At the end of 2018, my husband and I left our hometown of Greenville, SC and moved to the Bay Area of California. Here are some of the lessons I've learned in the last year and a half. 

A LOT OF THINGS ARE THE SAME

I thought that everything would be completely different when I moved to CA, but really, every day life in CA is pretty much the same as it was in CA. People told me to expect a “culture shock,” but I didn’t really experience that at all.

THE STEREOTYPES AREN’T TRUE

In the south, Californians are often referred to as “crazy Californians” or “tree huggers” or “crazy hippies.” The truth is, there are crazy people in California just like there are crazy people in South Carolina. I think a lot of our stereotypes just come from a lack of understanding.

DIVERSITY IS BEAUTIFUL

One thing I didn’t realize about SC until moving to the Bay Area is that a lot of places are honestly still pretty segregated. I don’t think it’s intentional (I like to believe the best about people), but it’s still kind of surprising. In the Bay Area, everywhere I go I’ll see all kinds of different people. But back in SC, I’ll often go into a restaurant or a grocery store and only white people.

I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN

I think moving, meeting new people, hearing different perspectives, and just being brought to the end of myself after leaving everything behind, I realized that I had a lot of arrogance and pride in my heart. The truth is, I don’t know that much at all, but I was living like I was right about everything. That’s somewhere I never want to be. I’ve learned to listen, and I want to keep learning to do that better.

GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF ME ANYWHERE

Back home, if Matt and I encountered a problem, we would call our parents and ask them to help us figure it out. But in CA, we had to wrestle with problems on our own. Sure, we could have called our parents, but with the time difference it made it harder, and I don’t think that would have been the healthiest thing anyway. We had to lean on each other and on God and over and over He’s provided for us. I don’t have to be afraid of new places or new experiences, because He’ll always be with me.

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