Since I have been in my thirties, wanderlust has hit me so hard and very unexpectantly.

Once, I was on a cruise with my best friend was telling me about how she wanted to move away and the conversation upset me so much that a person at the table next to us asked if I was ok.

No, I was not ok. Let me explain.

I have had the same friends for twenty years. I added a couple in college. But my circle is still very small. I feared that physical distance would cause me to lose my relationships; the idea of that upset me deeply.

The pandemic has made maintaining ALL relationships work. You gotta make an effort to reach the people you love. It is not likely that you will just bump into them. In my life, that has manifested a confidence that the people in my life love me for real for real. Pretty much all relationships are long distance now. we’ve lived through almost years of Zoom birthdays and holidays. Virtual everything. I feel like if we have made it so far it’s because we really wanted to.

My best friend did move, by the way, two time zones away to be in love and have a cute family or whatever.

I am incredibly privileged to work from home permanently. Basically, my life equals have laptop will travel. I’ve been aching to try something new and experience a new environment. I love Chicago so much. I could go on for paragraphs about how Chicago is the greatest city in the United States. But the facts are, Chicago is cold and snowy most of the year. It’s also the third largest city in the union. There are people everywhere, all the time. It might be nice to live somewhere more warm and less dense.

Maybe 2023 holds a move for me.