Thank you GEICO for sponsoring this post.
2018 is a big year of changes in my life. For starters, after 8 years of dating, my boyfriend proposed to me just after midnight on January 1st. His proposal may have included a self-made fireworks display with the words, “Marry me, Vicky” spelled out, which made it worth the 8 year wait!
Naturally, I said yes. Big change number 1 – I’ve gone from having a boyfriend for almost a decade to having a fiancé, and soon to be husband, as we’ll be married this fall. The sooner the better, in my opinion, because calling someone your fiancé always feels a bit strange.
The next big change is that we’re finally hanging up our travel backpacks after almost 6 years of gallivanting around the globe. We set off on a 2 year trip around the world in September of 2012 and somehow haven’t found ourselves settling down just yet. Now is the time though.
While we still love travel, we have grown a bit weary of it. Trying to balance both online work – building up two businesses, while traveling is a fine balancing act. Work life balance gets to be quite muddled, and we’re at the point in our lives now where we do want to have our own couch to lounge on, with my own food processor and high powered blender waiting for me in the kitchen (so that I can make my vegan caramel cheesecake at any time).
While the world of apartment rentals in exotic destinations has grown to be quite diverse, nothing beats having your own home to go back to with all your neatly organized belongings and mementos. We’ve just been craving that space more and more lately and have made the decision to move to Philadelphia.
Why Philly?
Yes, that seems to be the question that EVERYONE asks us.
Well, we’ve lived in Boston and DC before, are partial to the North East because our families are in driving distance, and don’t want the craziness of New York right in our faces daily. So Philadelphia will be our new home for at least a year because we’ll finally be signing a proper lease; something we have not done since 2010.
We’ll also be getting a car – which I’ll be needing for all my grocery runs! All of these exciting changes naturally come with a bit of additional admin work – sorting out the leasing details, getting a new driver’s license, getting insurance etc. Luckily we have our prior experiences in Washington DC to pull from – like using GEICO for our car insurance. It’s best to go with what you know. GEICO didn’t let us down those 2 years we had a car in Washington DC, and they have amazing commercials, so why try someone new, when you already have a reliable brand to go with? And as I just found out the GEICO Insurance Agency can help us with renters insurance (and get a discount on the car insurance then), so win, win.
We’ll have to think about things that haven’t even crossed our minds in years, i.e. saving money on gas, house cleaning tips and tricks, setting up cable internet, paying fixed bills monthly, etc., but I know it will all be worth it for this new chapter in our lives. GEICO is a resource beyond Insurance.
Overall 2018 will be a year of changes for us. We could not be more excited about what this year has in store for us and while moving into an apartment and buying furniture might be the mundane for some of our peers, for us it marks the start of a new adventure, just one that is not travel focused.
Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states, in all GEICO companies, or in all situations. Homeowners, renters and condo coverages are written through non-affiliated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Susan Williams says
Nice Post!
It was really inspiring to hear your story.
All the best for the future 🙂
Vicky says
Thanks so much!