Life in San Diego – 2 Years Later

I can't believe it's been two years since I moved to San Diego after living in New York City for over a decade. I left New York at a time when I was really depressed, dealing with a difficult break-up, and searching for a new direction in my career and life. Two years later, I'm happy to report that things have worked out really well, and I'm loving life on the West Coast. I'm about halfway through the Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine program at Pacific College, newly engaged, and starting to feel more at home here in San Diego.

I wrote this update about two months into my move to San Diego. I was originally planning to come out to San Diego for a few months only, to escape the New York winter and get out of my funk. But I ended up loving it so much I decided to stay. In fact, five days after writing that blog post, I met my now-fiance and Live to Sustain partner Adam on the dating app, Bumble. In all those years of worrying and wondering, I never imagined it might happen just like that.

When I first arrived in San Diego I had a new energy and excitement that really helped me to find my way here. I was down to try everything, explore, and meet new people in a way that I'd become cynical about in New York. You don't have to move across the country to change your perspective, but the chill beach vibes and perpetual sunshine of California certainly helped. After I met Adam, the rest of my first year in San Diego was a bit of a crazy-in-love whirlwind. We went on a bunch of camping adventures and road trips, and moved in together within six months.

To be fair, my time in California hasn't been all sunshine and smoothies. I've definitely had my ups and downs, and struggled with the grief and loss of leaving my old life behind. My dad passed away in April 2017, and my mom moved to Las Vegas after we sold our family home in Minnesota. Even my dream of moving in with my fiance came with it's own challenges. I worked with a therapist for a few months to deal with the overwhelming fear and anxiety that everything would fall apart.

Thankfully, things have evened out, and I'm starting to get comfortable with the new normal. I'm still developing roots here in San Diego, and my focus this year is to strengthen my local friendships and connections. Overall, I'm so happy I made the move. Change is scary, and you never know what might happen. But I encourage you to be open to the possibility that things might work out better than you could ever imagine.