Americans are known for moving when the opportunity presents itself. We have had great generational migrations from one part of the United States to other even though we may have loved where we were originally from.
There are many of us born in cities that are fabulous, but then, those cities change over time due to: leadership, loss of population, growth of population, or even natural disasters.
Last week I went on a rant about how Equality and American Style Capitalism cannot coexist. At the heart of my rant was really a genuine concern about the quality of life that people are living in this country and my concern that not everyone has immediate access to the kind of calm and dream like lifestyle that I’ve seen in some of the nicest cities and towns in the United States.
There is a moment though where you have to define what your quality of life is going to be and make an honest assessment as to whether or not the city that you live in is at the heart of why your American dream is not happening.
Define Your American Dream-Than GO FOR IT!
As I travel in Australia I have found myself amazed at how similar my lifestyle is to the ones that I see in Australia.
What’s My Lifestyle?
- I enjoy going bike riding every week
- I like to go hiking every couple of weeks or so
- I love sports and enjoy going to sporting events: Nuggets, Broncos, etc.
- I LOVE the Theater and go on a monthly basis and have seen: Book of Mormon, Lord of the Flies, and the list goes on in the past couple of years.
- I love to travel-Am on a trip now.
- I love hanging out in the mountains
- Coffee is my drug, so a good coffee shop is a must and I go often.
The point I’m making is there is a moment when you have to create the life that you want and fight against the external factors that are keeping you from what dream of for yourself. The city that I live in now obviously is meeting a huge percentage of what I’ve stated my needs to be for a good quality of life.
Write Down Your American Dream
By now you know that I am a huge believer in manifesting what you want. I can’t stress it enough that I probably wouldn’t have done most of the things that I’ve done in life without writing down what I want and creating a vision board so that I could see what I wanted on a daily basis. Then, I made micro-adjustments along the way as life happened.
Dig Deep, Stay Focus, and Sacrifice
You will have to dig deep, stay focused, and sacrifice to get the life that you want if you don’t have a lot of resources (money) Maybe you live in a bad neighborhood and want to move to a safer area. You may consider moving in with a nice relative (and paying rent) for a short period of time in order to save money and create a plan to get to where you want to be.
Maybe you love big cities and are from a small town. You should think about what your life will be like in that big city and save like crazy. But, if an opportunity presents itself to go and you end up living with 15 people in an apartment-GO! You will be super freaking motivated to work hard to get out of that space. Those moments are when things come together.
Don’t Let Other People Define Your Dream
Some people will wonder why you aren’t happy with the life that you’re currently living…especially if they are living in a similar way. If you buckle and let them define your dream, then you weren’t ready to do what needed to be done to make your life happen.
Look at Your City-Closely
- If your city has one industry-that’s probably a scary city to live in even if your family is there because if that city’s main industry hits a speed bump-you’re in trouble.
- Is the city too big-A city that is really large offers both opportunities and pitfalls. Business opportunities usually are everywhere…but so are other people who will be competing against you for the same opportunities. Housing is usually expensive in those cities, and things like childcare, etc. also are more expensive. So, if you want a large city focus on how to balance those issues.
- Is the city too small? Small cities are tricky because they offer a wonderful quality of life but business opportunities may be difficult to discover if the town is too small. Is there a need that no one has addressed that would create an opportunity for you if you’re considering moving to a small town?
- Is Your City Segregated? I say this with all seriousness. For some people in order to get access to opportunities they will have to move to a more integrated or diverse population. Especially if the town you’re in has a history of blocking access to resources. Don’t stay and take that crap if it’s affecting your ability to live your best life!
Be honest about what you want. You may find that the city is fine and that the real issue is addressing how you’re living in your city so that you can have your best life.
Don’t Pay Too Much For Your Dream!
This one is the most important piece of advice I can give you. Rock your money. The less you have to pay for your dream the better your dream will be for you. I’m not talking being cheap, I’m saying that in every way you can cut your expenses: DO. Just, do it with thought and deliberation. People decide to move to an expensive new city but don’t look at every single way to economize their money. That doesn’t make sense because they end up spending more than they probably should and end up back where they started. Or, people will move to a small town and be amazed at the prices and buy the biggest house in the country (annoying the people) and spending more money than they probably should if they want to fit in.
If you find that the city is your problem, then it’s time to make a decision about moving on. And yes, I have throughout the years done this assessment about Colorado. I did one last year and this time when I did my assessment I felt that my issue was how I was living my life versus the actual city that I was living in.
Have You Moved To A Different Place So That You Can Live The Life You Envisioned For Yourself? What went into making that decision? Was it a good one for you?
