moved
captionJordan CharbonneauMy husband and I built an off-grid cabin 10 years ago, and haven't looked back since.We've learned a lot through years of experience, but we made some mistakes when we first moved here.We should've calculated our electricity usage ahead of time and invested in a quality stove.In the 10…
Before I moved into my tiny house four and a half years ago, I was accustomed to living minimally as a semi-nomadic travel writer for 25 years. But building — and then moving into — my tiny house really awakened my inner minimalist.To me, minimalism isn’t really about stuff. It’s…
My family and I had been in Tanzania for two days and found ourselves in Zanzibar. We had just moved from Texas and came to the beautiful archipelago for language learning. Quickly, we realized that we had no idea what it would be like to adapt to a new culture.It…
A year and a half ago, my wife and I decided it was time to leave Savannah, Georgia, after living there for two years, and return to the Midwest. While the decision initially felt right, I entered months of self-doubt and indecisiveness. In retrospect, it’s obvious to me that my…
Last summer, after a devastating house fire that left them homeless, our son, pregnant daughter-in-law, and 4-year-old grandson moved in with me and my husband. Considering their circumstances, it seemed like the most sensible option until they could rebuild. Still, we all felt pretty apprehensive heading into this living arrangement.For…
When my uncle died suddenly after 35 years of marriage, the loss was earth-shattering. My aunt and uncle had one of those rare, lifelong love stories: they met, fell in love instantly, and were engaged within six weeks. They created a life together in the Seattle area and eventually built…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 45-year-old Alison Brewerton, Founder of Mama Strength Pilates. It has been edited for length and clarity.In 2016, I found out I was pregnant. At the time, I was near London with my boyfriend in an apartment I had bought in my…
Eleven years ago, I left Nashville’s music industry scene for a suburb just outside Columbia, MD. At the time, I thought trading one community for another would be simple — the stability of suburban life between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and only a few hours from New York City, perfect…
I was born and raised in Canada, but I’ve always dreamed of moving abroad.When I closed my eyes and imagined my life in another country, I typically pictured myself settling somewhere like Paris or Mexico City, two places I’d fallen in love with during travels in my early 20s.However, those…
This essay is based on a conversation with Frances Schultz, an American artist and writer in her mid-60s who lived in the Hamptons and now owns a house in the Cotswolds. It has been edited for length and clarity. I moved to the Hamptons, in spite of it being the…
