I Moved Across The Country During the Pandemic - Here's Why
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Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just wipe 2020 off the face of human history? Just find that delete button for the year and just punch it nonstop until it's broken? My delete button for 2020 turned out to be a one-way ticket to Oahu, without a job, apartment, or acquaintance on the island, two weeks out from the day I purchased it.
Like everyone else, 2020 had been a rough year for me. I lost two jobs that I loved in the national lockdown in March and had to move away suddenly from Colorado—away from a home, a lifestyle, and friendships that I was really attached to. It felt like a major loss and blow, although my lot was no worse than anyone else’s in 2020; we all were faced with various challenges and hardships. All of us were affected on so many different levels.
I struggled to know the best direction to take during this strange time. I had been working in the tourism industry, which had essentially been eradicated for a few months, and I felt disposable. I was working for Vail Resorts as a photographer and at a restaurant in one of the ski towns, and when both jobs were wiped out, I realized how unstable the life I had been living was.
I was determined never to be so disposable and insecure again, so I changed course and started pursuing a career far sooner than I expected myself to. I started making moves in the direction of being a writer, securing an internship and freelance writing gigs. (Enter Swift Wellness, a joy and privilege to write for!!)
Into the fall, I still felt unable to plan for my future, worried that there was going to be another lockdown or outbreak or maybe King Kong and dinosaurs were finally going to appear and just take over the Earth. At that point, I wouldn’t have minded. The entire world was tiptoeing around uncertainly, and the media seemed to reveal new information on the daily that changed the course of the future. How could I possibly start planning a future?
In December, I put my foot down. The world was still insane, had been insane too long, and I was sick of letting external insanity dictate my own overflowing private store. Life felt dictated by something too far out of my control, and I wasn’t going to wait around any longer for it to subside or change. I was going to make the change in my life.
So I took my future back into my own hands with the decision to move to Hawaii.
I chose Hawaii because—call me selfish—but I wanted to get as far away from what my 2020 had been as I could without going international. Obviously, here in Hawaii, paradise had not escaped unscathed; Covid-19 had also been prevalent, and restrictions were enforced. But Hawaii re-opened their airports to visitors in the fall, and I felt the tropics calling my name.
Mid-December, I booked a one-way flight to Honolulu for the first week of January 2021.
I kept that decision under wraps for a few days while I looked for a job because I didn’t want to tell my family and friends only to be asked, after their initial wide-eyed, hard blink and slight jaw drop, “Do you have a job? What are you going to do there?” (Downfall of a short-term planner, oops).
I rallied several girlfriends into moving with me, secured a position, and hunted amidst the limited, rather expensive housing options. By the day I left, I had secured a job, roommates, a place to live (thanks VRBO), and gone through the necessary steps for Hawaiian island travel, such as getting a pre-travel Covid test.
Since I had never been to Hawaii before, I was unsure of which island I wanted to live on, but Oahu quickly revealed itself to be the best option for me. Oahu holds a majority of the state’s population, the most infrastructure, and biggest job market, and is renowned for its spirited, youthful hub.
I quickly discovered that I was not the only one who had had this idea! I was one among many 20- to 30-year old professionals or college students to move out to Oahu during this time. Since so much of the world had gone online for the unforeseeable future, many remote workers and students said sayonara and began to work remotely on Oahu (at least short-term) from one to six months. Why not, right?
There was already a hub of remote workers and short-term mainlanders here in Oahu when I arrived. There still are, in fact! I have now joined the ranks of remote workers, and my company does not mind the fact that I am located 2500 miles away from the office, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Many people I meet here in the island are in the same boat as I. Their company went online, or maybe they lost their job, and since there was nothing tying them to the mainland, they blew that popsicle stand and sailed out to Hawaii for the time being!
Moving to Oahu in the beginning of 2021 was like a dream come true. In the early winter months of 2021, the island was very quiet. In fact, in more than a hundred years, it has not been, and probably never will be again, that quiet and lacking in tourists. I had the privilege of seeing Hawaii without jam-packed beaches, never-ending lines, and playing bumper cars on the roads.
I am very grateful for the Aloha spirit that floats around the wonderful culture of Hawaii, making this a beautiful, peaceful place to call home. It is surprisingly easy to meet people here, because of the overarching friendliness and openness of all locals and visitors. The culture is rich and diverse; there is a long, fascinating history; and Oahu just has it all: mountains, beach, nightlife, both city life and countryside, skyscrapers and humble beach shacks, great food, great people, and all types of outdoor recreation and natural wonders.
If any remote workers reading this have hopes to move to Hawaii, check out the Movers and Shakas program!
I know I learned a hard lesson from 2020: Everything happens for a reason.
That is something I have heard my whole life, but it never held much meaning to me or felt like it applied on such a grand scale in my personal life. Grudgingly, I have to admit that if 2020 hadn't happened, I would not be living in Hawaii today.
Many of us are still reeling from the effects, the social, economic, career, financial, mental tolls that were, and are still, prevalent due to Covid-19 and last year’s worldwide shutdown. When you go through s***, in the moment, you feel underwater and don’t see how this could turn out okay.
If things aren’t the way you want them to be, if you are stuck, if you need a change but are not sure what to change in life, just take a leap. Any step, in any direction, is better than none. That is how I see it, at least. I made several big lifestyle changes in 2020 without being sure of their outcome, and continued to take leaps until I leapt right over the Pacific onto Oahu.
But now, as the world finally comes up for air after being underwater for so long, I hope every one of us can think of a substantially good thing that came out of the past year and a few months. One good thing that would not have come about, or something significant you would not have pushed yourself to accomplish, if not for the challenges that occurred in 2020.
I hate to admit it, but because of the hard choices I was forced to make during 2020, it led me to where I am now. Not that it’s over and it’s all good, by any degree, but I would be blind to not see how some really great things—after all this time—turned into reality. And that’s a direct impact of 2020.
So f*** you, 2020, but also… thanks.