Settling In
It’s been nearly ten months since we moved to Arizona.
I’ve moved enough now to recognize that, for me at least, it takes close to a year to start feel like I really belong somewhere.
Once we start approaching that year mark, our lives start to settle in.
I have friends I can call to meet up at the park on a Friday morning and Bart has friends to play tennis with after the girls are in bed. We can have a Pi Day party and feel like we know a decent amount of people to invite over. My girls get asked to the occasional birthday party. We have babysitters that the girls are comfortable with and that know our home and routine so I don’t have to start from scratch every time we want to go out without the girls.
By this point, I start to have my favorite places. The library branch I like the most, the parks that are the most fun for my kids, a grocery store that I can navigate with my eyes closed. I don’t have to pull out Google Maps or my GPS every single time I back out of the garage.
When I run into someone I know as we’re out and about, that makes me feel like we really belong somewhere. When my Facebook feed and phone start to fill up with new friends that live within a 20 minute drive, that’s a good sign.
Around the year mark, not only are all the boxes long unpacked, but things have been moved and rearranged as we get a better sense of how we use our home.
Recently, Bart said to me, “I’m starting to feel like we could stay here” and I told him I was feeling just the same way.
When I drove back to Arizona from Mom 2.0 last weekend, as I drove into Phoenix and then into our neighborhood, I felt that quiet sense of relaxation – this is home.
That's such a nice feeling!!
Glad you're feeling settled. We moved 9 months ago and it's taken me this long to get new routes and routines down for us too (when we got to Trader Joe's we also stop here, etc…) I hadn't anticipated that it would take us this long to get our bearings, but it has. Not just having your house and your neighborhood but also your city feel like home is an accomplishment!
Janssen – the new site design looks amazing!
Yep, it takes me about a year too. We moved to California in January (my third move in six years) and I've made my fiance promise we stay here for at least two years, and preferably a little longer. Moving with someone, as opposed to by myself, has made this a lot easier though. I vastly prefer it this way.
Agreed. It also takes about a year for us to really feel like we know our ward. So happy you love it here.
Glad your little family is all settled in! Such a good feeling. Also wondering what size your shirt is for reference? 🙂
XS!
That's such a nice feeling
This is such a nice post. It's the simple things. 🙂
I'm so glad it's feeling like home! You guys deserve it.
Clearly I'm super on top of my blog reading…but catching up here! I'm so glad you're feeling settled and made this place home- it's such a great place! And I still need to hear all about Mom 2.0!