visit on a regular basis. (That "very favorite place in the world" I mentioned? That's Disney World.)

Eventually I found a job working at Nordstrom, but my husband really struggled to find work. While we were there, he estimates that he applied to over 500 jobs, and he had 3 interviews. (He is a college graduate with years of account management experience. We were extremely confused.) We had enough of a financial cushion from our house sale that we were able to survive for about a year on my retail wages. Finally, we reached a month where we didn't have enough money to pay our rent on time. That was the first time it had ever happened to us during our 7 years of marraige, and it was big reality check. Even though Florida was fun and we loved being there, it became clear that Florida didn't feel the same way about us! After talking with some friends, we decided to open up Kyle's job search to more of the country, and almost immediately, he was being contacted for interviews in Salt Lake County. We were really hesitant to move back to Utah, but a few good friends who lived in the valley encouraged us to give it a try.

About 2 weeks later, we both had jobs in Salt Lake. So we packed everything up again and moved back. I was pretty heartbroken, but the Capricorn in me knew it was what we needed to do. (To clarify, I'm not saying that the Universe was against us and that we aren't responsible for any of the struggles we had- I'm fully aware that we could have pursued moving to Florida in a more practical way. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.)

We've been back for about 3 months now and I can't believe how settled-in we feel. Kyle's job could not be a more perfect fit- it's honestly kind of crazy how specifically unique to him the job is, and he finally works somewhere that values him and cares about him. He has never had that before, and it makes me so happy to see him fulfilled even when the work is hard.

Living in Salt Lake is a lot different than living in Logan was- there is so much to do here and the weather is not nearly as bad... (so far. I'm fully aware that that could change at anytime.) I love the city and I am grateful for all the little restaurants and shops we get to explore. There are so many educational and fun things to do. Tampa had those too, but we were always too broke to enjoy them.

The job I found here clearly wasn't a great fit for me, but there seems to be so much opportunity in this area. It is nice to have a little break right now while I find something new, and I have an interview I am really excited for on Wednesday. Whether you believe in prayers or good vibes, please send them all my way!

The one thing Utah doesn't have is Disney, but there is a surprising amount of Disney fans in this state! I see Disney sweatshirts, Dooneys, and Harveys all the time! My goal with a new job is to make enough money that I can justify keeping my WDW annual pass and travel there a few times a year. (If I knew how to insert the fingers crossed emoji on my computer... it would go right here.) My mom and I were able to go at the very end of February, because she is an angel, and I immediately felt right at home walking into the park!

Do we regret moving to Florida?

Absolutely not. 2019 was the most fun year of my life. We saw so many new things, met wonderful people, made amazing friendships, and soaked up a lot of sunshine. We learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to be happy, individually and as a couple. We came out of it poorer than ever, but the experiences and the knowledge we gained were worth the price. (That's my opinion, anyway. If you were to ask Kyle, he'd probably say it was fun but maybe too expensive. Whatever. Relationships are all about balance.)

Annnnd that's the story!

I think I might end all my blog posts that way from now on.

-Nikki