To Do List: Part 2

Relocation is another goal on the TO DO list and it’s time for that to go under the microscope to see what’s fueling the need to move.

The weather is right up there, probably taking the top 3 spots of reasons why! Humans aren’t meant to function at -40. Or 100F for that matter. How about a nice, middle of the road 50 – 80F? Shoveling is the bane of my existence and commuting in a blizzard feels a bit like having razor blades taped to the inside of your eyelids.

Medical expenses are ridiculous, not to mention the cost of living in Illinois.

I hate big cities. The honking. Yelling. Road rage. Pedestrians. Cabs. General mayhem. Constant bloody noise!

Would the weather be doable if I wasn’t commuting 2 hours a day, rain or shine? Maybe. I’ve never not had to commute since living here so currently I have no frame of reference for what not commuting would look like.

How about finding a job in the burbs instead of the city? That would probably make a huge difference to commuting, not to mention the cost savings of not taking the train twice a day.

Cost of living will be the same if I stay in IL, as will medical expenses if I stay in the US. To change either of those, I’d need to relocate out of state or out of the country and we’ve already had a huge NO on the out of the country option. For now. I’m not conceding defeat on that point just yet. So it takes me another year to get it done. Fine. The time will pass anyway.

Changing the weather will mean getting out of IL, plain and simple.

An immediate solution would be finding a job out of the city and removing my commute/big city irritations out of the equation then reassessing before moving out of state lock, stock and barrel.

Relocating isn’t a cheap hobby so if I can still pull off a move to Scotland, then I won’t waste money relocating stateside. If, heaven forbid, a year from now Scotland is still a no, then I’ll have a doable Location B picked out with a pile of research to back it up.

Next!

Author: MacScottie

I'm a South African-born American who dabbles in writing, photography and cookery. I lived in England for 6 years before moving to America. My first trip to Scotland was in 2003 and it was love at first sight. 4 trips later & I'm now on a quest to find a way back to my soul-home in Scotland. I've picked up favourite foods in each place I've lived so I'm a product of all the places I've been. A sprinkling of this, a dash of that and in an emergency, a generous splash of Scotch! View all posts by MacScottie