To The Lone Star State We Go
I came alone, we left a family. Three years ago, I arrived in Los Angeles as a bachelor with two duffel bags, a snowboard and two real hips. I’m leaving today with a wife, a dog, way too many physical possessions and a vision for our future (and only one real hip 😀). We’re leaving California though and its gut wrenching. We’re uprooting ourselves from a really nice lifestyle that is comfortable by universal standards. We are leaving amazing friends, our sister, good jobs and a mediterranean climate that is damn near perfect. We’re proactively seeking the discomfort to start a new chapter of our life in a new place with the belief that we can create the life that we want for our future. Lech Lecha (Go, go for yourself). We have faith that the future is even brighter than the present and we’re going to create the life we want.
While it’s not a novel migration, we are moving to Austin, Texas. We believe Austin has a palpable energy. Austin has incredible creative vibes, immense cultural overflow, brimming Texas pride, plenty of living space, and some of the best people in the world. Austin was calling and we took action. We’re hoping we stay forever but we know nothing is permanent. As my mother likes to reiterate, nothing in life is permanent except death and taxes. At least Texas prides itself on having less of one of those. We want a fresh start in a place where we can build a family and create unique memories. We want a new, post-wedding chapter to add to our scrapbook. After three years (and six for my wife), its time to put the book-ends on our single lives and begin afresh in a new environment. Similar to many young Jewish newlyweds who go to Israel after getting married to spend some time to learn together in the holy land, Laurelle and I will learn plenty about each other by building a new life from scratch in Texas. As for a shared vision, we both want to make a name for ourselves professionally and Austin is setting the table for us.
Our world is so fluid and our ability to work anywhere is about to be tested. Both Laurelle and I will be sticking with our jobs and will find a new balance with our west coast companies. While the world starts to unfurl back from the pandemic and people revert back to the mean, we want to lean into the change and try the new style of remote/hybrid. We’re moving into a larger living space that is perfectly suited for work from home and we will happily hop on a plane to go west to see our companies on a regular basis. We’ll utilize offices and co-working spaces on a semi-regular basis and find our way through a new professional approach. It’s exciting but it’s an unproven model for us.
Irrespective of the excitement, moving has its own grieving cycle. Once we made the decision to leave, we felt trepidation, anxiety, doubt and overall nervousness but ultimately these emotions concluded in a place of deep acceptance (and excitement). As I sat on the plane leaving California on our way to Texas, I was looking for signs. We had a lovely Israeli family sitting behind us and a true Texas cowboy in camouflage and cowboy boots to our left. Both were returning home to Texas and Laurelle and I were beginning ours. I’m excited to explore Texas and bring my slice of culture to its doorstep while deeply embracing the roots of the state. I’m looking forward to getting out on a ranch and try hunting for the first time. I’m looking forward to learning the history of oil & gas in Midland for a weekend. I’m looking forward to going to a UT football game and getting into the burnt orange game. I’m excited to embrace Texas’s differences to my own personal upbringing and welcome a flow of new information into my neural pathways. Austin might be the blueberry in the bowl of strawberries but we are still in Texas, and I love that.
Life is long, change is inevitable and comfort will quietly kill you. We were looking for the sweet spot; the space where we could pursue thoughtful change and embrace it with internal placidity. We’re still working on that internal barometer but as we experience our first Passover in our new home, we’re reminded to have faith in change and know when it is time to make it. Now was the time for us. To the land of plenty we go.