I gotta talk to someone... SEATTLE OR BUST!

[Quillis]

All right, so. Things have been happening in my life. Namely, I am probably going to be in Seattle by June. I have little over a month to pack and prepare and ruthlessly get rid of non-essential items. D:

This is a huge step for me, and my relationship with my boyfriend who moved to Seattle barely over a month ago for his job. When we first split apart, we didn't think we'd be back together so soon. But an incredible number of things have happened in the last two weeks that changed everything for the better.

I'm trying to keep my feet on the ground and think about it logically, but I can't help but be swept away by excitement and hope. We both don't know whether this is the best idea, that maybe we're being swept away by our emotions, but honestly, this is the best time for me to go. My lease is almost up, I recently quit my job (call centers are definitely not my forte), and waiting until September (the next logical point in time for me to join my boyfriend) is going to drive both of us crazy.

ANYWAY, the point of this post being... I guess I just want a little advice, or maybe some anecdotes, from people more experienced than I am. Have you ever had your life turned completely around by one small incident? Have you dropped everything and gone to be with someone, despite not knowing what you might find once you get there? Am I crazy for doing what I'm doing? It's a huge commitment--if I go, I'm there for the long haul.

For what it's worth, my dad seems 100% behind my decision, but the rest of my family doesn't know yet because it wasn't official until just an hour ago.

So sorry for my giant rambly post. I know you guys are technically complete strangers, but... well, from what I've read so far, there are some amazing, wonderful people on this forum and I just wanted to vent some of my feelings. Thanks for letting me spew, everyone, and especially those special individuals responsible for this awesome forum. <3

[Yanagi-sen]

Have you ever had your life turned completely around by one small incident? Have you dropped everything and gone to be with someone, despite not knowing what you might find once you get there? Am I crazy for doing what I'm doing? It's a huge commitment--if I go, I'm there for the long haul.

I didn't drop everything for a person, but I did have a huge change. I was a struggling substitute teacher who was TIRED of always being second for every full-time position I interviewed for. Then Kiki-chan78 said 'check out the JET program'. I downloaded the application, gathered up all the letters of recommendation and other documents I needed, and sent them off. I didn't talk about it to my family or anyone really. Nine months later I packed up my life (left the boxes in the basement of my grandmother's house) and moved to Japan to be an exchange teacher.

I didn't speak much Japanese beyond basic greetings, I knew a lot of words but couldn't string them together, I could read even less. I had never been to a foreign country besides Canada. I had never even been on a plane for that long at a time. I was delivered to a little town house in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. I was the only westerner in town, there were maybe 4 others on my little island. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever done... and I loved most of it, it was the greatest experience that I've had in my life so far.

Sometimes it takes a HUGE change, to change your life. It is scary, but if you don't have the guts to at least try... you may always regret not making the attempt. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but sometimes you have to be daring!

Good luck! (at least you're staying IN the country... ^_~ )

[Gift_in_Edge]

I think the most important thing is that you have somewhere to go if, knock on wood, it doesn't work out for you. Good luck! I hope you're happy with what decision you make. :D

[Quillis]

Thanks, guys. This really means a lot to me. ^^

Yanagi-sen: Wow, that was a HUGE change. You were so brave to drop everything and fly out to a foreign country where you didn't know the language, and no one was waiting for you to help you through it... You're right, sometimes it's worth the risk to change everything you know, rather than spend the rest of your life regretting not taking the chance.

I guess my mom did something similar too--when she married my dad, she left her home and her family in Korea for a life in the USA completely different from everything she'd grown up with. She didn't know the language, she didn't know anyone, but she did it anyway.

Gift_in_Edge: That's true, and I'm lucky in that if everything were to fall apart for some reason, I have a support system. I just have to remind myself that my friends and family will still be there, and they won't vanish just because I don't see them all the time. Modern technology makes all things possible! Lol. =)

[Linteia]

The winds of fate did that to me once, too. Well, twice, actually. So gather 'round to hear the epic tale of How I Met Your Mother...um, I mean, my husband.

When I was about 14 my parents moved from AK or OR again, divorced, then on a vacation back to AK my mom decided she wasn't going back and we had a week to pack and move and being an angsty teenager I got pretty butthurt. a year later my dad decided to move back to AK to be close to us kids and me, still being an angtsy teen, decided to GTFO and go to boarding school in ID about a week before enrollment closed. I got in by the skin on my teeth (terrible grades, couldn't afford tuition, and enrollment was closing) and that's where I met D. We were in the same group for a year and a half before we ever even spoke to each other because we freaked each other out (he had that axe-murderer vibe to me and I was the girl his mom had always scared him into submission with) but I was dating his best friend and the group had dissolved so we were grudgingly forced together. Blah blah blah, I graduated and we kept in touch casually with email and stuff.

Three years later, I'm living in AK again, going to uni. My dad meets his now wife on myspace and decides to move to WA to be with her. I didn't really care, but he offered to pay for either of us kids to move down with him. We declined, both in school and living our lives. That summer I got kicked out of my apartment and was living in my car, then about a month before the new semester started I got a notice that I was being declined for future enrollment due to grades (I'm...not the best student ever >.>;;) and decided what the hell, I'll go with dad. I hated AK anyways, so no great heartbreak there. D happened to live right across the border from where dad was going so I decided to stop in and say hi on my way to Portland and he proposed that night. We've been married four years as of leap day. ^_^

[magkelly]

Seattle is a hard place to move to. I have two friends there and I've considered it myself. It's a great town. There's lots to do and it's majorly gorgeous out there besides. But it's hard to get people to know you. People there can kind of freeze you out from what I've seen. Having your guy there will help but be aware you may not automatically make a lot of new friends at first and that can be tough. Plus it's a bit expensive, though not as much as say California, and a good job can be hard to get and keep. Overall I think I'd like the town though and if I didn't have to be here these days I'd likely try it out myself.

[lovelovekitty]

Firstly - my brother-in-law lives in Seattle. It's a great place to live.

Secondly - My husband did the same for me. And we'll be married for eight years in July. Sometimes a spontaneous move is exactly what you need in your life to get it kick-started!

[famedglory]

Sometimes a leap of faith that things will work out is exactly what is needed. My only regrets come from when I chickened out of doing something because it seemed drastic or not secure. What ever you end up doing, good luck!