It has officially been seven months to date since I have shipped a few boxes and brought my fur babies with me to move to sunny California. I am pretty sure that I have felt nearly every emotion while in the planning, moving, and now living away from my home state. If you are seeking to move, daydreaming about moving, or if you have recently moved, then this one is for you!
Why I decided to move
Have you ever reflected on where you are currently at in life and thought, “what if I…. ” fill in the blank? As a wanderlust, I have always wondered what it would be like to pack up everything and leave my familiarity. I often daydreamed about the moment that I would leave my hometown, embracing a new city and/or state. It started as a cute dream that I entertained as a twelve-year-old yet I immediately stuffed this dream away as life progressed.
In 2019, after a visit to Los Angeles with my friend Alex on our girl’s trip, California decided to invade my heart, once again. The dream of living in California that I had explored as a young girl, was back. Afraid that this was silly, I tried to suppress this wild, wonderful idea to the back of my mind. “Leave my home town to move to California?” This sounded silly and so whimsical. Yet I strongly believe that God kept pressing for my attention to move. Thoughts of living there, running into literal California signs while living in Texas, and legit dreams kept popping up. As a strong believer of signs, and knowing that God often reveals things to me in dreams, I finally started to pray about what was going on. Was I supposed to move to California?
I began the research journey, both careful and strategic about who I could invite into my world during this new and exciting idea. After plenty of prayers, research, interviews, rejection, Pinterest boards, impatience, excitement, anxiety, a going-away party, tears, and one additional visit to the Bay Area, I made the transition. In this reflective, “how-to guide”, I will show you how to embark on a journey full of wonder for yourself without having a large amount of money saved!
What has been one of the most exciting and rewarding things about my move is hearing how plenty of other people daydream about moving or aspire to do the same as well. Plenty of people have reached out to me for ideas and tips since my journey of leaving. Moving was FAR from easy, but I truly believe that leaving Texas was one of the best things that I could have done for myself. With this being said, I hope that leaving your hometown will be the best thing that you have ever done as well.
Research your dream location
If you are desiring to leave your hometown, I hope that you already have an idea of where you would like to move to. If you’re anything like myself, you probably have two places in mind, yet you’re leaning towards one more than the other. This is great! You’re probably a planner, and you are one step closer to leaving your city. Even then, you still want to reflect on your future home by considering all of the researchable items below. Now if you don’t know where you’d like to live quite yet, there are some things you may want to consider to help you narrow down your options!
Can you tolerate the weather?: Before you pack up and move to Chicago, do you always complain about the office being cold? Are you constantly daydreaming about the beach and spicy pineapple margaritas? If so, then you probably should avoid moving to a cold climate. Consider someplace warm like Florida, California, or Texas.
On the contrary, if you love the cold weather, getting all four seasons, and the fashion options (hello NYC), then I would suggest avoiding warmer climates. Research the climate in places like New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and so on. You most definitely want to avoid Texas or SoCal if you want all four seasons.
What’re your options for work?: This one is a bit tricky because everyone has a different scenario. When I was initially seeking to move, I was searching for a new job. My job position is located anywhere, but it may not be the same for you. If you aren’t sure where you’d like to move, I encourage you to look on LinkedIn to see if your position is within your list of options.
In the long run, I ended up keeping my job and transitioning into a remote employee. I did NOT see this coming, and I like to call this a “God Kiss” because He totally surprised me 🙂 If you are confident that your job can be done remotely, and that your company values you, I recommend trying to pitch your remote position for your move. PLEASE go in confident and prepared prior to pitching!! Know your stats, be SURE that you are moving, and don’t have expectations of the outcome.
Did you like the location when you visited?: I HIGHLY recommend that you visit a place prior to moving there. For several reasons, but to state the obvious, you don’t want to move and then hate your new city or state. This is probably the most crucial bit of advice. Had I been a super conservative, and reserved person, I would have been miserable in California. If you are this person, California will drive you crazy.
It is important to check out the location prior to moving because it will help you assess several factors. Is public transportation available? What is the traffic like? Do you find inspiration in the new place? Can you survive in the suburbs or the city? If you don’t have the option to travel and visit the location first, I suggest doing research on YouTube by searching for videos such as “Living in NYC”.
