Something Different
I was living and working in NYC, and felt a little out of place. Nothing was particularly wrong. I liked the life I created; my little apartment in the East Village, the 15-minute walking commute to work, my friends, and the “Burrito Thursdays” we coined as our version of Taco Tuesdays. Life was good, but something kept pulling at me. I wanted something different.
For years I’d come across articles about how someone left a six-figure job to scoop ice cream on an island somewhere for more freedom, less stress, and happiness; and on some days I contemplated doing the same thing. But I always snapped back to reality. Living on an island somewhere with little responsibility sounded nice, it just wasn’t the kind of “different” I longed for. I craved more of the outside. More genuine interactions with people. And more of doing stuff with my hands.
For me, it wasn’t about my job or the type of work I was doing that created this longing. I didn’t need to quit my daily grind (working for the man) to find happiness. I needed to prioritize and hone in on what mattered to me. I mean what was at my core. That was connecting with people and nature, and creating something for me and others to enjoy. Eventually that came to mean some land outside of Austin, Texas, in a little town called Cedar Creek. My partner (Noe) and I made our plans and found a small house on a 12-acre ranch with a fishing pond, workshop (the size of the house), and a shed. It also came with plenty of snakes, spiders, wild hogs, ducks, and deer. We found it December 3, 2018, and closed on Feb 12, 2019.
I’d be crazy not to acknowledge that I am lucky to have a job that affords me the ability to work remotely. If that option didn’t exist, I feel deeply that I would have found a way to make it work because my job doesn’t define me, and it isn’t what drives me in life. I enjoy what I do and who I work with, but work is just a piece of my life story. No one thing can satisfy me entirely. And I think that’s true for every person. Family, friends, work, community, charity/giving/helping, hobbies, and more are vital to living a full life.
We have this one life to live, and I’ve decided to own it and not waste it on anything that doesn’t bring me joy. I wholeheartedly believe that we all have the power to make whatever changes necessary for our well-being. Staying in NYC wouldn’t have been terrible, but it wouldn’t have been the way I was meant to live my life.
If you’re craving change — I mean cannot stop thinking about it — and are committed to the planning and the work to do that thing, then you can make it happen with dedication, commitment and determination. Looking back at my life, what I have and where I am right now is a testament to what I’ve pursued and believed in. What I don’t have is a result of not wanting it bad enough to pursue.
So, now I have some land, some support, and a plan.
More to come… Thanks for reading.
