Haha! Just kidding. Well, technically, it is only 11 months til Christmas but let's not dwell on that, okay?
It is, however, only 29 days until I pack up my life and move to SC!! Yes, there is a definite move date and the only thing that would stop me would be a repeat of Snowmaggedon 2010.
I am nervous and excited and anxious to get back to my hometown and get on with my life. I'm so sad that I'm having to leave my honey here in Maryland though but it is what it is and I have to do what is best for me. Hopefully in time, he'll find a job in SC and can join me.
Those that live in the DC Metro area can attest to how wicked expensive it is here. I've talked about it ad nauseam for years but here's the major reason I can't wait to get back to SC:
Our rent on a 2 bedroom/1.5 bath apartment with a 'den' is $1465 a month. Now, this is a basic, run-of-the-mill apartment, circa 1970 that has had a few upgrades but nothing to make you think it's 'luxury' by any means.
And, in SC, you can BUY A HOUSE for less than $75,000. In fact, my parents are being extremely generous and are looking to buy a house for me to live in and 'rent' from them. There aren't a lot of suitable rental homes in their town and the few that are available are either too expensive or won't allow pets. Speaking of pets, pet rent in this apartment is $600/year. That is RIDICULOUS!
One of the houses they are currently looking at to perhaps buy, the mortgage would be less than $200. Yes, TWO HUNDRED dollars.
You know, for pretty much my entire life, I couldn't wait to get out of my hometown. I wanted to move north, to experience life in a bigger state and a bigger city. I was SO tired of the heat, the humidity, the small town that didn't have a Target.
Well, thankfully, the town has a Target now, and lots of other necessary retail shops (plus a drive through Starbucks!) but now that I'm older, I completely understand why people never leave there and/or so many people MOVE there. Because it's AFFORDABLE!!
Sure, it's hot as hell during 8 months of the year, but the fact is that people can afford to live there. You can make an average salary and have enough money to live in a house, take vacations, have a life. I can't do that here in MD. I am barely scraping by month to month here. Barely. If it weren't for the generosity of my parents and my Etsy gig, I would be flat broke and eating at the soup kitchen and living under a bridge!!
So, within the next couple of days, I get to start boxing up my life. A lot of my stuff is still in storage at my bff's garage but the things we've been living with for the last 9 months have to get packed away. I am stressing out over the details. Since the bf will continue to live in this apartment until his lease is up at the end of April, he'll need to acquire pretty much everything - dishes, furniture, etc. Everything in this apartment, minus a tv and a crockpot, belongs to me and they have to come to SC.
Trying to nail down the logistics of all of this is proving to be a huge stress but I keep reminding myself that in 60 days, I'll be living somewhere that I can afford, surrounded by my family and finally moving forward in the life I wish to create. I'm so excited to have my very own house that I can decorate how I wish, with a backyard for the puppies, with family close by. Now, I just need to get through the next 30 days without freaking out every step of the way.
