It’s been a couple years since I moved from Southern California to a small town in Missouri. We are having a rough winter here with record breaking snowfall and temps. There was even a polar vortex this week that brought the temperature to 34 below zero with the windchill factored in. It was really, really cold!
So, I know my CA friends are looking at my Facebook posts and pictures of me walking my dog in the snow and thinking I must be crazy. I can almost see them shaking their heads and feeling sorry for me while trying to imagine what it would feel like to be in weather this cold.
And yes, there are times when I reminisce about CA weather, but I don’t regret my move at all.
There are some things that are challenging:
- Putting on and taking off layers of clothes including a coat, hat, and gloves, whenever I leave my house
- My backyard looks like a frozen lake so I won’t get to enjoy it this season unless I take up ice skating
- My dog will only potty after walking for 20-30 minutes so there are no quick dog walks
- Sometimes I run late because I forget I need to defrost and warm up my car for 10-15 minutes before leaving
- Scraping ice off windshields although it’s a little easier now that I realized what was called a back window defogger in CA is a window defroster here. (It only took me 2 years to figure that out.)
- And, in the summer we have MOSQUITOES
But, there are reasons I am happy to stay:
- The snow is really, really beautiful
- Instead of having planes, trains, sirens, traffic, and helicopters as background noise, I commune quietly with squirrels, rabbits, and a variety of birds
- My small town has a lot of community spirit and fun events to keep us entertained
- When I volunteer, I am more in touch with the impact I make on the community
- The newspaper guy, police officers, mayor, and congressmen (called aldermen here) are all my neighbors
- We have an amazing library and I get to be on the board of directors
- We are only half an hour from a city
- I recently bought a really nice 3 bed and den home for only $96k. A comparable home in CA would likely be $600k or more.
- And, most important of all, I am near my family. We go to church and then lunch every Sunday and celebrate holidays together. I get to attend high school events my grand kids are involved in and spend one on one time with them. I also love watching my son live his passion as he preaches on Sunday mornings to a wonderful church community we recently joined.
So, you see, there is no reason to feel sorry for me because of the weather. I am happy here and grateful I had the courage to move.
If you are considering a big move and would like the support of a coach who knows how you feel, I would love to talk to you. Contact me.
Related Posts:
So Many Changes I’m at a Loss for Words
Leaving CA and Moving to a Small Town in MO
Scenes from a Small Town Morning Walk