I've moved (Hikkoshi in Japanese) a lot of times in my life. Ever since college began, I've been on the move. I changed residences each year from dorm to dorm, sometimes an apartment, sometimes living in someone else's home, sometimes living in a B&B. I've lived by myself, with a roommate, with several roomates, with a whole family of people, with pets in the home, with a garage and without a garage, with big party people and with people who stayed in their rooms all the time. But always, even when I went to college in Illinois, I've been able to fall back on my home away from home, my parent's home in Camarillo, CA.
Moving can be challenging: it's a hassle to pack and unpack everything, take everything that one owns from a place and move it to the next. It's also a pain to learn everyone's house rules: have to share a garage space, have to take out the garbage, the maid comes on certain days, etc., etc. There's also the matter of security deposit, ending the lease on the previous residence, arranging to move in, etc. etc. So why do I move all the time?
1.) I love running in a new neighborhood. It doesn't matter if it's downtown LA, South Central LA near USC, downtown Philadelphia (I've lived in all those places) I always carve out a path to run and enjoy the sights and sounds of the surrounding community. I usually try to run around in a one-mile radius to scope out the area, then branch out and try to find paths.
2.) convenience to workplace- We talked about Tsuukin (commute) last time, but each area offers its own advantages: Redondo Beach allows me to use the FastTrack to downtown, living in West LA is close to everything I do (lot of dodgeball gyms), but then again living in downtown saves me the hassle of even driving anywhere, I can just walk to work. Each place offers its own little quirk and its own unique challenges. Camarillo is probably the toughest for me convenience-wise since it's so far from everything, but it's got the best weather!
3.) Changing my lifestyle- one of my worst fears is living like a rat in a cage: repeating the same day over and over again, no change. I like to feel free, create new memories, absorb new stimulus. It's like writing a book and ending a chapter and going on to the next one, knowing it'll be related and written by the same person but a change in the topic, a fresh start.
4.) I like to bond with new people. I get a little tired of people and people probably get a little tired of me, and I've noticed by the end of a year of living with someone, some of the habits and quirks get a little annoying, the things that I thought were pretty cool now just seem lame, which can be time for a change.
5.) Give housemates a chance to miss me. When living with someone every and seeing every single day, it's sometimes a little too much- meeting less often can often enhance the experience and make it seem like a special thing!
6.) I like the feeling of just packing up and go- (aka "I'm a nomad")
Thankfully, I don't need too many material possessions in my life, and haven't owned a TV for a long time. All my things usually fit in one, tops 2 trips in my Honda Accord, and I can move it all myself all in a few hours (I welcome any help though for my next move!). The heaviest things I own are probably my dumbbell set, a 40 pounder and a 35 pounder (my right arm is probably a little bigger than my left). Thankfully the places I've moved to usually have furniture like bed and lights (I've never moved into a totally new space that was just recently built). It's liberating knowing that I have the ability to go where I want to go, anytime, and I take advantage of it.
Eventually though, I know I will have to settle down, buy a house, start a family (and get some furniture of my own!) But for now I'm enjoying nomad life! Yay for still being in my twenties! (not for long!)
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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