Anything is Possible in ATX, Kendra Scott
It’s hard to believe I arrived in town on August 8, 2019 and now I’ve almost been here for two weeks. In a way it feels like so much has happened and so little at the same time. The story of how my partner and I ended up in Austin is long and short. For several years my family and I have been trying to find a way to live closer to each other so that we can live life together. We were very lucky in that we lived together in the same town for a long time. In the last five years we found ourselves scattered further away from each other. One sister though living in Seattle was across the bridge (and we all know how that can be), my other sister has been hopping around with her husband while she works as a traveling nurse, and my parents after a stint in San Diego landed in Phoenix, AZ (where my grandmother and an uncle relocated to be close to them).
Last fall my family began discussing options for a city where we could possibly live together, though there were many challenges we faced, among them was the fact that my boyfriend owned a restaurant in Ballard, WA. and he was VERY happy with his life and friends there. But in April we all found ourselves in a darling Airbnb celebrating Easter in East Austin with my family.
We all arrived on Friday and were scheduled on flights out of Austin by Sunday/Monday in order to get back to work. We wanted to spend time together and also see the city. Somehow we managed to cram in ping pong at Easy Tiger, partying on sixth street, a day trip to Fredericksburg followed by a jaunt over to San Antonio, homemade meals around the table, canasta (our favorite and highly competitive family game), face masks, coffee shops, darling neighborhood liquor stores and more!
Wow! Looking back its hard to believe everything we crammed into that weekend. The night before we flew back to Seattle, my boyfriend mentioned to me he could see himself living in Austin. I’m pretty sure he had no idea the Pandora’s box he had just opened, but for me after having lived in Seattle for 19 years I was itching for a new adventure and it felt like the stars were aligning. The next day most of the family was talking about living in Austin, Texas as a true possibility that we should all explore.
As soon as we got home to Seattle I got down to business researching career opportunities, neighborhoods, demographics, and more! Long story short within a couple of months my sister had secured a contract job with Facebook and we found ourselves flying down to Austin to help move her and her boyfriend into their apartment. Not long after we found a house in Jollyville, I put in my notice with Seattle Children’s and we hit the road for Austin.
It was an incredible leap of faith, as I have not locked in my next career step (if you know of something please reach out - I’m currently seeking roles that fall anywhere within marketing, events, operations, and project management) and my boyfriend was moving away from a world he had spend 20 years investing in. But we could feel that there was something waiting for us here in Austin. I look forward to sharing more in future posts, but I wanted to bring everyone up to date before I started posting about my Austin job search, Austin Day Trips, etc :)