it’s time to go!

October has come and gone, and November is upon us, though you wouldn’t know it from the persistent summer weather that has returned to San Diego.  It’s funny: after three years of living in the city with an endless summer, I am starting to miss having a true fall, with its clean smell, crisp leaves, and gentle breezes ushering in the next season.  I love being able to go to the beach through the end of September and even into October, but by November, I’m ready for it to end.

While I’m not sure I miss winter, I’ll soon have no choice in the matter.  That’s right, after a month of considering my options and facing some uncomfortable effects of California budget cuts, I’ve decided it’s time to leave San Diego.  Many of my friends and acquaintances have asked “why now?”, but what it comes down to is that it’s just time to follow the signs and my intuition.  This is a challenge for me: I like to have things planned and arranged before making big decisions like moving, but part of what I’ve learned over the past few years is that no matter how well I’ve planned things, what actually happens is completely out of my control.  And that’s okay.  I just have to pay attention to what is truly going on.

As of now, I plan to move back east in mid-December.  My semester will end December 1, and I will take a quick trip to San Francisco to savor some delicious foods and sights while it’s still an easy and cheap visit.  Then I plan to drive across the country along the southern region (hopefully avoiding snow), passing through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia and then up through all the small states.  I’d like to do some sight-seeing along the way, but we’ll see how it all plays out.

Already I’m feeling like there are more job opportunities on the east coast than here in San Diego.  It may not be easy right now, but I feel a lot more optimistic about my plan than I do about the idea of staying.  At first I’ll stay with my parents, and then I intend to move to Boston, unless I come across a good opportunity in one of the many cities I’d be happy to live in.