Latest posts by Michelle (see all)
- How Work Policies Against Black Women Birthed a Love of the Soft Life - 20 March, 2024
- How Taylor Swift’s IP Victory Could Change the Business of Music - 28 February, 2024
- Why Don’t More Personal Finance Content Creators Talk About Policy - 16 January, 2024
ooooh, I have so much to say on this topic but I have to get to work! Thank you for mentioning segregation as a real opportunity problem in many places.
It just popped in my head! Looking forward to your comments later!
Yeah I think you have to assess a lot of things where you live. While it may offer a great lifestyle, jobs may be an issue, aw well as cost of living, Just like anything you have to weigh the pros and cons.
I think that from time to time you have to take some time to make sure that you’re in the right place. I think that the answer would surprise some people.
I also thank you for mentioning segregation. It’s real, especially in Philly where I used to live. The division is clear as day North and South.
I’m struggling with defining my American dream lately. Sometimes I fall victim to your point on letting others define my dream. I always say I want to live internationally, but I’m wondering if that’s my dream or others influencing my dream. As far as paying too much for the dream? I’m paying WAY to much living in D.C. Decisions, decisions.
Aren’t you married? Have you and your husband talked about what your dream would be? I at this point have stopped giving a sh$t about what others think so it’s a really freeing process. The problem is that I have of course my own ideas about how I should be living. Thankfully, I’m living a good life I just needed to make some big shifts: quit my job!! I’be been to Philly by the way and I noticed it. People who visit other cities do notice these things. I went to St. Louis twice in 2013 and noticed it too-was completely unsurprised by the riots. Washington is GREAT-but, it is expensive.
Congrats on quitting your job! You’re totally right I need to stop feeding into the bull. My husband and I are undecided, we like D.C. but it may be unrealistic to stay here. Picking up and moving somewhere else is also difficult. We’re in limbo. Hate being in limbo.
Maybe you need to make a list of qualities in a city you have to have then go on a road trip and discover which city “talks” to you the most? Yeah, at the end I was really hating my job 🙂 It was a huge drag on other parts of my life!
My city is actually pretty great. It’s often at the top of the best places to live in Canada lists. But, I’d like a city that had warmer winters and cooler summers… Now that’s a dream!
I love my city and it also is consistently ranked pretty high for best places to live. Umm, isn’t your city one of the best places in the WORLD to live? Don’t be shy!
Location is near the very top of the list of items to consider when making your life the one you dream of. For us, that means a small town with acreage out in the country so that we have the space to spread out and pursue a multitude of hobbies. But to get to that goal, we currently work the big city to earn the salary that will afford us that opportunity. The good news is that our big city experience will help us to appreciate the small town even more. I can’t wait for that day!
It’s all about location! I love where I live but would also like a small mountain retreat (aiming big). This isn’t unusual as people here like to spend time in the mountains and relax. I get the idea that you will have a huge garden and cute little animals!! And you’re right, your city experience will make living in the country even sweeter.
I relocated from Orlando to Seattle specifically for a job 2 years ago. It’s like the Gold Rush repeating itself – no one is really from here and everyone has moved here for work. Salaries are crazy high! With that being said, I miss all my family and friends on the East Coast and will probably relocate in the next year. I won’t be going back to FL – there just isn’t enough jobs and salaries are too low. It’s been fun getting out my comfort zone and figuring out who I am and what I want 🙂
Seattle is definitely bustling! Denver is the same, there are so many people moving here and it’s hilarious when people meet me and find out that I am really from Colorado! I lucked out. So, I usually end up going overseas for awhile (like I am now) and am always happy to return home. It will be interesting to see what you end up doing next. Good luck and keep us posted!
My husband and I often talk about moving to a foreign country for this very reason. There just seem to be a lot of places where making our dreams a reality would be easier and more enjoyable. We love to travel, too, so moving abroad has never been out of the picture!
I’ve though of living abroad for a shorter period of time as I know I would miss the States in all its crazy glory. I feel like I have a good balance going on now where I leave Colorado from time to time and come back. It’s pretty great because sometimes I feel like I won the lottery!
I moved from a mid-sized town in Kentucky, where we owned a house and had “safe” jobs, to Los Angeles, where we pay a ton just to rent an apartment and the legal field is insanely saturated. We moved because we never really fit in in Kentucky and wanted to be somewhere with better weather and more opportunity to do different things like hike or go to a museum. But lately we’ve been considering moving to a smaller town in SoCal where housing is more reasonable. We could still have the lifestyle that’s important to us and maybe even afford a home of our own.
You make a very important point about fitting in comfortably where you’re from. I’ve known several people who were originally from big towns but were really more at home in small towns. I’ve also known people who were from small towns and never fit in and had to leave. Good luck on the house hunt!