So… I’m About to Move Across the Country

You might notice things slowing down here a bit over the next few weeks. I'm about to embark on a serious new adventure and move 2500 miles away.    It's certainly the biggest life change I've ever taken on, and it's one born out of a sense of commitment to the things I try to share here on ManMade everyday: take risks, surround yourself with things that inspire you, and do what you can to craft and handmake the kind of lifestyle that makes you feel like the best guy you can be. 

The move is intentional: I'm lucky to be able to work from anywhere with an internet connection and a place to put my tools, and my wife has requested a transfer for her career and is ironing out the details. When we got married and went on our honeymoon two years ago, we visited the Pacific Northwest, and we fell in love. The combination of outdoor activities and city life, geography and culture, innovation and creativity and intentional living encouraged us to set about creating the kind of home and community that we wanted for our family. I felt like I was home for the first time in my life. 

So, we worked our butts off to make it happen: we paid off many thousands of dollars of debt and created a healthy savings account. We reduced our stuff and physical possessions by a great deal. We became a one car family. We set up a next-step plan for my wife's career and transitioning from her job as the founding director of a non-profit, and we began having difficult but meaningful and rewarding conversations with our friends and family. 

And now, we're going. Next Tuesday, we're moving to Portland, OR. We'll be taking the long route, visiting several friends, four National Parks, a bunch of other National and State monuments throughout the Northern part of the US. We'll drive more than 3,000 miles over eight days. We'll sleep on floors and in tents, and if everything works out, our boxes will show up and we'll show up and we'll now live four time zones away.

I know people do this kind of stuff all the time, but I've never lived anywhere than in the state I was born, and neither has anyone in my family for many generations before me. Some of our friends and family have been supportive, and some are pretty angry at us. I might even lose a few people over this. So, it's a pretty big cultural and practical shift for most of my world, and while scary and difficult (and expensive,) it's the absolute right move, and I suspect a good one for ManMade, as well. 

I'll still be around, but if you notice things are kinda light around here, I appreciate your patience. I'll catch up with you in a few weeks, and hopefully will have some cool stories to share. 

I'll be sharing my experiences on the ManMade Instagram page I've been thinking about trying a hashtag: something like #GoWestYoungManMade. Lemme know what you think.

Thanks, friends.