Can this really be happening?
I never thought I’d live on the East Coast. Never. Don't get me wrong. Being a few hours from the next state, beach weekends, and real seafood sound great…but for more than 26 years I've called Utah my home...and now I’m leaving.Why are we moving from Provo, Utah to Charlotte, North Carolina?
The #1 question we get when we tell friends about our choice is, “Why North Carolina?” It is quickly followed up with, “Do you have family out there?” (No.)In fact, the only thing I even knew about North Carolina before this whole search started was that there is also a South Carolina. LOL.
I’ve known we were moving for the past 9 months. My husband was offered a job, and we actually got to pick where we wanted to live. The nerdiness in us compelled us to create a goliath pros and cons list of all potential places.
Some (not all) of our top considerations were:
- Mountains and outdoorsy stuff to do
- Family-friendly
- Close to a lake
- Cultural morals
- Minimal natural disasters (hey, I’m a worrier, ok?)
- Not too close to home (we want an adventure!)
After literally months of deliberation and online forum-stalking, we ultimately chose Charlotte, North Carolina as our new home.
I’ve had 9 months to think about that life-altering choice. And like most women, that gave me quite a lot of time to prioritize, speculate, and worry about the worst possible scenarios.
Like anyone moving, I have some doubts. But since Charlotte is literally 2,042 miles away, it’s not like I can just change my mind if things don’t work out.
My top 3 worries about living in Charlotte
HumidityUtah averages about 67% humidity, while North Carolina averages about 83%. If that doesn’t seem like a big difference, check this out. Utah has the 8th driest air in the nation, with less humidity than the Sahara. Yes, the friggin’ African desert! Even though I spend $70 a year on my daily lotion ritual, at least I don’t have to worry about sweat tacos forming 5 seconds after I step out the door. Not to mention the condition of my poor, limp hair…
Geographical confusion
Thousands of miles from family
I saved this one for last, because it’s going to hurt the most. Both my husband’s and my immediate family live in Utah. Which means we’re about as far away as we can get from family. No more Sunday dinners. No more casual family get-togethers to watch fireworks. No more weekend sleepovers with my sisters. This is going to be tough.
But hey, I don’t want to dwell on the negative.
Here are the top 3 things I’m most excited for in Charlotte.
New cultureWhere I come from, everyone is pretty much the same religion, same race, same political party, and has the same style. I can’t wait to experience something new!
Trees
New adventures
Since I’ve been in Utah for 26 years… I feel like I’ve pretty much done everything there is to do here. All 5 National Parks? Been there, done that. Hiked to the top of Timp? Yep. Sucked it in while exploring some slot canyons? Naturally. Snowboarded the greatest snow on earth? Uh huh. Visited Kennecott Copper Mine? It’s deep. Backpacked in the Uinta’s? Absolutely. Jeeped in Moab? Yeehaw! Walked Temple Square? Who hasn’t? But now I now have an ENTIRE NEW COAST to explore! Beaches and mountains and lakes and cities, oh my!
Yep, it’ll be an adventure. An adventure I can’t wait to start!