by Kate
We’ve been missing in action here at Spend Your Values for a bit, because last week we left the Washington, DC area and moved to Bloomington, Indiana!
It was one of those decisions that looks odd from the outside (we didn’t have full-time jobs lined up; we were leaving a strong community; it’s hard to convince people in DC of the greatness of the Midwest…) but was actually a step toward committing to our strongest values. It took over a year of planning and saving and applying and finagling remote work (and a stronger dose of courage than we expected), but we are officially here and officially ready to start this next phase in our lives.
We used to live in Bloomington as grad students (which is why we know how great this town is), so it will take some transition time to figure out how to live here as professionals. But we are really pumped to work on designing a fulfilling lifestyle in our new locale.
We chose to leave behind opportunities for serious career advancement, two of my best friends, one of Alex’s siblings and spouse, a powerful city Where Things Happen, a high cost of living, city commutes, and the best darn small group community the world has ever seen.
We chose instead to pursue a slower daily life, a fully bikeable town, fewer and more flexible remote work hours, lower pay, an opportunity to create a new business, a low cost of living, less stress, more time, more outdoors, and proximity to my family.
We moved back to Bloomington because it aligns most closely with our values at this point in our lives. At some point, our values will evolve and our lifestyle will change again, but for now we are going to embrace our flexible time, work hard on our projects, play some Ultimate frisbee, and eat as much food as possible at our favorite Thai lunch buffet!
