I can’t believe it’s already been one year since I moved to Denver! Time sure does fly by when you’re busy growing older. Before heading out west, I spent two whole years debating on moving from Philadelphia to Colorado was really nervous to make such a big life change. I had never lived in another state before and wondered if it would ever feel like home. However, moving across the country turned out to be completely different than I was anticipating.

It changed my friendships – but not in the way I thought.

I was afraid of being painfully lonely, however, my friendships deepened instead of fading. Since moving 1800+ miles away, I’ve had to become more intentional about connecting with my friends which has ended up bringing us closers together.

I’m stronger and more resilient.

While I’ve done a bunch of stuff on my own before (including buying a house and building a business) the thought of moving 1,877 miles away from my friends, my work, and my life was daunting to say the least. Two mindsets that really helped me was to remind myself not to anticipate the worst and leaving space for the chance that things might be easier than I was anticipating. For more on how I was handling such a big life change, check out this post.

Home can be wherever you make it.

I wasn’t quite so sure that I’d be able to feel at peace and at home in a place that was totally foreign to me. I had visited Colorado a bunch of times before, but living in a place is totally different than visiting. But I’ve come to realize that home is really where you make it. It’s where you are happy, you feel at peace, and where you find connection. That can be anywhere!

Go where you’re happy.

Colorado has SO much to offer. The weather is amazing (goodbye humidity!), the terrain is incredible, and the people are very friendly. There are so many things that I love about living in Colorado. My anxiety has really improved here and all of those things that I love about Colorado are factors. If you are unhappy with your current situation in life, you have the power to change it. Your happiness is worth fighting for. Protect it, nurture it, pursue it. Whether that looks like moving across the country or finding a new job. You can do this.

You can always go back.

I think my biggest struggle with a cross-country move was that it felt like such a commitment and what if I didn’t like it in Colorado? Nothing in life is permanent, and once I really believed that if I wanted to move back to the east coast I could…that made the whole thing feel a lot less risky and more like a grand adventure. At the very least, it would be a story to tell.