Hi Nicole,
Yes, I have! Although I don’t know what your exact painful situation you’re trying to leave was, I certainly can relate to that sense of urgency you mentioned. For me, I started making a note of the things, people, places, activities that bring me joy and feel positive; and also the things, people, places and activities that drain my energy levels. And from then on, it was a series of decisions – to do more and more and more of what brings me joy; and letting go of everything that drains my energy levels.

By focusing on the joy, and letting go of everything else that didn’t work, I was able to create a life and a living. It took me several years, but I love every minute of it. For me, it was a calling of my soul, and I believe it’s our responsibility to honor and follow that calling. If you’re interested in the Nest in the Forest I’ve created for myself, feel free to go to the link on my profile when you click on my picture 🙂

Much luck with your journey!!

@Nicole, I don’t necessarily hate my city but I feel like i have a dark cloud over me here. I’ve lived here for 15 years. My parents live here. Outside of my parents and 1 good friend I have nothing to show for my 15 years here. Everyone else fell out of my life or I out of their life for one reason or the other. I have done great in terms of career and education, but my personal life has been nothing short of a catastrophe. I wanted to relocate to the west coast last year but met someone here weeks before jumping on a plane and leaving. This will probably sound stupid, but I kind of took it as the “sign from above” lol. I stayed for her, hoping for a blossoming relationship, instead I got thrown to the curb and heartbroken. Nobody to blame but myself. I shouldn’t have stayed. I feel like i could have been somewhere else doing something else, but instead i’m stuck in the same rut and with even more uncertainty in life.

The only thing keeping me here is my job. I wake up every day happy to go to work because it’s what I love doing and it gets me through the day. I actually told my boss, jokingly, that if he’d let me live at work I wouldn’t blink an eye because it’s better than going through the same crap thoughts i go through when i’m home. Sadly, there is probably some truth to that. I basically live for my job and random trips or hikes somewhere away from here. Otherwise, I’m just a floater. I feel like moving is the right direction and I really want to move to NYC, but you know they say grass is always greener on the other side. What i do know is that every other day I wake up with “Screw it. I’ll just move.” and just think about getting busy with the job search and traveling to look for an apartment already makes me feel excited.

I think there is nothing wrong with leaving a place that hurts and starting over elsewhere. Like you, I’m also terrified of starting over somewhere else all by myself. I’m also not in the right mindset that i was 2 years ago when i “just did it” and took off. Things are a little different these days and what I’m thinking about now is why i haven’t done it then. So, you’d be even more terrified looking back at the situation 2 years from now, having not done anything, and wondering why you’re still wasting time. What I had learned from my trip is this – no matter where you are and no matter what you’re doing, you have no option but to be okay and you will be okay because it’s in your human nature 🙂 Like @Saiisha said, taking first step is the start of the adventure.

Hi Nicole,

I am 36 years old, and two years ago, I completely hit the “reset button” on my life. I had been living in a 4-bedroom house in the woods in northern Michigan, and I had been in the same teaching job for 10 years. I lived with my husband and daughter, who has autism.

We fell in love with sailing and began cruising in the summer. Then, after living aboard and sailing on the Great Lakes for 93 days, things completely fell apart at work. My husband and I realized that we were done with that situation, so we signed our house over to the bank, and moved 1300 miles away, to Houston. We took everything that would fit into our Volvo station wagon!

I found a teaching job down here, and we lived in an apartment for a year. Then we moved onto a 35 foot sailboat and moved into a marina. We are working toward cruising full-time, and I have started an online business (although I am still teaching right now).

A few things I learned:

1. Wherever you go, there you are. I had to do the most work on myself AFTER the move, because the same situation that happened up north, was happening in my new job. And there was only one common variable–me. Once I redefined all the limiting beliefs that were keeping me from setting boundaries and advocating for myself, my situation greatly improved.

2. There is never a “right time.” You’ll always find reasons to stay in your situation! But when you’re ready, just go for it.

3. “Failure” isn’t so bad. We learn by trial and error, and you will make mistakes. We ended up in a situation so tight that we needed help getting food, once. And we survived, and learned from it. Am I still glad we moved? Of course.

I wrote more about my story here: http://www.thechangeblog.com/reset-button/ and in my bio on my website: http://onlinetherapyandcoaching.org .

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Bethany

I second Bethany and Jo’s opinion !

Moving works for some or for a short time but most times the issues re-surface – in a ‘new’ location !!

GOD bless !!!