As I’ve previously mentioned, Tim and I have lived in Chicago for practically our entire lives, and it’s more than a bit strange to be leaving our long-time home for a brand new home! It feels weird to say goodbye to people and it’s strange to go to places for (what could be) the last time.
But the nice thing about us leaving Chicago is that we’ll certainly be back. Our families live in the suburbs and we have friends in the city, so when we say goodbye to people it’s more of an ‘until we meet again’.
What I’ve learned about myself in this process it that I’m shockingly unsentimental. I guess I never realized this about myself before, but when people ask me what I’ll miss the most about Chicago (other than our community), I really have to answer, “I’m not sure… nothing?”
It’s not that I don’t love places in Chicago, because I most certainly do, it’s just that I know that I have the possibility of revisiting any place I really love. And I know that any people I want to stay in touch with, I’ll definitely stay in touch with.
I also thrive on going to new places and experiencing new things, which is one of the reasons we’re moving in the first place! In the five years that Tim and I have been together in Chicago, we’ve rarely eaten at a restaurant more than once, so even though we have our favorites we don’t have ‘regular’ favorites, if that makes sense.
In a way, that makes it easier to leave, because we know that we’ll have plenty of new places to try and love in Seattle.
The people we’ve met in Chicago, however, will be impossible to replace. The only thing that keeps me from becoming emotional when saying goodbye to so many loved ones is the knowledge that many of our friends and family will visit us in Seattle (hopefully!) and also that we’ll be back in the Midwest as early as Christmas, and we will make time to see many of our friends when we return.
Plus, in the age of social media, I feel like I can keep up with how friends are doing, even if it can be a bit impersonal at times.
So basically, my moving update is that we’ve said “until next time” to a lot of people lately. We’ve gone on double dates and to dinners and to church group meetings and to family play dates… and it’s been a ton of fun! We still have a few days left in the Chicago area, and it’s going to be filled with family time and wrapping up last minute details… like actually moving our stuff!
Wish us luck…
You won’t know what you really miss until you live in WA awhile. When I was living in DC, I wanted a steamed hot dog but OMG they grill hot dogs in DC. You’ll find you’ll miss funny little things and laugh at new totally ridiculous things that people do or say in the new town. May you, Tim and Clara have happy times in Seattle.
I think you said it so well, it will definitely be the little things that I’ll probably end up missing the most! Especially the things that I assume people do the same everywhere that it turns out only Chicago people do. And I KNOW I’ll miss being in the city as the Cubs continue in the playoffs!
I think that’s an advantage of moving so quickly!!! I had months and months to dwell and be sad, and miss so many of my “third places”… No more tea in the back members area at the Art Institute!! No more last-minute yoga sessions with my favorite chubby male teacher at Wicker Park Athletic Club! No more soup at Lovely Cafe!!!! No more Mad Men sessions at the Blue Line Lounge! I still really miss so many things about my old home… Even though now I’m just as attached to my new one!!
You are so right, I think there’s definitely an advantage to making quick decisions and taking immediate action… less time to dwell on things and for anxiety to build! Especially since I get anxious about the IDEA of things moreso than the actual thing itself, if that makes sense. It will definitely be interesting to see what I actually end up missing about Chicago, but I’m sure it’s going to end up being quite a long list.
Moving and making new friends is always challenging, but I have no doubt you’ll survive well 🙂 I recently went to Seattle for the first time ever… We stayed a long weekend and 4 days was not enough! It is one of my favorite cities that I’ve visited and I cannot wait to return! It is a young, vibrant, edgy city with lots of outdoor activities. I now understand why people rave about it. Best of luck with your move!
Thanks for the confidence! I’m glad you loved it in Seattle… I have high hopes that we will quickly feel at home here.
I think it’s much easier to leave a place when you know it isn’t forever, and in this case, you don’t even have to delude yourself into thinking, “Oh, this won’t be forever!” when deep down you know it really is. With both of your families being out here, you’ll definitely come back, and “see you laters” are SO much easier than “goodbyes,” in my opinion! Good luck with the move! I can only imagine what kind of logistical nightmare coordinating a cross-country move must be…I had a hard enough time getting myself organized to move 1.5 miles from one neighborhood to another last year, and that was just me and my things, not a whole family!
You’re so right, sometimes I leave places thinking ‘I could always come back’ but I know I actually won’t. In this case we KNOW we’ll be back to Chicago!
Super excited for your move! I hope you love it here (:
I’m officially HERE! It was a beautiful day today, which was a nice welcome to the PNW!
Good luck with the move! I’m also totally unsentimental about moving. It’s not that hard to me.
I’m glad I’m not the only one, Lisa!