Long Island Living
Two weeks ago, I moved from Chicago to New York in a 10-foot U-haul, my cat shaking in my lap and my partner behind the wheel. As we started our adventure, the leaves began to turn and it seemed proper that we were leaving at the start of a new season, traveling out east through the Appalachian mountains to the artsy-fartsy millennial wonderland that is Brooklyn.
We figured if we moved, we would have to before our lease ended. We toyed around with the idea earlier in the year and were only half-serious about it, so the day we had to make a decision was the day that we decided that yes, we would be moving, after living in Chicago for nearly five years. It came as a surprise to some of our friends, who thought we were only being hypothetical. And sometimes, I thought we were. My partner and I had just moved in with each other, had stable well-paying jobs, an office where we could both work on our projects together and a newly adopted calico kitty. We felt successful but unmotivated and stilted in corporate, unimaginative careers. We had set up our apartment in a way that suited us, but not in a way that could make it any warmer during the winter. Since it's a basement apartment it's dark and cold and cheap, massive for a Chicago apartment, though, and that's why I was there-- I had never and may never have that much space to myself ever again, especially if we stay in New York for awhile. At the end of the lease we had to choose between the comfort we created or the potential for growth elsewhere.
New York City is an infamously expensive place to live, and Long Island, especially the land-locked middle of it, is less so. It's a place where families can grow, where professionals can save money but still work in Manhattan. Moving to New York for us seemed simple and logical in this way and, the fact that we don't have to Airbnb and sign a lease on the first apartment we find in our budget, is a luxury. We're staying with my boyfriend's family on Long Island until we can both secure steady income and afford the hefty Brooklyn broker fees. The goal is to find a place before January 1st, 2018.
I don't have to worry about a job for now-- I'll be commuting to SoHo to work as a production editor at an online wellness website called Everyday Health starting next week. It's similar to what I was doing before in Chicago and while we are going through all this change, that's pretty comforting. At first I thought I would live off tarot gigs, but a freelancer's sporadic salary makes applying for apartments complicated.
Once I move to Brooklyn, that's when I can start booking tarot readings, partnering with The Tarot Society and other businesses in the area to throw some really cool events, maybe even a Tarot Tuesday like I used to host in Chicago. That's what I'm looking forward to the most. I can take events right now and commute to them without too much hassle, but I can't commit to anything regular yet, but hopefully soon.
Private tarot readings will also be easier to conduct once I'm in Brooklyn. Nothing is quite like an in-person reading, but I'm still available over the phone or video-chat, and I'll be reading cards at Renegade Craft Fair at Manhattan's Metropolitan Pavilion on November 18th and 19th, AND in Chicago on December 2nd and 3rd at the Bridgeport Art Center.
I'm sticking to my word about my frequent visits. xoxo
