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I’ve known I was going to write this post for about a month now, but kept putting it off. Not because I’m not excited, but because it is kind of a long story and I knew it would take me forever. I wanted to do it right. I’ll get into the details below, but the headline is WE ARE MOVING TO LOS ANGELES. We are driving away from Dallas on September 25th and Nick starts his new job September 30th. To learn more about the why behind this move, keep reading!

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Los Angeles Shirt | LA Dodgers Hat | Madewell Vintage Jeans | Cariuma Sneakers

Though Nick got his job offer about a month ago and we WEREN’T planning this move by any means. Looking back now, we can see God working and opening and closing doors for us to get to this one. I’ll touch on those at the end, as they wouldn’t really make sense yet. To begin, let’s go back to July.

On July 3rd I unexpectedly lost my job. This is the first time I’ve publicly stated this here on the blog, though if you subscribe to my Women in the Workplace newsletter, (I send it out once a month) you already knew. It honestly was pretty traumatizing, but I know it happens more than people realize, so I do plan on writing more about it, just not yet. Anyway, the very next day (July 4th), we already had a planned vacation to Los Angeles to hang out with our friends for 4th of July. It was nice to get away so quickly after thew news, but it also delayed my processing of what happened. Another story for another day! We were in LA for a pretty long time! Thursday-Friday! We have friends who live there, as well as Nick’s little sister, so we were able to stay for free, which is why we were able to plan such a long trip. While we were there, we had the best time! It was funny because Nick and I both mentioned that we never once felt like “oh I’m ready to go home” like we normally do towards the end of a vacation. Sure the last day I wanted my own bed, but that was more-so brought on by the fact that our flight was cancelled and we had to wait until the next day to fly, so it was a long ordeal. Before that , I had only been to LA twice - once to drive through to get to Laguna Beach and the second time it was for basically a combined 24 hours on the way into Santa Barbara and on the way back from Paso Robles.

ANYWAY, after our 4th of July trip, we were joking about moving to LA because we enjoyed it so much, but also because there’s so much opportunity in my field there. Plusssss Nick is in tech, so he can basically get a job anywhere. When we came back, I started updating my resume and began applying to jobs. I was for sure applying to jobs in Dallas, but began looking outside of Dallas as well. Turns out I had more interest coming in from the California market than I had in Dallas, and we weren’t even planning to move yet!

Fast forward to a month later - actually a month after I was let go! August 3rd, and I decided to tag along to Nick’s work trip to San Francisco. August 3rd was my birthday, so it made for a fun time, but I also planned some interviews while I was there! Nick was with a client in SF, but he can work remotely, so we extended the trip to be the whole week, and spent Thursday - Sunday in Los Angeles. During this time I also scheduled interviews…but this time so did Nick! Nick ended up getting an on the spot job offer and it was too good for us not to take it. Spoiler alert, I still don’t have a job, but we are confident that I can find something once we arrive. A lot of companies I spoke with don’t want to discuss a contract or anything until you actually live in LA. I can 100% understand why too, because I’m sure people end up not actually moving, plus they’d probably have to pay moving expenses, etc.

So there you have it! That’s the story. Like I said it wasn’t something we were planning. We felt called to the city and are answering the call. The Bible verse we keep going back to is Luke 11:9. “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” We were literally like Hey God, this could be cool, and it was a domino effect from there. It has been CRAZY how things have just lined up in our favor and how quickly it has all happened. When speaking with our church home group, one of them mentioned that all throughout the Bible, God calls people to cities and that is 100% what happened to us. I get chills even typing that.

Looking back here are some things that now make more sense now:

2018 - We had a failed partnership that was super painful. Though it hurt and still does, if we were still a part of it, we wouldn’t be able to move. Side note - when it was really bad, I joked with Nick about packing up and moving to San Francisco. That’s where we always initially talked about moving if we were going to.
February 2019 - I began heavily interviewing with places outside of Texas. Maryland and Barbados to be exact! I ended up not getting either job, but that process opened my eyes to the possibility and idea of living outside of Texas. ALSO we were heavily looking at a house and even put in an application. We ended up not getting it, which was also a blessing. It would have been a lot harder to move, had our application been accepted.
May 2019 - I left my job of 5+ years to go to a new company. If I wouldn’t have left that company already, I wouldn’t have considered other jobs and we probably wouldn’t be moving. I loved my job, my boss, and my work friends, but had just become stagnant there and I wanted to do more.
July 2019 - I was let go from the company I jumped to andddd if I hadn’t have been laid off, we wouldn’t be going to LA. At least not right now. During this month, Nick also started a new job. He left a company he was with for 7+ years. Though he will have been with this new company for only 2 months, if he hadn’t landed this job, it would have been a lot harder for him to get his new job. He gave a 5 week notice and is leaving on great terms.
August 2019 - I had been applying to jobs for a month at this point have applied to over 100 jobs without any bites. I’ve had about 10 interviews in California and none in Dallas. ZERO. Isn’t that crazy? I don’t mean it in a cocky way, but like I couldn’t even get one interview here! I almost had one, but then they ghosted me. Oh well, for the better! And of course this was the month that Nick received his new job offer that changed our lives! We are actually headed to San Diego this coming weekend for a retreat with his new company. (Though he doesn’t officially start until the end of the month.)

FAQ from people we have told already:

Where are we living: We got an apartment in Brentwood, officially this week!
Where is Nick working: His new office is in West Hollywood!
How are you getting there: Well as of right now it looks like we are going to make the long drive! We’d consider flying, but Dino has to be driven. The only way he can fly is if we buy him a $2000 plane ticket on a special cargo plane…
Why LA: Honestly we hadn’t ever considered it before all of this happened. It makes sense for the apparel industry and it is a city full of opportunity. It’s a great hub and a beautiful place. The places we typically travel to for fun are all on the west coast, so it makes sense in this aspect too!
Why are you leaving Texas though: We consider it to be a fun adventure! We don’t have any kids except the furry kind, so we decided to take the plunge. I think if we hadn’t taken the job, we would have always wondered. We have also heard great things about moving and how it can strengthen your relationship!
Is it going to be forever: We don’t know! Like I said, this wasn’t some big plan of ours. If we don’t like it, we will come back to Texas.
Will you come back to Texas? See above ;) But yes we will come back, as my immediate family is here and my extended family is in Arkansas. We’ll be around!
Are you having a good bye event: It wasn’t originally a “bye Dallas” event, but I am having an event at Follain over in Knox/Henderson on Monday 9/16 if you want to stop by! I’d love to meet you and talk clean beauty :) It’s from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

We are SO excited to move and would of course love all your recommendations of places to eat, drink, things to do, chiropractors, dog boarders, vets, churches, best close road trips, connections and all the things!! I actually already have a trip to Carmel planned and Dino is coming! Please leave a comment here or send me an email at Lauren@Lmentsofstyle.com with any recs you have! While we are stoked, we are also sad to leave. I lived in Arkansas for a summer during college, but other than that, I haven’t lived outside of Texas! My immediate family is in Dallas, so it will be super hard to leave them, but at least we are moving somewhere fun to visit. You can’t beat living 10 minutes from the beach! We are also really sad to leave our church and home group that we love. We aren’t going to LA alone though! Some of our best friends are going to be 3 blocks from our new apartment, as is Nick’s little sister! His middle sister lives in San Diego and his parents are in Sacramento, so they aren’t too far either! We are def team west coast best coast, so I can’t wait to take you on this new journey with us!