Backwords Blog Title!

Backwords Blog Title?! What the heck does that mean? Well, it means exactly what it says, flip my blog title "From KC to NYC" and what do you get? You get "From NYC to KC!" Yup, that's right, this Kansas girl is switching things up AGAIN, only this time leaving New York City and heading back to Kansas City! Crazy exciting, right!? But wait, that's not even the best part. The best part is i'm returning to Kansas City with SO MUCH more than what I came with. With that being said, let me reflect on what exactly I did come with, and what's a better way to do that then to revisit to my very first blog post from February 2010 titled, "New Year, New City."

Here's an excerpt:
After just explaining how close I am to my family, how much I love them and how hard it was to leave them...
"So perhaps you are asking yourselves, if I am so close to my family why did I decide to move? It’s simple...I am young, single and free. I didn’t have anything keeping me in Kansas City and I realize that if I don’t try new things now while I can, I probably never will. I know that when I get a bit older, fall in love and settle down to raise a family, I will no doubt want to be near my family in Kansas, so now is really the only opportunity I have to be spontaneous and live wherever I want to live."

Now, reading this passage from my first blog post explains why I decided to move to New York. It also partialy explains what I came with: freedom, determination, sadness, exitement and so much more! I came with the mindset that I would get a good job, gain experience as a young professional and partake in exciting new adventures and that's exactly what I did. Now, back to what I came with. Other than a postive attitude, I came with 2 suitcases and a few hundred bucks so when I say, "I'm returning to Kansas City with so much more than I came with!" What do I mean? I mean other than returning with amazing experiences both in my personal and professional life and a totally different outlook on life in general, I'm literally coming back with twice the luggage and his name is Alex! Yes, that's right, Alex and I have decided to relocate to Kansas TOGETHER! I'll give you a moment to take that last statement in.

Ok, you ready to continue? No? Ok, let it sink in for another moment and then we'll continue. I totally understand how you're feeling, believe me, I felt the same shock and excitement as you do right now!

Ok, now that the news is out there, let's discuss how this all came to be. It started with Alex's simple visit to KC during the holidays, continued with a conversation about how I had always planned to move back to KC after a year or two in the city, followed with Alex's open-mindedness to the idea of moving to KC one day, moved forward with Alex bidding on a job transfer with his office that could take years to get approved, came to a climax when they told him that there was a rare opportunity in Leavenworth, KS NOW, followed with MULTIPLE conversations and decision making factors and ended with us moving to Kansas!

I know what you're thinking, WOW, that was fast! Believe me, I know. This whole thing happened really fast. I mean one minute we're simply discusing the idea of moving to Kansas one day and the next he's signing an offer letter from his job. Yes there was so much in between, but still, we went from 0 to 60 in what seems like 2 minutes flat. I can't even begin to describe how many conversations we had about this decision, it seems like a million. It's literally all we talked about for weeks, the what ifs, the pros, the cons, the other ten million things we had to think about when making our final decision. It was honestly a lot of pressure for both of us and I would be lying if I said there weren't a few heated discusions and tears that played out. We basically made a mental list of all the positives and negatives and when it came down to it, the positive side was heavy and we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to find out how it would work. We were so afraid that if Alex didn't take this job opportunity that he wouldn't get another one close to KC for a long time so we took the leap of faith and decided to move forward with relocating.

Although Alex and I are both nervous to make this move (him more than I seeing as I'm from Kansas City), we are also very excited. With the cost of living in KC so much less than New York City, we'll be able to have things/do things that we wouldn't have the opportunity to do in NYC. We'll be able to live a life that we couldn't live in the city. Alex has always wanted to own a house, to have a garage and a backyard, to have space and tranquility and to live the all-american white picket fence family lifestyle. These are all things he's never had living in the Bronx for almost his whole life and he couldn't be more thrilled to finally see these things within his reach. He's been amazing during this entire decision making process and the one thing we both know after the multiple descusions we've had over the past several weeks is that no matter what our future holds, no matter where we live, we know that being together is really the only must-have and that revalation in itself is amazing!

