Almost exactly one year after the 18 hour trek from SC to the Land of 10,000 lakes (*MN), we now find ourselves surrounded by empty walls, with nothing more than a couple blankets and an air mattress residing in what once was our fully furnished apartment. The excitement of packing up everything and moving somewhere completely new, this time together, pumps adrenaline into my veins.

Driving past Wayback Burger & passing the signs for Asheville is completely surreal, knowing that the next time we step foot in these cities, we will no longer be residents, instead merely visitors. There is a brief sadness in the air that is overshadowed by the breath of new ideas and hopes for our new city. Our first welcoming to our new home is a massive sign marked “Virginia is for Lovers” flashing in our rearview.

Spending two days with Pete’s grandma in Richmond, VA, playing cards and eating past the point of comfort puts us in the mindset for our new adventure before we undertake the final hour of our travel to our new home: Arlington, VA.

I suppose for most, moving into a new city without an ounce of knowledge about the area, not to mention never having seen your new humble abode (an apartment on the third floor with a warm charm and beautiful windows), would swarm nerves into the minds of most people. However for me, there is nothing but excitement in my soul. Excitement to try something new, and joy to be sitting next to my best friend, taking a complete leap of faith in this new chapter.

With pillows sprawled around me and the 2 PM sun hitting my back, I am finally taking the time to write an update on the past 3 weeks, and phew it there a lot to say.

Why did we move?

I have a feeling that this is probably the most common question going through your minds, and without blame because we kind of kept it a secret! Long story short, Peter had the opportunity to move up here for his job and I was more than excited to follow. Other than the few friends, fabulous food and charming southern culture, there really wasn’t much keeping me in SC without Peter. In November he and his parents made the trip out to DC to find apartments, consulting me through photos and phone calls, and in December we signed a lease! We drove Peter’s car to MN for Christmas, then flew back in January to pack up before the movers came on January 7th. For the next ten days we lived in an apartment with nothing but an air mattress and a couple suitcases of clothes sprawled across the floor. January 17th was our last day in SC, we packed up my little car and headed 7 hours north to DC where we both had a week(ish) before jobs started.

My first thoughts…

1. Back to the cold!

I can distinctly remember on our walk down the street for pizza our first night here, thinking ‘Holy crap I miss the warm.” I had to awaken my thick winter parka from it’s restful slumber after a year of residence in our laundry room, and I was beyond sad. I hate to admit it, but living in SC shook the Northern outta me and made me weak!

2. We’re not in South carolina anymore…

Aside from the weather, we both immediately saw a difference in culture, which at first kind of scared me. I was so comfortable in the south, I felt like the people were so gracious and caring, just like stereotypical southerners.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum lies locals of DC who are the definition of city people. They walk with purpose and determination, hardly blinking in my direction, only looking my way when I’m in their way on the sidewalk. A total 180 from S.C. Let’s just say I could probably tell you the name, zodiac sign, favorite candy and life plan of nearly any cashier in SC before they could finish packing my groceries, here I couldn’t even tell you their name.

3. It’s HUGE

One of our first full days here we chose to drive around DC to get our bearings. As we circled around the Washington Monument, I finally realized how large “DC” is. In my mind I expected something similar to NYC, very condensed with large skyscrapers everywhere. Much to my surprise, none of the buildings are monstrous and the city is certainly spread out. We live in Arlington, which is just across the river and divided into its own little cities. Add on top of that all the neighborhoods in DC and oh my gosh. It’s a lot to learn.

That being said, everything is pretty walkable! Throughout our first week, we averaged 20,000 steps/day during our time exploring. It’s such a change from both SC and MN where we had to drive to any/everything. Having a TJ Maxx & Zara within walking distance is beyond nice, although dangerous for my bank account.

4. the Metro is so fun

I know this is a bit ridiculous, but I love the metro. I am genuinely so impressed by the cleanliness of the trains and their stations that I would take it all the time if I could! I thought for sure it would be smelly with some grimey people and trash everywhere, but instead I find the inside of the metro to be like something out of a Bond movie, where Daniel Craig would probably jump on top of the train to save the pretty girl.

5. My wallet hurts

This was expected, but nonetheless hurts. I first noticed the price of city living when we went for lunch and our fast food meals cost $32 total. EXCUSE ME. My meal wasn’t even a combo!! Like at least give me some fries for that price!! So yeah, the taxes and high prices for food are killlllllller, especially when going to cool restaurants is one of our favorite hobbies. But, I will say most of our meals are pretty dang good!!

The other thing we spend money on is metro/Uber/Bird Scooters. Since we are across the river in Arlington, there really is no easy way to get to DC without paying at least a couple bucks for metro. Of course it’s just one of those things that is non-negotiable so we don’t worry too much about that, but it does add up.

6. Drivers have their own law

So turns out I have to drive to work over in DC, which can take anywhere from 15-45 minutes. For 5 miles. F-I-V-E. I think this is the most unpredictable traffic I have ever seen! And if it’s rains… all madness breaks loose! It’s borderline scary seeing drivers weaving through lanes or passing through red lights, but thankfully I’m starting to get the hang of it. I feel like people should go through a whole new driver school here haha!

There is so much that I could say about our first month here, but I think I’ll end this blog here to spare you from a ten page read. I definitely will be continuing with more stories about DC as we go and see/do more things so stay tuned!

Thanks for following along!

Cheers!

xoxo - Katie

We Moved!