A New Adventure Ahead
Walking up 5th Avenue, NYC
I’ve spent the last 4 days on a dash around the New York City area finding a place to live. Yes you read that right, to live. I currently live in Portland, Oregon, my home for the past 26 years. New York and Portland are at the very opposite edges of the east and west coasts of the U.S. and about 2500 miles/4000 kilometers apart both in distance and in culture. It’s a Big Move to say the least!
we did manage to squeeze in some time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which I adore. Kiki Smith's LILITH is my favorite portrayal of this extraordinary mythical figure. She is perched on the wall upside down - just perfect.
For many years I’ve thought about moving but I love the west so I have resisted it. Now however, a confluence of circumstances are actually making it a reality.
My most pressing personal reason to move east is to be closer to my family. Spending time with my aging father while he’s still spry is of utmost importance to me and feels urgent. And also being able to develop relationships with my young and wonderful nieces and nephews during their formative years feels pressing as well.
The other significant reason fueling this big change is career. I’ve always known that professional opportunities would be much more plentiful for me in New England/ New York and it feels like the right time for this now. I’m hungry for more connection with my peers, and a richer more expanded creative life. I plan to shift my work so that I’m working less on production products and spending more of my time on independent creative projects AND for Steemit to be at the center of all of it.
me at the Met with Lucy on my back inside the packAlthough this trip was fast and furious, we did find a place to live where we will have a workable studio. The house is currently owned by a very gifted upholsterer so there is already a shop where he has worked for years. It’s an old saltbox farmhouse in one of the oldest towns in Connecticut so has a lot of early New England charm with wide planked wood floors and exposed beam ceilings. It also has tiny doorways since people were smaller back then! Luckily both @greyhawk and I are small people so we won’t bump our foreheads each time we walk upstairs.
Both of us have a lot of trepidation about moving from our relatively gentle environment in Portland to the intensity of New York so we’re pleased to be starting off in the more rural setting of western Connecticut. Make no mistake, I love New York in all its filthy brilliant glory, but sometimes at the end of a day there I’m literally shaking with the intensity of the energy. For most of my life I have worked to refine my sensitivity so that I’m a better artist but this also means that a lot of external stimulus is overwhelming for my senses.
Lucy and me viewing Mt. Hood from Larch Mt near Portland
My plan is to return to Portland for a month each year to visit my many close friends, touch base with my peers and professional contacts as well as to immerse myself in the extraordinary nature here that I love so much.
Another component of this move is to make a few much needed changes in my world. Namely, a better quality of life which will mean working less, earning more and having more time to experience life beyond my studio! I also really look forward to more engagement here on Steemit and can't wait to dive into the potentials! I have felt so frustrated this year because I’m bursting with ideas and the passion to pursue them, yet I don’t currently have the time and bandwidth I want for my endeavors on Steemit. I really need this to change and am really looking forward to the freedoms a lower cost of living will allow for!
So….come July, we’ll be headed that direction…
Thank you for visiting my blog, reading my stories, supporting my work! You my Steemian friends mean a whole lot to me.
Wow! Big change indeed!
It sounds like you have thought it through, I'm sure it's the right move for you, your reasons are sound and even though there's obviously a wrench, it comes across like you're really happy about the decision.
Best of luck, and I hope to see you next time I'm in NYC! :-)
Cg
Thanks @cryptogee and YES please come and visit soon, would be great to meet you! And of course you (and family) would be more than welcome to stay at our place.
Congratulations @natureofbeing, I am sure you will use the energy of changing enviornments to your creative advantage ;-)
Hi @reddust, so glad we're still in touch :-)))), and yes my fingers are crossed for this change to be a positive one and especially creatively and for my quality of life! Honestly, I'm have a lot of fear, but still know it's the right thing. Be well awesome woman!!
Oh, I'm so excited for you and selfishly for me, as Western CT (how far are you from Greenwich?) and NYC are still 4 hours away, it's a realistic distance and there are even trains from Boston.
I am excited to see what things you will do and what will be created in this new endeavor. I am also burning to see and know and help to create what could be next for we artists as this world moves deeper into the virtual.
Maybe jaunts to Boston would be fun for you too? We have some lovely museums and of course Toad Hall, as decrepit and run down as it is, still enjoys the joy of salt air and quiet in the Warm Summer months.
Again, I am so happy for you and well done on finding a place so soon. I love old New England houses. My place on the Cape that I now let in the Summer is that sort of place, it's 300 years old this year! Tiny but wide pine floors and open beamed ceiling and creaky old shallow stairs and narrow doorframes. I am tall and for many years I'd hit my head upon entering the bedroom at night, when I'd be half asleep and forget. I've never let new windows be put in that house either, they are still old single pane and when we lived there for a few years year round the icy patterns Jack Frost drew upon the upstairs landing always made me smile when I'd wake up and see my breath indoors!
But, these past winters, here at Toad Hall (an odd mid century affair) has made me not too joyful of New England winters. Yet, next winter, as I will not be here, you can bet it will be the warmest we've had in years. :)
I'm definitely looking forward to meeting up with you @donnadavisart and cooking up some endeavors together! This house is near Waterbury and about an hour east (and a little north) of Greenwich). I haven't been to Boston since I was about 13 and it will be fun to come and visit you and see your work space! I imagine over time we will meet both at your studio and at mine. When do you leave for the UK? I'd like to try to get together before you leave if possible.
These old houses have so many stories and your Cape house sounds like it is no exception! They are so charming, but yes cold and I really fear the winters in the Northeast. I hope for my sake that this coming winter is a gentle one and that for both our sakes that the next few years brings a cycle of mild weather although with climate change, I don't expect it!