After making our decision to leave the big bad city and move to Kansas, we realized time was limited so we kicked it in high gear and have done so much in a little amount of time. First, I left Patch. My last day was Friday, April 15 and let me just say, it was sad. Seeing Patch HQ grow from about 30 people in 1 suite to over a hundred people in 9 suites was amazing! I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with so many different people on such a wide variety of projects. During my time at Patch the one and only constant was working with amazing people who are smart and passionate about what they do and it is truly motivating. I can honestly say that I've worked with the best of the best (which is quite the accomplishment considering Patch was my first job right out of college!) and am proud to have contributed to such a great company! I knew it would be hard, but it ended up being tougher than I expected. :/ My only hope is I find another great company that can live up to my high expectations, or at least get close! ;-)

Farewell flowers on my last day at Patch

Alex's last day at his job in NYC was also April 15 and his co-workers threw him a very nice going away party complete with cake, gifts, stories and good-bye tears. He's worked at the same place for 12 years so you can imagine it was hard for him to say good-bye to all the friends he's made over time.

Good-bye cake on Alex's last day of work in NYC

Since then, we've spent several days tieing up loose ends. Everything from renting a moving truck, subleasing my apartment, canceling gym memberships, updating our account information with a KS address, getting Alex's car cleaned and painted, switching banks, and so much more! We've also spent time doing our best to soak up the city while we can. Everything from having drinks at our favorite happy hour spot, eating at our favorite restaraunts, going to a Yankee's Game and playing handball at a Bronx park (very popular in NY). Today, I even went to Rockefellar center to walk around a bit, went to Dash NYC (The Kardashian boutique in Soho), and had a slice of pizza at the famous and orignial Ray's (the first ever in NYC) that's boasted about on the travel chanel among other places.

Friday night happy hour at XES then dinner at Pongsri Thai Restaurant (2 fav places in NYC)

Alex HAD to go to Yankee Stadium before he leaves!

Enjoying the Yanks Game and soaking up NYC before we leave!

Couldn't leave NYC without shopping at Dash NYC (even though I couldn't afford anything)

Kardashian sisters, which remind me a lot of me and my sisters (I can't wait to live near them again!)

What's next you ask? Well, Thursday & Friday will consist of serious packing considering Alex and I have both put this off until the last minute. Saturday morning we'll pick up the moving truck, load all of our stuff and then head to New Jersey where my uncle will load up his stuff too as he's also moving back home to Kansas City. Yup, that's right. After living in the city for 14 years, he's also made the decision to move back to Kansas, so Alex and I will have company on our long drive (About 22 hours that we're splitting up in 2 days) from the East Coast to the Midwest. I'm very excited that my Tio is coming with us as that will put the entire family in one location.

My Tio Marty had told me once when I first moved here that, "everyone should live in the city at least once for a little while, you learn so much." And he was SO right, I learned more than I even expected. I feel like I did what I came to do and although I am sad to have left Patch and am sad to be leaving New York, I am also VERY EXCITED to live near family again, especially my niece and nephews, skyping with them just isn't enough anymore. All 3 of them are getting so big and I'm so tired of missing out on watching them grow. I'm also excited to start a new job, whatever it may be. I'm currently looking for opportunities so wish me luck in the search! And of course, like any true Midwesterner, I'm thrilled to enjoy backyard barbeques this summer. The idea of sitting outside with Alex, my family and the kids, eating BBQ and just enjoying eachother's company puts a huge smile on my face. And to be able to watch my Jayhawks, the Royals and Chiefs on local TV again, oh the joy! Gosh, there are so many little things I miss about KC - I'm so ready to get back to my roots! ;-)

When I said last post that I would be home for Easter in April and that it was going to be a bit crazy, I wasn't lying. Unforunately, because of the big move, I'm unable to make it home for Easter like I had planned, but obviously canceling my flight home for Easter weekend is a small price to pay in order to move home indefinitely!

Alex and I have SO much to look forward to and are ecstatic to embark on this journey. The next chapter of our lives is going to be quite the adventure and I know it will take time and patience for Alex to adapt to a new lifestyle, but I'm hoping that after the culture shock wares off, he'll love our lives together in Kansas! I can't help but feel a little bit guilty as he's the one leaving his family to move near mine. I know EXACTLY what it feels like to move away from loved ones so I can empathize with him and just hope that the transition goes well.

Wish us luck on our 2-day drive to KC and keep Alex in your prayers that he may find the strength to adjust to and enjoy life in Kansas despite being away from his family.