One of the most startling realizations I had while living in Ireland for nearly a year before COVID hit was that I was really really ready to leave Utah for good. Nick was also ready to try a new location for his own reasons (but that’s his story to tell).
I’d have happily moved to Ireland permanently but it turns out that one of the fundamental agreements that you and your partner need to have is where you’re going to live. One of Nick’s greatest joys in life is going zoom zoom down the snow on little boards strapped to his feet. Ireland isn’t exactly a Pow Mecca. Also, when one has amassed an impressive collection of power tools and skills in the use of said tools, as Nick has, it’s kind of a big deal to move to a place with different power voltage system. So we made a list of places we both wanted to live.
For various reasons including snow, community, nature, attitudes toward the environment, climate future, and property prices, Vermont ended up at the top of our list.
And to put the story of the last six months into a cute little nutshell: we scoped out Vermont in the flesh, we liked it, we bought a motorhome, we sold our house in Utah, we slowly acclimatized our cat to the motorhome, and now everything we own worth taking with us is strapped into a trailer that we’re tugging across the country in our new mobile living situation until we find the perfect resting place in the Green Mountain State.
And so I say, with respect and an abiding but bittersweet love for the place that was my home for 38 years…byyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeee.
