Leaving a Familiar Feeling
This time last week, I packed my bags because I was leaving Austin, Texas, to relocate to Charleston, South Carolina, for 8 days. I remember planning the days of this trip in my notes app:
Tuesday: Arrive, Publix, Bake Caleb’s birthday cake, Tacos for dinner
Wednesday: Caleb’s birthday, Happy Hour at Prohibition, Dinner at Magnolia’s Restaurant
Thursday: Dinner with Courtney (Caleb’s sister) at the house, Bike Old Village
Friday: Dinner with Matt and Emily (College friends)
Saturday: Beach, Date night at Le Farfalle
Sunday: Nicole + Courtney Day, Caleb and Matt golf, Dinner at Poe’s
Monday: Leftovers Day
I felt like I woke up after the first night, and it was already Leftovers Day. I was SO sad for many reasons, but the biggest reason I can attribute that sadness to was the anticipation of leaving a familiar feeling. What a terrible way to spend my last day in Charleston, right?
I have Courtney to thank for inviting me to a nearby coffee shop, because otherwise, I might have spent the entire day rotting in bed, trying to soak up every last second of just BEING there. That’s the exact opposite of what one should do when trying to enjoy their last few moments of ANYTHING. So, I went to Bad Bunnies Coffee Shop and wrote this piece, a reflection on my time in Charleston.
By now, I’m sure you know that I was born in Atlanta, Georgia. I never moved until I left for Austin, Texas, to complete my Master’s. The South is home, and before anyone tells me, "Texas is also the South," it’s not—at least, not in my mind. According to Google, it is specifically in the “West South Central Region.” I believe Texas to be more Western than Southern for a few reasons.
The first reason: Cowboys are western legends, so it makes sense that cowboy boots are too. In Georgia, cowboy boots are usually worn on occasion, and if you don’t own a pair, it’s totally fine. In Texas, people wear/own cowboy boots like it’s a religion. You must have at least one pair in your closet (I am now guilty).
The second reason: Gas station biscuits and boiled peanuts. At almost every gas station in Georgia, without fail, you’ll find both gas station biscuits and boiled peanuts. If not both, ALWAYS boiled peanuts. In Texas, I have yet to find either. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places, but this is just my experience so far.
The main point I’m making is that I miss the South and, therefore, I miss home. During my time relocating to Charleston, I realized there were a few things that felt so familiar to me that I never noticed them when I lived here. For instance, when it was about to rain here, the wind would get colder, and you could just sense the rain. It wasn’t often, but twice in 8 days compared to maybe twice in 2 months back in Texas is a noticeable difference. Second, the dark sand beaches. The dark sand beaches are unique to the East Coast when compared to the West Coast, and I realized this uniqueness when Caleb (from San Diego) also noticed that they weren’t anything like the San Diego beaches. Third, simply the geography. The types of trees, the side street neighborhoods, and the interstates/highways. I laughed after picking Caleb up from the Charleston airport when he said, “These interstate signs are HUGE.” I guess I didn’t realize they were because it was also familiar to me. Does that mean the ones in Texas are smaller? Something in Texas SMALLER? (Ironic.)
It is true what they say—it’s the small things—and I am going to miss these things so much. I love my life in Texas, but it is so hard to leave a familiar feeling. It feels like, after moving here for 8 days, I am moving to Texas from scratch again. However, I find peace in knowing that I now have friends, an established home, and a job I get to return to this time. I am thankful, to say the least, and I look forward to the next relocation.
The main takeaway from this relocation, which I’ll likely include in the relocation rules I mentioned in an earlier blog post, is the importance of having either friends or family in our new destination. When we decided on Charleston, we thought it would be more of a benefit to have Caleb’s sister and some college friends in the same city; however, I didn’t realize how much having those people there would impact our stay for the better. To be able to grab coffee/tea with a familiar face at a place they adore, golf with a college friend who belongs to a country club, or just let go of control and allow them to decide where we should grab dinner/what time because they know what’s best—community feeling good is what I’m trying to get at. Community is now part of the rules. The next relocation destinations will be places where friends or family are. I will say, though, it would also be a great experience to relocate to a completely foreign destination with no connections, but the rule then would be to reach out to mutuals and organize dates with those individuals. That may be for a later time, though!
