“If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree.”

– Jim Rohn

Do you love where you live? Do you even think about whether you love where you live or do you just go on living there? Well STOP! Stop now, and think about where you live and is it bringing you happiness on a regular basis? 

Where You Live Matters:
The past two places that I have lived, Carbondale, Colorado and McCall, Idaho (current residence), I have truly loved where I live. Many times a week I find myself thinking, “I love where I live” or “I’m so lucky to live here!” Do you find yourself saying that? If not, it’s okay, you still may love where you are living. But let’s take the time to think about this and find out if you do!!  

1. So go grab that dream book we always talk about and pull out the section about what sets your soul on fire.
   1. If you haven’t done that exercise to figure out what does set your soul on fire, then reference our past Elevate Livin’ Life e-newsletter HERE.
2. Now look at those activities and think to yourself, “is where I’m living right now, offering me opportunities to achieve these activities and goals”?
   1. Some examples- if you love late night dancing at cool new clubs- does your city offer you that? If you love museum and art gallery hopping- does your town offer that? 
   2. For me personally, I lived in Boise most of my life and although I still love that city, it wasn’t the right place for us. It worked, but we didn’t take advantage of a lot of what Boise has to offer (food, music, sports, culture, etc.) and instead we sacrificed what was more important to us (ski access, mountain trails, mountain people, etc.)
3. If you find yourself thinking your town doesn’t offer what you want and need, then that brings me to the next important point: 

You are Not a Tree, so MOVE:
Like Jim Rohn said, you are not a tree, so if you’re not happy with where you live, then move. Like seriously, it’s not that hard!! Okay, well it can be hard, especially if you’ve lived in the same house for a long time, but it’s not impossible! Some important points to remember about the idea of moving: 

• Leaving is Hard:
  • It’s scary, but exciting too! 
  • You can always move back! 
  • Talk to people you know that have moved away and ask them their thoughts. 
• Leaving your Friends:
  • Yes, this one is hard. I still miss my Colorado friends. But you know what? We now just meet up on our family trips together and those have become extra special because of this. 
  • Good friends are irreplaceable, and I truly mean that. But you can make more friends. If you missed the last Elevate Livin’ Life e-newsletter it talks all about how to make new friends, so if you do move, save that one for when you get to your new town.
• Leaving your Family:
  • I once saw a funny meme that said “The only parenting hack is to live near grandparents.” And this is soooo true! We moved back to Idaho to be closer to grandparents (even though they’re still two hours away). And it’s been so good for us and for the kids. But I have a handful of momma friends that don’t have grandparents around and they make it work. They maybe have to pay a little extra for babysitters or ask the mom squad to kid swap more often, but they make it work.
  • Even if you don’t have kids or if your kids are older, it is hard to live away from family, especially if you then spend all your vacation time to just come back to visit them. But perhaps you just get them to come visit you in your cool new place?! 
  • My kids love their cousins. And we love our siblings and parents. But I no longer feel the need to live around the corner from them because I’ve realized on a day-to-day basis my kids have their own friends and hobbies from their family. And now, we have this special time that when they do visit they really get quality focused play time with each other. In addition to this, we have had each of my nephews come stay a few days with us which has been so special and wouldn’t have happened if we lived in the same town. 
• Leaving your Work:
  • If you love your job then this might be hard for you if you have to quit, but before you go down the road of thinking the only option is to quit and find a new job, instead ask yourself if there is any chance you can work from home?
    • Before we moved to Colorado I was devasted thinking I’d have to quit my job because I loved my boss and the company so much. I scheduled a meeting with them all prepared to quit and was SHOCKED when they said they loved me and wanted to figure out how to make it work so that I could work remotely! I never imagined this was an option. So talk to your employer and you might be surprised. You can also check out some great books about working remotely that will help you figure out if it’s an option. Two of my favorites are:  Remote and The Four Hour Workweek. 
  • If you can’t keep the same job though, then you’ll need some time to ponder if it’s more important to stay with a job you love, or live in a place you love. Let me know what you decide. 🙂 

Is It Moving Time?:
So….is it time to move??! If not then yay!! Keep loving where you live and see the bottom section of this newsletter for ways to fall even more in love with your town. Otherwise, if you’re feeling that itch that someplace else might be better, than you now need to ask yourself the most exciting and important question of: WHERE???  Here’s some tips on how to help you figure out where to go: 

