Major news from the Freemans – we are moving to Boston! I can hardly believe it myself. I’m still in shock about it actually. If you didn’t get the title of this story – it’s a reference to this song and leaving the Valley of the Sun. I’m going to miss our chosen city, but Boston is calling.

Why We Are Moving to Boston

So why are we moving to Boston? Well, I got a really amazing job offer that I just can’t pass up. I’m going to be at Assistant Dean at a university in Boston. It is a major promotion. It also feels like the perfect next career move after finishing my Ph.D.

Why Boston, you might still wonder – well, I never even considered living in Boston. When I saw this job, I just knew I should apply. It was one of those rare times when I felt like the job was written for me. I’m so excited for the opportunity and I’m also excited to experience a new part of the country.

Things I’ll Miss about Phoenix

Despite my excitement over this big move, there are a lot of things about Phoenix I’m going to miss. Namely, my friends, my current job (that’s allowed me to travel all over the world and meet amazing people), and the weather. I’m also sad that I won’t get to see my parents for a lot of the year. Since we’ve been back in Phoenix, they would spend 3-4 months here in the winter. It was such a great way for my kids to get quality time with their grandparents, and now they won’t have as much time with them. We’ll just have to make more trips back to the Midwest or hopefully, my parents will come and explore Boston with us.

Things I Won’t Miss About Phoenix

The summers here are pretty awful. I don’t think I will hate them as much as Boston winters, but I’m not going to miss 120 degrees in summer. I’m also not going to miss the horrible drivers. Seriously, Phoenix has some of the dumbest, most reckless drivers of all time.

Boston Things I’m Looking Forward to

I’m most excited about my new job, but I’m also super excited about our new house. We found a great house that is going to be perfect for our family. Not only will we have space for visitors, which we don’t have in our Phoenix house, but we are also going to have (close to) my dream kitchen. It has a giant island and tons of cabinets. I’m so excited to get in there and start making recipes for the blog! It will be the first time we actually have a kitchen we’d like to feature on the blog.

I’m also so excited for my kids to start elementary school in the Boston area. Massachusetts has some of the best schools in the nation, unlike Phoenix, which has some of the worst.  Even the preschool we found for our kids seems leaps and bounds above what we’ve seen in Phoenix. The quality of education is so important to me, as an educator myself. I’m really excited for my kids to start school off on the right foot with some of the best schools in the nation.

I’m also really excited to get to see a lot of the country I’ve never seen. Besides a few trips to NYC and DC, I’ve never really been on the east coast. I’m excited to explore all of the states in the northeast and the opportunity to go to NYC on a whim. I’ve been dying to go to fashion week, so I’m 100% committed to going in February this year. It’s only 3-4 hours from Boston and I can jump on a cheap flight or even take a discounted train up there.

Surprisingly, I’m actually looking forward to the seasons again. I’m originally from Wisconsin, so I do love the leaves changing, how trees look right after a fresh snow, getting to wear winter clothes many more months. I’m stoked to get to wear winter coats and fall jackets. I also think it will be super fun to watch my kids experience the seasons. They’ve only ever known Phoenix weather (they were both really young when we left California), so I am excited to see what they think of rain and snow! As a kid, I absolutely loved playing in the snow. I hope my kids love it too. I can already picture them coming in with their wet snow suits, their little noses red, snuggling next to us on the couch enjoying a cup of hot cocoa, just like I did as a kid.

Things I’m Dreading about Boston

To be honest, I’m also dreading the weather. I absolutely do not like cold weather or very much precipitation, which is a major reason I love Phoenix. However, I think dealing with a little cold and yucky weather is worth the opportunities we are about to experience.

The Big Cross-Country Move

The other thing I’d normally be dreading is the move. However, the move is not a worry at all! We are teaming up with U-Pack. Their team of professionals is going to take all of the stress of moving away! The last two times we moved across states (KS to CA; CA to AZ), we did it ourselves and that wasn’t very fun. This time, U-Pack will be moving all of our things for us in one of their trailers. They are making the entire process so simple.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share several travel stories with you to talk about the cross-country move process. I know it can be very overwhelming, so I want to walk you through our decision-making process and why we decided to go with U-Pack instead of do-it-yourself options. I’m also going to share our experience with how we prepared our preschool-aged children for a cross-country move. I’ll also talk through all of the details involved in a cross-country move and share some moving checklists with you. If you have any questions, I’m always happy to share my experiences with you.

Here’s to a new adventure!