Life as a nomad had become a bit staid, even routine.  In the past weeks, I found myself with nothing to share.  No ghosts in the vents, no dogs eating chickens, no big personal insights, no car getting stolen.  I’ve had a couple of jobs in repeat homes and have stayed with dear friends for a while in their home.  We all have started calling this place my “home” as I feel that welcome and comfortable here.  Their two dogs hang out on my bed with me and greet me at the door as a household member now.  This part of being a nomad is clearly fulfilling the 4^th goal of cementing friendships before I leave the state.

Two gigs got cancelled, one due to a loss of a job (thus they couldn’t afford the planned vacation) and the other due to a marital separation.  Both are sad situations, but left me with holes in my nomad calendar.   This is ending up being a great thing, because I get to spend more time with friends before I…

…MOVE TO CALIFORNIA AT THE END OF JUNE!  That’s right!  This June!  In 2.5 months, I’m heading to the West Coast.  Am I excited?!  Can you tell?  Here’s what happened:

On the Friday before our 2-week Spring Break, my school district offered a monetary incentive (via email) for retirement-eligible employees to retire at the end of this school year.  Previously, I have had to wait until I can collect Social Security payments at the beginning of 2017 (and other financial reasons) before I could quit my job and move to Oakland.  This incentive will allow me to make the move earlier than planned!

After conferring with everyone affected, I quickly decided this could work!  I arrived in Oakland on Tuesday morning of Spring Break knowing that I would finally be moving there sooner rather than later.

So, I haven’t shared with many people where I will be living in Oakland. I will be buying a condo in a new co-housing community named Phoenix Commons.  I like to describe co-housing as a combination of a commune and a condo.  I will later write more about this community of which I have been an active member for over 2 years.  Members have just moved in to the new building and I was able to stay in the guest suite for the 10 days I was in town.  I will tell you more about Phoenix Commons, located in an interesting section of Oakland called Jingletown, in future posts.

THIS is what is pulling me to Oakland.

But the most exciting part of my move to Oakland is getting to be near my two daughters, my son-in-law and my darling 18-month old granddaughter!  I was able to spend a lot of time with all of them while there and I can’t believe I’ll be there so soon.  Being reunited with my family has been my guiding star for the past 5-6 years of this process.

So, yes, my world has shifted and I am westward bound!  I have too many things to accomplish in too little time.  But I work well under pressure.  I’ll keep you posted.