What is it going to cost?: Whew. PLEASE research the cost of where you are desiring to move. I don’t say this because I was oblivious to the cost of living in California, but because hearing people say “woowwww California is so expensive” was so annoying to hear after a while! As if I weren’t capable or wise enough to research this for myself!! Anywho, I will digress. When searching for the cost of living, gather information from several people and resources. I used blogs, YouTube videos, and a tax search engine because state taxes is something that I had to be aware of (sweet TX doesn’t have them).
You want to consider rent, groceries, gas or public transit money, hair and salon (yes Queen), gym memberships, pet-related costs, savings money, travel money, invest into you money (because you need it girl), giving or tithing, fun money, insurance, electricity, phone bill, ALL OF IT. You get the point. When I initially moved, my rent was lower because I was living with roommates, but because I am now living on my own (woot woot), I am paying $250 more in rent than I was when living in Texas.
What can you get for your money?: This leads me to my next tip. Research “Studio or One Bedroom Cost in NYC”. This will show you the price and square footage range for you. I also used Apartments.com and Zillow.com to help me gather an idea of what my new living situation would be like. NOW- if you are moving to an expensive city or state, and you are intimidated by the cost or the lack of space in your new home, I kindly say, RELAX. It is all going to be temporary.
When I initially moved out here, I did NOT want roommates. God knows I couldn’t successfully handle it, especially after living on my own for 7 years. However, I made it happen and I am glad that I did. I met my former roommate on Craigslist (yes, but please be SO careful) and I was also looking on FB pages for roommates. They ended up being from California, which made me feel more comfortable with my transition.
Eventually, it worked out for me to get my own studio apartment. And even now, I am making adjustments as I live in a significantly smaller place than what I had in Texas. Just thug it out, you will be in a bigger and better place soon if you are working for it.
What to bring with you
You think you need it or can’t live without it, but you don’t need it and you can live without it. And no, I am not talking about your pets. They better be coming with you 🙂 I am referring to the material items in your home that you have grown an attachment towards. The items you hardly even touch, the books you haven’t read, the outfits that have been out of season forever, and the makeup or hair products that might as well be expired because you don’t even use them. I am talking about the pots and pans you only use when inspired to cook, the endless plastic containers that are bad for the environment anyway, and the decor in your home that you aren’t really “feeling” anyways.
That is what I am talking about- it can all go! Before you slide in my DMs, demanding a more rational answer, I want you to know that I packed my 860 sq. foot apartment in Texas into five medium-sized boxes, and brought three luggage’s with me. You are talking to someone who literally had SO much to give away when moving, and I promise you I cried and struggled with releasing some things. But guess what, other than my Instapot (at my mom’s) I don’t miss any of these items. I take that back, I do miss the jade roller that I gave to a friend. 🙂
It will probably save you SO much money in the long run if you just narrow down the MUST HAVE items in your home and ship out 5-7 boxes. I shipped with FedEx and this cost close to $300, opposed to buying a moving truck and spending over $2,000. Now I did also release my bed, couch, TV stand, and other large furniture to my close friends.
If you want to sell these items, go for it! You can make a profit off of Facebook Marketplace that can help contribute towards your move. I personally felt compelled to just gift it to my girls in Texas and as a result, they all assisted with my move by helping me pack, throwing a going-away party, and blessing me with gift cards and parting gifts.
Moving away with pets
Daisee the dog and Chloe the cat: my two precious fur babies. It was no doubt that they were coming with me. They had been apart of my journey for SO long, and they are literally my babies. Now, the stress and the planning for GETTING them here was the challenge that I had to encounter. The idea of moving to another state with pets was so overwhelming, and there was little knowledge out there to help me outline this process.
At first, I had the brilliant idea to drive 24 hours with my pets. Thankfully, God killed that idea by giving me a dream of flying with them on Southwest Airlines. The reason why this was such a Godsend dream, is because I was initially stressed due to several airline policies regarding flying with pets. Many of them would accept smaller dogs and cats, but because Daisee is a small-medium Cocker Spaniel, she would’ve had to fly as cargo.
