Moving Near yet Far
Since California offers a wide variety of lifestyles, landscapes, and homes, some of our clients' biggest moves aren't across the country but into a different way of life.
While moving people to every corner and neighborhood across the country, I've had the opportunity to take in varied and unique landscapes as well as the wide array of personalities that dwell there. But not all of our clients move out of state to enjoy a completely different way of living. Some of the biggest moves, while not far in miles, are nonetheless leaps into a different headspace and a new approach to "home."
What are some examples? Moves from quiet suburban homes into downtown high-rises at the center of the city's hubbub. Couples relocating from their small apartment in Hollywood to a mountain cabin in Lake Arrowhead. Imagine trading the view from your front window of the neighborhood dogs on their daily walk for the regular sighting of a family of bears strolling through your backyard!
We've moved quite a few clients to farm living without taking them out of state via any of California's many wine countries: Paso Robles, Los Olivos, or Temecula, for example. And of course we have helped families make a new home beachside, from Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Barbara, and beyond.
These decisions are rarely just about the family's domicile: the apartment, house, cabin, or farm. With more than four decades of experience moving families, my humble observation is that these more radical moves are about what's next. A family giving their children room to grow…and run! A retiring couple moving closer to the city and all the great shows, museums, and restaurants they now have time to enjoy! Grandparents wanting to be closer to the people they love the most. Often a move is less about leaving a place behind and more about moving toward the life you've been hoping to build.
They say it's not the years, but the miles. (A particular favorite expression amongst truck drivers.) Perhaps when sizing up the magnitude of a move, one could say that it's not the miles but the landscape. The biggest moves aren't measured by the odometer. They're measured by what changes once you arrive: a different morning view, new neighbors, a shorter drive to see family, more quiet, more adventure. Whatever the reason, a change of scenery often becomes the backdrop for an entirely new chapter.
Has your own idea of "home" changed over the years? Maybe your biggest move wasn't across the country but across town, to a place—emotional and physical—that was a better fit for that life chapter. Those are often the journeys that remind me why this work has been so meaningful over the years.