Hi, sweet friends! Reporting to you live on January 10th, which means two things: its officially been one year since I moved to Austin and as of 6pm/EST today on the 10th, I’m officially no longer an Austin resident. There’s so much to come as I think about 2023 but I can’t really talk about going forward without going back for just a bit. So if you’re new around, here’s a peak into the past year of life.
As most of you remember, my four month Austin apartment hunting journey came to a successful end a few days before Christmas 2021 and I finally started the long awaited move early January after a three month stint in Charleston. Although I eventually started building a life there with a cool apartment (I already miss you, awesome roof deck), meeting new people and settling into the start of a rough season with my previous job, I knew by summer that Austin wouldn’t be home for long. Don’t get me wrong – the city is kinda cool, especially compared to TX as a whole. But for me, it wasn’t in line with want I wanted and I actively tried to convince myself that I was 110% okay with sticking it out for 2ish years considering all it took for me to get there (the move, the stress, a new job industry, etc). However, later in the year I realized I really wanted to switch jobs which could potentially mean another move…again. Life is so…funny.
Before all of this, in the spring, I started my final semester of grad school. As I never expected to work on my masters degree during a global pandemic, I couldn’t have been more excited to finally cross the finish line after a challenging Fall semester of class, work, move prep, etc. Unfortunately, just as the 8W2 session was starting, I unexpected lost my dad. I talked about this briefly on Instagram stories but as expected, that tragedy rocked my world. I eventually failed my most important class of graduate school which meant retaking the class was my only way to turn the green tassel.
At this time, I was entering my first Austin summer which was #1 unbelievably hot (like 105+ degrees everyday for 8 weeks in a row and 10-12 weeks without rain) and #2 the perfect time to make friends. Knowing that I had a pending busy Fall ahead, I set my sights on being really intentional about making new friends. I spent about 2 weeks making a plan (yes, I made an action plan to make friends – bless) before Memorial Day to make 5 new friends that summer. For the next 6 weeks, I spent a set amount of time a day focused on making friends which meant:
- posting my first intro and responding to gals whose commenting in the Girls New to Austin Facebook group
- reading through 5-10 bios a day and commenting on the posts of people I wanted to meet^^
- reaching out to friends who had a sister, cousin, aunt, ex-wife, dad’s cousin husbands step-daughter in the city
- making 1-2 sets of plans of week that ranged from estate sales to coffee dates to city walks to brunch reservations to flower arranging classes to cocktail nights
- spreading the word in my book club Facebook group and Instagram stories that I was looking to meet new people in the city
- going to events and classes to find like minded people (bookshops, 1/2 price wine bottle nights, new nail salons, pilates classes, etc.)
- hosting dinner parties and casual nights at my house and telling friends to invite a friend
Luckily, I met a few great people through these efforts and even when my busy Fall started, was able to hang out with said new friends and explore the city more than I ever could have on my own. My best advice for those wanting to make new friends in your city is to literally try everything. All the activities you enjoy individually and would want someone to join in you doing, go do those things alone and talk to as many as you can. If you are already part of a book club or church small group or neighborhood chat, invite people along. Post the estate sale you are going to that day and ask if someone wants to join. Grab an extra ticket to that wine tasting and offer it up to someone in your bookclub. Get to your work class early and pick a prime spot where everyone will have to fill in around you or if you show up and there’s already a ton of people, pick a spot near the people who chat the most. In my yoga class, our instructor always invited us to meet the person next to us which was helpful to break the ice. The key was really consistently putting myself out there and still trying even when some new friend dates didn’t work out well.
Fast forward to now: my final semester of grad school is complete and I’m officially a graduate; I’ve started the new job; am 90% through the move to Charlotte; wrapped my two year service on a council and am seriously wondering…what’s next?
Now that I’m no longer having 50+ hour work weeks and attending study groups and planning several moves and everything else under the sun, I actually have time to get back to some things I love:
- Creating content! I’ve been on the longest hiatus but will now be back in NC with one of my fav photographers and a few more people to help me. What a dream!
- Actually having a routine that includes sleeping 8-9 hours a night and not being on Slack on 7am (praise be!)
- Finding new pilates, barre and yoga studios not to just stay fit but to meet new people and have an excuse to explore different neighborhoods
- Traveling! One of my favorite things about NC is the ability to go to the beach and mountains and city and open land all within a few hours. I already have a few trips to Asheville planned in the spring, beach in the summer and my first international trip to Paris in the Fall with one of my best friends from college
- Decorating the new house! I haven’t shared much about the new space yet but I am actually moving into a bigger space. That was not always the plan considering I don’t dream of cleaning all the time but I am moving into a space where I’ll have a guest bedroom to design in hopes of hosting more people and a dinning room that will soon be filled with food & fun over dinner parties
- Nurturing, growing and better planning the #LotsofBooksClub which has been my pride and joy over the past 2.5 years
- and whatever else I want! This is the first time in a long time where I haven’t been in school (was in college for five years then grad school for three calendar years) and can have a more balanced life
Outside of those, I would love to eventually get back into community college teaching and/or join a local council or board as dedicated way of giving back and supporting the local Charlotte community. But right now, I’m enjoying the copious amount of free time and living a life filled with more sleep and relaxation.
With the new year here, what’s next for y’all? Exciting plans on the horizon or a season of a rest? Whatever it is, I would love to hear! Let me know in the comments 💜 xoxo, Azanique!
