WE’RE MOVING!

We’re moving! I am so excited to share this life update FINALLY! Not that it’s been a huge secret, but it’s been about ten months in the works. Next week, we pack up our life and move from Dallas, Texas to Boone, North Carolina.

Why

Our love affair with North Carolina began in 2016 when Jarod, his sister, and her husband went on tour with their band in the Deep South. With friends in the Blue Ridge Mountains, they swung through the area and quickly became enchanted. And if you’ve ever driven the Blue Ridge Parkway or dipped your toes in the New River, you’ll know why. Picture rolling hills and Christmas tree farms, lush wineries and endless outdoor activities, and buckets of small town charm.

I visited for the first time in 2020 and can say I’m not immune to the charm. At the time, Jarod’s parents were searching for property in the area and that fall, they closed on a tiny house up in the mountains (read more about that journey here). After that, we made a point to visit every summer to escape the Texas heat.

Last summer during our trip out, as we basked in the mid-seventies summer days and thought of our torturous daily walks at home with our pup Oliver, I decided I never wanted to spend another summer in TX. Maybe this seems dramatic but when we added a dog to our family and started taking walks twice a day, I could no longer ignore the heat by cranking up the AC and hanging out inside. I also get restless in one place too long and after our amazing summer in Europe, I wanted an annual repeat.

We got the urge to follow in their footsteps and started looking for a fixer upper or a piece of land we could eventually build on. Just after we left, a little plot in the perfect location hit the market. After gushing reviews from J’s parents, we took a chance, wired all the money we’d saved for my student loans (LOL) and bought it, sight unseen. It was a step in the right direction, but our plans to put a camper on the land were thwarted by HOA restrictions, so we shelved the plan for someday.

Until the fall came along and J’s parents stumbled upon a farmhouse for sale in the area. They brought the idea before everyone and painted a picture of a future for the whole family. Another thriving AirBnB business. Summers in the mountains. Apple orchards and homesteading. Plenty of land for a tiny home community with all our people.

To be honest, I was not initially on board. While I love visiting the area, I dream of living in a city and this felt further away from that dream. But above all things, I am a real Texas hater. Honestly. Born and bred in the suburbs of Austin, I’ve been trying to get out of this state my whole life. But I married a man with roots in Dallas and I’ve spent the last six years trying to be okay with it. So we made a compromise: we’ll try this out, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll try somewhere new next.

When

After we settled that, I dove headfirst into the idea. With prayerful consideration, we decided to start with a six month trial move. We’ve never even spent a winter in a snowy region, so we wanted to see the best and worst NC has to offer before committing long term. To give us the flexibility, J’s parents generously agreed to rent us the new farmhouse on a month to month basis while we figure things out. So right now, we know we’ll be in Boone from August to February and we don’t know much after that.

I do know that we likely won’t be returning to Texas. If we can’t hack it in rural Appalachia, I have my sights set on a few New England cities.

Plans When We Get There

We are both incredibly blessed to have flexible work situations. In addition to my blog, I work remotely as an event planner. Jarod is currently in online grad school getting his MArch, but he also works remotely as a draftsman for an architect and will continue upon graduation. We’ve specifically structured our lives this way to allow us the freedom to travel.

My job does involve semi-regular travel, so being 120 miles from an airport will be a bit of a challenge, but every place has tradeoffs.

We plan to continue working and saving and seeking the Lord’s guidance for our next steps. We don’t want to rush into anything, but looking ahead, we want to put down some roots wherever we settle before we start growing our family. So no pressure, but time’s ticking. If we make the move permanent, we hope to build on our land or sell and buy something. It’s all sort of up in the air, but we’re trusting God and His provision here.

Gratitude

We are so very thankful we even have this opportunity. I know we’re in a privileged position to be able to pick up and move on a whim. We have such a strong support system and a soft place to land and that allows us to try new things. To dream. I hope if you follow the blog, you care a little bit about the face behind it, and I’m thankful for you too.

We can’t wait to see where this journey takes us and I’m excited to start sharing more domestic travel, along with my international jaunts. Having not spent much time on the East coast, we’re planning to take advantage of the proximity and our free weekends for trips to nearby cities, historic sites, and nature.

So many of the people in my life have asked “why North Carolina?” and I wish I could just bottle up the feeling I have there and share it in response. I hope I can capture that feeling through my posts here and inspire you to visit or at least understand.

Thank you,

Becca