She's leaving home

I didn't realize that it's been almost 2 years since I posted my thoughts here. So much has happened. The upshot of it all is that this will be my last semester here and when I complete my school responsibilities mid-June, I'm leaving New York once again and probably forever.


This wasn't a decision that I had to struggle through to make. I woke up one day and knew it was time to go. The city is pushing me out. It's not a place for a single woman who lives alone and works in a field that doesn't pay enough to afford life here. I have a job I love, so leaving is not going to be easy but the cost of living, of my apartment measured against my salary, proves with each paycheck that I'm not going to make it.


I've decided that I'll blog about this and see if it will help me make the many decisions that I still need to make. I've decided to move to Portland, Oregon. I haven't been there in many years, but I know it's beautiful, has lots of water in the form of rivers and not far from the ocean, the sky is blue, when it's not raining, and there's a lot of green everywhere. I'm looking for a healthier life, an easier life and yes, to be closer to nature. I will also be closer to my best friend, one of my brothers, a lot of cousins and much closer to my mom. I think it's the right thing to do.


I came to New York City in April of 1982. I had just separated from my husband of less than a year and divorce was the only option. My best friend, Lisa, had moved here six months earlier and I came to visit her. I never left. Back in 1982 I was still fearless and once deciding to stay, I hit the pavement looking for work. In those days, one could still personally deliver resumes to companies and if patient, could probably speak to someone that day.


Having been in the music business at that point, my last job being the manager of a recording studio, I went to all of the recording studios and introduced myself, dropped my resume and didn't sit and wait for calls. I walked my feet to the bone and while I didn't get any of the jobs I went out for, it was 1982 and the music business was at a low point, I did get a job working at a major talent agency. I was employed, money would be coming in, I was official.


I got very lucky and after crashing on some friend's couches, I was able to sublet a studio apartment from one of my bosses, also a friend, and lived there for $250 a month for seven years until which time I needed to leave NYC and did for a year and a half. I left again in 1993 for 4 1/2 years to live in Vermont and I've been back 12 years and now I am leaving again. So, out of the 28 years since I came here I've lived here 22. Each time I left I knew I would be back, but not this time. This time may be it.


More thoughts on living and leaving NYC next time.