I moved across the country during a pandemic!

So... a few weeks ago, D and I packed up everything we owned (and donated the rest) to move across the country and try our luck in Washington State. We booked an AirBnB in a historic neighborhood in Tacoma and the moment we landed the steady grind to find jobs began. 

A couple of things to note here:

1.) We only booked this AirBnB for a month.

2.) It takes a lot longer to secure a job than I remember.

3.) The air quality here was so bad due to wildfires that we couldn't even leave the room for several days.

 I actually wrote a blog post regarding this move over on my website, which you can read here, but I figured this would be as good a place as any to provide an update on how I'm doing and maybe do a little bit of complaining. I need to vent something fierce, you see. 

The place we're staying is a craftsman style house that was probably lovely back in the day, but now operates half as a place to stay for travelers and also homes a local soap business. The room we booked looked significantly larger in the photos provided and upon check-in, we realized that it was much smaller than what our needs dictated. Still, it's a place to sleep and keep most of our belongings - so it's hard to complain.

But I still want to. Our roommate, so to speak, is a college student from out of state attending one of the universities nearby. All of her classes are virtual this year, so she could have stayed home, but her parents wanted her to have an "authentic college experience" so they booked her the larger of the two rooms in this house. Does she need a double suite with two beds and ample space? Probably not, if it's just her. Does she even spend any time in her room? No, she monopolizes the shared spaces in the home.

I am, perhaps, a little salty. 

And I could have overlooked it, except that within days of our arrival, wildfires broke out across Washington as a result of record heat and a fierce dry wind that swept across the state. At the same time, the smoke from wildfires in California and Oregon that had been hanging just off the coast finally blew inland and left us with a thick haze of awful air quality for almost a full week.

Basically, it was unsafe to go outside for days and I admit that I started going a bit stir-crazy trapped in this tiny room. I definitely experienced doubts about the wisdom of this move, lamenting the fact that I had never contended with this kind of crap air quality back in the upper Midwest. 

Yesterday, it rained. Today, the sun came out and I could see the dark blue waters of the Puget Sound from up on the hill during our short stroll today. Sometimes, it pays to be grateful for the little things. Fresh air and sunlight are things I've always taken for granted.

Another thing I'd sort of forgotten about... it takes a solid few weeks to finally get a hit on a job application. I probably applied to more than fifty different positions available either remotely or in the greater Seattle-Tacoma in the last two weeks and only now have a few of those finally reached out to me.

**Shameless Self Plug**

I suppose now is as good a time as any to announce that I've launched a website! I'm staking my claim as a freelance book editor and I've already landed a couple of clients. If you've ever written a short story, research paper, or novel that you think needs a fresh set of eyes for structural edits, proofreading, or line editing - I'm your gal! 

**Shameless Self Plug**

Anyways... with any luck D and I will secure gainful and stable employment. And once that happens, we can nix the AirBnB life and sign a lease. I genuinely miss having a place to call my own and I'm looking forward to the home he and I will make together - whether it's an apartment in Seattle or a house we choose to settle in for the long haul.