I was a sneaky girl for about the first 6 months of this year. 
I bought a house in Washington state and over the first half of the year, got it fixed up and ready to move into for the summer. We had some things tying us down in Los Angeles for a bit, but finally made the very long drive up here on June 20/21st and have been a resident of Washington since then!
So many feels.
Here are some common questions and answers I've gotten since I dropped the big news on June 23rd during my first (very dimly lit in an empty room) cam session at the new house:
Why would you want to move out of Los Angeles? Are you crazy? Why Washington, of all places? IT RAINS SO MUCH!
I've been a SoCal girl since I was born. I've been there, done that. I loved it for the most part, but I needed a change. The crowds, the traffic, the constantly hot weather even during the holidays when I craved some cold, the very small property we lived on that was surrounded by concrete walls and stinky neighbors (and the fact that a larger more private property would cost close to $1M made moving within the area an unlikely option)... I wanted out of that. I'm not crazy, I need some fresh air!
We chose Washington because it's BEAUTIFUL up here! We came to visit and fell in love with the greenery. There is a nice mix of neighborhoods that are close to the city (for entertainment, social adventures, and conveniences) but far enough removed to have some land and some quiet and wildlife. We have a yard that isn't surrounded by walls, instead it's a wall of beautiful trees and plants and birds. Our dogs are happy little campers! They can roll in the grass and chase birds and run! Also, Washington has the benefit of 1. being free of state income taxes and 2. being on the West coast, which I preferred to stay on. The cost of property here is also wonderful. This house is much larger than our home in LA, with a lot of amenities I was craving, and very comparable in cost.
And I love the rain. And the rain makes things lushly green. I love the greenery. Did I mention that?
What part of Washington, bb?
I'm in the Seattle area, not directly in the city, I'm in the trees. I couldn't have asked for a better location.
What happened to your house in LA?
Some friends of our family were looking to move into our area and our house was ideal for them. We are privately renting it out to them indefinitely. I'm very happy to keep the property "in the family" as it was my first home purchase and has a lot of sentimental meaning.
Why did you keep your move a secret for so long?
It made it even more exciting! Jawbs and I thought it would be a really nice thing for us to keep it as a private matter, just between us and a few friends and our family, until it was complete. My members knew I was up to something since I was rather absent for quite a few days/weeks during the busiest parts of the move and renovation, but it was nice to keep the grueling details to ourselves. Also, I've always been pretty secretive about stuff when it comes to my personal identity, and didn't want to give out any details that would compromise how safe I've been on that front.
I had butterflies in my stomach the weekend that we arrived here, knowing I only had a day or two left until I revealed my big secret, and it was SO FUN sharing it with everyone my first time on cam.
How are you settling in?
Well, we have been here about 3.5 weeks and still have boxes left to unpack, but that's mainly because we are waiting on some furniture deliveries so we have somewhere to unpack the items to! And also because holy moly it's been a lot of work getting things settled around here. The first 7 days, we had Jawbs' father staying with us to help get some things in working order. He helped me a LOT with some outside stuff and lit a fire under our asses to get some major projects done (a ton of landscaping and hauling of junk from around the property, helped us plan our fence which is hopefully installed in the next 2 weeks, helped us pick out our riding lawn mower (I call it my Tractor, it's awesome)). I'm so thankful for the help he gave us, and it was nice having someone share the initial excitement of "being home" with us.
I'm having some trouble adjusting to all the bugs, though! I am sweet as candy to the mosquitos and other insects that land on me. I'll adjust.
So there's that! If you have any other questions or comments, reply to this and let's enjoy discussing "Amber's Big Move!" I'm beyond thrilled and happy and (aside from some stupid allergies ailing me right now) loving life. I can see us living here for a very long time. There's a lot more space to breathe!
Here are some of the pics I've tweeted around the new house so far. I have a ton of plants and berry bushes that need a lot of my attention and will post more pics once I figure out just how I'm going to become a yard-work-lovin' girl. Feel free to suggest ideas for names of my 2 goldfish that are in my bird bath pond thingy.