1. We got to this point because you analyzed what sets your soul on fire. So now, go google that shit. 😉
   • Hey museum lover, google “towns with amazing museums”, hey outdoor peeps “best outdoor towns to live in”, you get the idea so get to googling. 
   • Take the time to read and read and read about these recommended towns. 
2. Once you narrow your ideas list down then start learning about your favorite contenders!
   1. Social Media:
      1. Start following these pages on social media:
         1. City’s page
         2. Businesses that you would frequent
         3. Organization or clubs you’d join 
         4. Search the hashtag for that town, county, area and follow people that use that hashtag a lot 
         5. Facebook Groups for that area
            1. From social ones, to the classified pages, follow them all! 
         6. Chamber of Commerce
            1. In addition to following them, call them to ask where you could learn more about their town and what it’s like to live there. Also request any travel brochures/info they have. 
      2. Call ME!!!
         1. I’ve lived a lot of places and I might know of your area of interest and/or know someone there. In addition to this I can connect you with Realtors in your future town! 
3. Road trip time!!
   1. Create a road trip of all the towns and start visiting them.
      1. Tip- leave room for time spent in other towns you don’t have on your list. We found Carbondale because we went to Steamboat Springs to visit friends and do an interview. Then we did a 4 day Colorado trip and accidentally drove through Carbondale. As we came into the town (from the South) I saw in my rearview mirror Mt. Sopris (see picture above) and my mind was blown. I was hooked, like instantly. It was a feeling and an emotion flowing through my mind and body and I was instantly in love. I made my husband stop by a PT clinic and introduce himself to the owner who said they weren’t hiring at that time but she’d keep his info. Well three months later they called and said they had an opening and we moved one month after that. So leave yourself open for other opportunities! 
4. Still can’t decide?? Or fighting about it with your significant other? Then use a weighted analysis to help take the emotions out of it.
   1. What’s a weighted analysis? Well my super nerdy, but super cool, detail-oriented dad made a handy spreadsheet on this exact scenario- how to decide objectively on choosing one location over another. If you want this spreadsheet then shoot me an email and I’ll happily share it! 🙂 
5. Once decided, then go do it! Before you chicken out! Or before other people convince you to not go, which does happen!

Don’t Follow Your Heart:
Wait, what? Aren’t we supposed to follow our heart? Well yes, usually, but sometimes you don’t know what you love or don’t love and it’s good to experience other areas. And even if you do know what you love, I think it’s healthy and good to experience other places that are not your usual cup of tea, for a short amount of time at least!

This is harder if you don’t have the flexibility to do short term stints but if you can, then it’s really cool to go somewhere completely different! After Colorado we had set plans to come to McCall but we had about seven months before that started so Tony took a travelling PT gig in the South. I’d never really been there and it was quite the experience to live there, but so good for us! The reasons being:

• I’m born and raised in Idaho and there isn’t a lot of diversity here, so for the first time in my life I was the minority in the small town we lived in, which was neat to experience.
• I missed the mountains but instead of adventuring into the woods every weekend we adventured into historical cities, the ocean, and a little bit of their woods. It was cool to learn and experience a different area.
• When we hit the Midwest I could just feel our little bubble pop. I looked around and realized, this is not Carbondale, CO anymore and we’ve been living in this little mountain town bubble. It was cool to experience it. 
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I enjoyed our time down there and we hope to someday take our kids to live short term in the South to also experience it but man, I was so excited to get back to the mountains when it was done. I still to this day remember when we pulled into a Whole Foods in Frisco, CO and I saw a random dude all decked out in muddy hiking gear with a beanie on and I almost hugged him. I had come home to my people and I sure had missed them. But being away made me really miss them! 

Fall in Love with Where You Currently Live!:
So, perhaps you just can’t pull off a move and/or you actually do feel like you’re in the right place? Well you can always work on loving where you live even more! So, let’s help you fall in love with your home by reading these ideas:

• I had a Colorado friend move to Boise when I was still in Colorado and it was so cool because she dove head first into discovering all the cool things to see and do in her new (my old) town! And watching her social media made me realize, there is so much I didn’t do there! So, pretend you are new to your town and start adventuring!
  • Create a list of what tourists would do when they visit and do that
  • Call your Chamber to get a calendar of events, brochures and flyers on your town, etc. 
  • Search hashtags for your town, county, etc. and start following people on social media that post with those hashtags 
  • History time
    • Books, stories, newspaper articles, museums, whatever it may be, get to know the history of your town and you may have a new appreciation for it.
  • AVOID your favorite places
    • Take one month to NOT go to your favorite coffee shop and instead check out others.
    • Take the next month to NOT go to your favorite restaurants. 
  • Set a challenge – let’s say your favorite food is a burger. Then make it a challenge to try every single burger in town over the summer. 
  • Get out of town for micro adventures
  • Start a new hobby that is popular in your area
    •  I knew McCall was the right place for us but I still struggled with winter. Well, this winter I dove deep into backcountry skiing and I’m now obsessed with winter again!! 

If You Move, Please Call Me!:

• Hey, if you didn’t know, I’m a licensed real estate agent. That being said, I actually don’t help people buy or sell. I do something even better though! My company, Elevate TC Services works with over 60 agents (admin support for their real estate transactions). So I have the honor of knowing some really great agents, and also some not so great agents. I would love to connect you with an agent to make sure you are in good hands! And if it’s in Idaho we’ll get to work together too, yay! 
• I have also had the privilege of networking with a lot of Realtors outside of Idaho too, so even if you’re moving to a state other than Idaho I’ll help make the connection.
• It makes a difference who you hire as a Realtor and a Lender. I’ve watched buyers lose their dream homes because of not having the right team in their corner so don’t let that be you.