We have arrived. We are Utahns now. FINALLY!
We have been in Salt Lake City for about a week and a half and I’d say, overall, the transition has been pretty smooth. We left Lubbock November 1st and made it to Salt Lake City by the 2nd. We had an awesome “moving crew” make the journey with us. My in-laws and younger sister-in-law and brother-in-law gladly made the trip with us to help drive cars, maneuver the oversized Penske truck we rented, and unpack us in our new apartment. With all the help and my Type A personality, we were pretty much done setting up house by the middle of that first week.
We spent our initial days sight-seeing while our family was still here. We explored Temple Square, Park City, ate chicken and waffles at Pig and A Jelly Jar, drove out to Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake, and saw a play at Hale Center Theater. It felt like we were on vacation, so I had to keep reminding myself that we wouldn’t be going home this time. We were home! It seemed unreal…I don’t live in Texas anymore, I live in Utah now.
By Wednesday of that week, all of our family was gone and we were on our own. Real life started to kick in and we got busy making the changes we needed to. We finished unpacking, hung pictures on walls, got driver’s licenses and new plates, and spent some more time exploring our new city.
The biggest relief of that first week was that by that first Friday, Derek and I both had jobs! My secret fear in this whole pack-up-and-just-go move was that we’d struggle to find work for awhile which could make our finances pretty tight. I knew Derek and I were both pretty hirable individuals, but I didn’t know how long it would be before we could find something. Derek was offered a job the week before we left Lubbock, so it took some pressure off knowing that at least one of us would be working right away. My situation was a little more complicated since I have to have a state license to practice, but by Friday I was offered a job as well. Derek has started work already and is enjoying it and I don’t start until this coming Monday, so it has left me a full week of venturing out in the city on my own (which I’m not complaining-it’s been pretty nice to have a break from work and get to enjoy Salt Lake City for awhile). I’ve done my best to get to know this city. I’ve been to the City Library, the Capitol building, the Winter Market, Liberty Park, and figured out the Trax system among other adventures.
Utah seems to be exactly what we needed. And although we miss our friends in Lubbock dearly, we know this is where we need to be. Derek has been trail running and biking to work. I’ve been walking the downtown neighborhoods and taking Wallace to the dog park. There is so much to see and do.
And now we have internet in our quaint downtown apartment! So the stories can continue and I believe there are many good ones to come.
With love from the Beehive State,
Jaclyn
As We Head West 