I leave in October, so it might work out late Summer. Toad Hall (our decrepit mid century house here on the sea) is best in late Summer, we can eat veg from my garden and watch the sea. This old place needs SO much work, but my Summer studio in the old boat house is great for making messes in!
I haven't been to CT or NYC in years, so that is also exciting for me!
I'm going to try to come up for a late summer visit if possible and if things are too crazy we can do it in Sept. A boat house studio sounds so romantic!
Well, it might sound romantic, but it is a huge mess, and simply used to hold the families sailboats off season, now it is rather a mess of years of collected random things, but I am taking over a section (seaside) to really make a larger |Summer studio.
I hope you can come for Summer. Like I said August is the best month to come and I assume July when you move you are going to be quite busy.
Even though a mess, it's romantic. My childhood friend lived on the march in Guilford, CT and had a boathouse which was also a huge mess yet lovely so this is why I say "romantic". I'll definitely aim for August! Looking forward to it and thinking maybe it might be nice to start talking sooner via facetime as well?
I'm horrible with skype and those sort of things, but I'd happily email and such. I will facetime (though I've never done it) as long as you tell me how. :) We could start with emails, I'll find your message discord and give you my email.
Whoa! What a HUGE step! And if I read your post, a HUGE step in the right direction! To be able to get closer to family is immensely valuable. And yes, location just might make all the difference in terms of income. I would love to see you flourish your business and artistry there by living and working in the right surroundings and (probably?) entering different communities that might help you get to that right track.
I'm truly excited for you. Not in the least bit because I LOVE New York and even though you live outside of that city, to know to love so close to it...
<3
Busy times ahead for you, lots of luck with all the planning and arranging!
(I could see some mosaics / tiles happening on parts of that gorgeous house by the way ;-))
Thanks so much @soyrosa you are exactly right about the powerful professional potentials with this move and also the value of being near family! I love NYC too and you are welcome to stay with me/us if you ever want to come and visit. And yes, busy times, oy vey!!!!
With this house, I will start with some colorful planters outside for sure.
Yes yes yes! That would be awesome, I've promised myself once to go to NYC every other year, but due to many reasons it hasn't come of it since 2014!
I'd love to stay at your house if I'm ready to come your way, and of course I'll pay rent:
:')
oh my goodness, I'm drooling, these look SO delish!!
Wow, this sounds extremely exciting for you guys! I commend you for taking this step in life. Family is most important and that's awesome that you want to spend more time with your father, good on you!
This photo of you is stunning!
HI @bluelightbandit,
it's a big step but yes seeing family on a weekly basis will be a very good thing, and it feels like exactly the right thing these days. Who knows, maybe we'll take a road trip down to the smokey mts at some point and say hello to you and your wife!
ps I also love that photo of me, lucy and the mountain I love so much!
I would like that... 😊
Good luck to the future! It's exciting to be in a new environment and be closer with family. That house is huge just like the change you are facing. It's going to be a busy days and weeks ahead.
Thank you for your good wishes @leeart, and you are so right that there are even more busy days ahead! The house is much smaller than it looks plus we only have half of it. Still it's plenty of room about 1500 SF for home and work.
They must have maximized the area to have that plenty of rooms.
Very excited for you Ruth! The house looks fab, and it seems like it has all that you need to make this move smooth and less stressful. Working less is the way to go. What I've noticed is that the less I work, the happier I become or maybe I am just the lazy type :-).
Kidding aside, I think you've spent a great deal of time honing your artistic skills, and it is now the time to reap all the benefits of that. Your heart is in the right place (family, community, artistry, and life), and that tells me no need to wish you luck for all of our universe will conspire to make you a success.
Well, I must be the lazy type too because I have the same experience:
It seems like when I (curious if this is true for you too) work less on the things that are soul-sucking, then I actually want to work more and have a lot of drive for the work that matters!
Thanks for your friendship and for believing in me @steemitph, it means a lot!
The view of mountain is amazing!
Looks like I checked in on your blog at the right time Ruth! But then again, anytime is the right time to check in on your blog. Yes NYC is an intense place. Reminds me in many ways of where I am now, Buenos Aires Argentina. This city I'm really falling in love with fast. It's like a toned down NYC. Which for me is just right. The food here is incredible and affordable too, as well as rent. In fact I'm liking it here so much I'm really marking it down on a must return for a month destination.
So happy to see that you are getting squared away in your new place in Connecticut. Looks charming and I'm sure the town is as well. I think you guys will be very happy there. Moving can be a chore, but I think you both know it's for the best. Have a great day! -Dan
Great to know about Buenos Aires! Good food, affordable living, toned down intensity are all a very good thing and I imagine the climate is much better as well.
Btw, the place in CT looks huge in the photo and really isn't and we will have half of it for studio and home. In any case, yes the chore of moving is daunting but oh well it's par for the course isn't it! I'm hoping to keep blogging through it if at all possible.
I believe you are headed to the US very soon, must run over to your blog and see what's what....have a great day as well Dan and thanks for keeping in touch!
Good to hear you well. Yes, I'll be in Florida in a week! Then up to Albany area not too long after! Best of luck with the move.
Have fun!! And I look forward to reading and seeing Buenos Aires in your blog too....
good luck!
i hope we will be in New York City at the end of the year, for a few days. :)
thank you Paolo and I would really love to meet up with you and Sylvia while you are in NYC!! I'm sure you'll have a million things to do, but at least we can have a coffee or a glass of wine or maybe even see some art!
we would even organize a small steemit meet up while you two are in town if you like!
it'd be amazing. let's stay in touch. :)