I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Both of my parents grew up there, and this is where a majority of my extended family lived. It is an amazing city to grow up in; so many fun museums to go to — especially for field trips! — going downtown to see the department store windows decorated for Christmas, driving down the street in the suburbs and seeing the most beautiful skyline even from twenty miles away. And, being from the Chicago suburbs, I am pretty much a city girl.
When I was eighteen, and college time rolled around, I ended up going to a university located in south-eastern Minnesota. Yes, Minnesota and Illinois (Chicago) and just a state away. Yes, Minnesota and Illinois (Chicago) are both in the Midwest. Yet, they are worlds apart. I wasn't 100% prepared for the culture shock of small town Minnesota. I mean, I was just never exposed to hunting, four-wheelers and tractors growing up. But, that seemed to be all these people had. And, yes, I am over-generalizing, but that is how it seemed!
At any rate, I ended up spending a grand total of ten years there... I met a boy, after-all.
Finding work in this small town was surprisingly difficult, at first. I finally found employment at one of the largest employers in town — lucky me! Over my five years there I was able to move up in the ranks a bit, ending up in a decent position under a wonderful lady I got to call my boss. But, the company was eating me alive, and the small town was no longer quaint. While my beau and I were both working, we never seemed to be able to accumulate enough savings for anything, and we were not bad with money. We needed to get out.
While trying to decide what to do to better our situation, the company he was working for had to close down. Bam! No job, just like that. We were down to my salary, which sustained us, but no savings at all now. One day I had an epiphany: this was the perfect time for us to get out.
My fella is originally from Fort Worth, Texas. I love Chicago, I do, but I could not see us moving there. The economy is bad, and the job situation was poor there. Texas, on the other hand, was doing well during this depression. I had no issue with trying my hand at southern living, so he traveled down to Fort Worth, and stayed with his family while looking for work.
It only took him a few weeks by the time he was offered, and accepted, a position down there. Wow! I put in my two-week notice at work, and we got to work packing and figuring out the moving process.
Everything went surprisingly smooth, and we are now moved.
We are planning on settling down here for quite some time, so it is time for this Chicago Yankee to figure out how to adapt to southern living. Through this blog I hope to document some of my learnings and adventures while I navigate my new life in Texas.
Enjoy!
— E
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