I bought a house in Washington state and over the first half of the year, got it fixed up and ready to move into for the summer. We had some things tying us down in Los Angeles for a bit, but finally made the very long drive up here on June 20/21st and have been a resident of Washington since then!So many feels.
Here are some common questions and answers I've gotten since I dropped the big news on June 23rd during my first (very dimly lit in an empty room) cam session at the new house:
Why would you want to move out of Los Angeles? Are you crazy? Why Washington, of all places? IT RAINS SO MUCH!
I've been a SoCal girl since I was born. I've been there, done that. I loved it for the most part, but I needed a change. The crowds, the traffic, the constantly hot weather even during the holidays when I craved some cold, the very small property we lived on that was surrounded by concrete walls and stinky neighbors (and the fact that a larger more private property would cost close to $1M made moving within the area an unlikely option)... I wanted out of that. I'm not crazy, I need some fresh air!
We chose Washington because it's BEAUTIFUL up here! We came to visit and fell in love with the greenery. There is a nice mix of neighborhoods that are close to the city (for entertainment, social adventures, and conveniences) but far enough removed to have some land and some quiet and wildlife. We have a yard that isn't surrounded by walls, instead it's a wall of beautiful trees and plants and birds. Our dogs are happy little campers! They can roll in the grass and chase birds and run! Also, Washington has the benefit of 1. being free of state income taxes and 2. being on the West coast, which I preferred to stay on. The cost of property here is also wonderful. This house is much larger than our home in LA, with a lot of amenities I was craving, and very comparable in cost.
And I love the rain. And the rain makes things lushly green. I love the greenery. Did I mention that?
What part of Washington, bb?
I'm in the Seattle area, not directly in the city, I'm in the trees. I couldn't have asked for a better location.
What happened to your house in LA?
Some friends of our family were looking to move into our area and our house was ideal for them. We are privately renting it out to them indefinitely. I'm very happy to keep the property "in the family" as it was my first home purchase and has a lot of sentimental meaning.
Why did you keep your move a secret for so long?
It made it even more exciting! Jawbs and I thought it would be a really nice thing for us to keep it as a private matter, just between us and a few friends and our family, until it was complete. My members knew I was up to something since I was rather absent for quite a few days/weeks during the busiest parts of the move and renovation, but it was nice to keep the grueling details to ourselves. Also, I've always been pretty secretive about stuff when it comes to my personal identity, and didn't want to give out any details that would compromise how safe I've been on that front.
I had butterflies in my stomach the weekend that we arrived here, knowing I only had a day or two left until I revealed my big secret, and it was SO FUN sharing it with everyone my first time on cam.
How are you settling in?
Well, we have been here about 3.5 weeks and still have boxes left to unpack, but that's mainly because we are waiting on some furniture deliveries so we have somewhere to unpack the items to! And also because holy moly it's been a lot of work getting things settled around here. The first 7 days, we had Jawbs' father staying with us to help get some things in working order. He helped me a LOT with some outside stuff and lit a fire under our asses to get some major projects done (a ton of landscaping and hauling of junk from around the property, helped us plan our fence which is hopefully installed in the next 2 weeks, helped us pick out our riding lawn mower (I call it my Tractor, it's awesome)). I'm so thankful for the help he gave us, and it was nice having someone share the initial excitement of "being home" with us.
I'm having some trouble adjusting to all the bugs, though! I am sweet as candy to the mosquitos and other insects that land on me. I'll adjust.
So there's that! If you have any other questions or comments, reply to this and let's enjoy discussing "Amber's Big Move!" I'm beyond thrilled and happy and (aside from some stupid allergies ailing me right now) loving life. I can see us living here for a very long time. There's a lot more space to breathe!
Here are some of the pics I've tweeted around the new house so far. I have a ton of plants and berry bushes that need a lot of my attention and will post more pics once I figure out just how I'm going to become a yard-work-lovin' girl.
Feel free to suggest ideas for names of my 2 goldfish that are in my bird bath pond thingy.