Absolutely not.
However, after researching, even more, I learned that Southwest Airlines only required an ESA letter for Daisee and $100 for Chloe to fly in the backpack as my personal item. After taking an online assessment with a therapist, it was verified that I could bring my friend of twelve years, with me on the plane.
We were set and on our way to Oakland, California.
If the idea of leaving your home town without your pets stresses you out or causes anxiety, I would highly recommend getting an ESA letter. Daisee has been with me for 12 years, and practically grew up with me. She has been my emotional support, I just never solidified her by obtaining the verification.
How prepared do you NEED to be?
I hate to admit it, but I moved within six months of knowing that I wanted to move, and had about $2500 saved. Now, I did also launch my book the month before my move, which also contributed towards my relocation process. However, I didn’t get relocation assistance from my job (nor was I expecting it since I told them I was moving regardless), and I didn’t have the ability to really save as much because I was paying for my book launch and I had travel plans to visit San Francisco during this time.
Although this may have worked for me, this isn’t what I would recommend. If you are able to plan out your move within a year in advance, I suggest doing so. I have packed up and moved to seven (now nine) apartments, so I can literally do this in my sleep. Execpt this was my first time leaving my home-state. Leaving a city for another city within the same state is a challenge as it is, but moving to another state when you don’t have “practice” needs to be mapped out.
I also don’t want you to get stuck in the “analysis paralysis” land either though. Please don’t try to have it all figured out. I was interviewing months in advance, not knowing if I would end up breaking my lease, but I was down for whatever. In the long run, interviewing was adding hope to my journey. I also put in my 60 day notice when my apartment renewal letter was left on my door, WITHOUT having anything lined up. Faith girl, that is all faith. I was confident that God was telling me to move, and that the details would pan out. And that it did.
I can’t give you an exact amount to save prior to your move but I will suggest a few things that I DID do. I paid off two of my credit cards, saved enough for a deposit (one months rent in Cali), saved for my moving expenses, and created a board on Trello that helped me stay organize with my move. I made a list of to-do’s for each month leading up to my move.
You will change
It has been seven months to date since I have left my home-state in Texas to wander off to California. Since then, I have been embracing this transition, and have I ran into plenty of surprises along the way. Losing friendships, gaining new connections, starting my blog, getting a boyfriend (crazy right?!), learning more about myself, and finally establishing a new sense of independence.
When you move to a new city or state, leaving your home town behind, you will and should expect to change. You will grow into your truest being, and you will evolve. Some friendships will fade away, and that is okay. You will meet new people, and God will literally align everything that is meant to be in your life. Embrace this new wonder into your life as you take a step or leap of faith.
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Thank you Imani for sharing this very detailed informative post about moving!
So so good and encouraging!!!
The things that really stood out to me:
– don’t be an “analysis paralysis” 🤦🏾♀️ because I’ve definitely tried to have it all figured out 🤦🏾♀️ letting go of control is hard
– letting go of materialistic things you don’t need or probably haven’t used in forever.
– the preparation section in the blog shows me I’m moving in the right direction when it comes to saving.
– also shipping your boxes verses hiring a moving company is a great tip!
Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips!
Thanks for the feedback!! Analysis paralysis will have you stuck!
& it is good to hear that you are headed in the right direction 🙂
Thank you so much Imani for sharing this!!! I am from New Jersey and have been planning to move to California for a long time but stuck in the planning process. This post was so helpful in regarding planning and trusting your dreams no matter what!!! Truly encouraging!!
Come to Cali girl!!! Excited for you and happy to hear that this was so helpful for you 🙂
Thank you for this post and for sharing your journey. This is something that I have put off for a long time now because of fear due to some trauma in 2019, never the less I want to look at this as an opportunity to obey God and watch promises be fulfilled in my life. So I thank you for this post along with the video you did on moving..
Your blessing is going to be within this new move! Take it and be gracious with yourself along the way 🙂
Wow! Thank you for this post girl, i love it! So informational and detailed. This is so helpful because i have been considering moving to So Cal.
Very inspiring 🙂
I am sooo excited for you to move to SoCal 🙂 You know I will be visiting!!