My wife and I are moving, as of February 2019. Our new home will be in Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. area.
Some of you have followed the saga of our house selling, which I won’t reprise here. For now I can just say we have a closing date in a couple of weeks; immediately following that meeting, Ceredwyn and I will hit the road.
This is an enormous change for us. My family has been homesteading in a very rural Vermont location since 2004. We’ve heated with firewood, obtained our water from a well, made maple syrup from our trees, raised many animals and plants, helped build a rural internet network, and had to drive a distance to take care of mail, trash, and recycling. We’ve actively participated in town governance and my wife became a star EMT. The house has no visible neighbors, being immersed in a mountainside forest. Winter lasts about six months of the year.
Moving to an urban-suburban area that’s the capital of the world’s superpower is…. quite the contrast.
To be honest, I’m a bit daunted by the prospect. Having actual broadband and cell phone access should change our lives in a variety of ways. Gaining ready access to two (2) major airports, extensive rail service, a panoply of services and stores, and a large, diverse population: it’s a different world. The transition may be a shock and/or delight. As a futurist my immediate environment will provide all kinds of fodder for analysis.
Professionally, some things will change, while others will not. My new book is still on schedule, irrespective of my ZIP code. Since my digital work lives online, it doesn’t matter where I am, and all of the digital projects will simply keep going… except for the major change of actually having broadband, which should increase my multimedia output. Our consulting business is almost completely independent of geography, but we do have to handle some backend transition of changing addresses, taxes, etc.
I travel extensively in this work, and will keep on doing so, so having better access to better transportation infrastructure means my trips will tend to be less expensive and shorter in duration. That will be good news for my clients as well as my sanity. Speaking of travel, it will be much easier to work with certain clients in the DC area, including Georgetown, where I will be teaching part time.
We will miss Vermont terribly. As we prepare we are trying to remember every single thing we can: the trees, the bears, the people, the sound of a single icicle dropping into a snowbank. I am taking photos to add to the hundreds I’ve published to Flickr so far.
We are very, very excited about the move. For now, we’re hip-deep in the thousand inherent problems: packing the last relics of our lives, since 95%+ is already in storage; figuring out new tax policies; planning where to put stuff in the new house; negotiating with the home buyer; endless paperwork; etc. Taking care of all of that is hugely stressful. On top of that is uprooting ourselves from a home of nearly two decades. But it’s a good move, a forward motion. Progress.
I might blog further about the move, if folks are interested.
Warmest congratulations to you and your family Bryan. I will be interested to hear more about the move itself and your experience with the transition. Selfishly, I hope it will mean the chance to see you in person more frequently! With all my best wishes – Roger
Thank you, Roger.
I will have to get used to training up to NYC.
Congratulations! Maybe I’ll see you when we visit D.C.
Congrats! It sounds like the beginning of a brilliant new chapter!
Great, I will be traveling in that area this spring. Hope to meet you in person.
Let us know!
Good luck, Bryan.
Congratulations! And you will soon enjoy a wider variety of food while you are amused by mid-Atlanticers’ panic at the sight of a 1/2″ of snow.
Good point about the food.
I’m already gobsmacked by the sheer number of groceries within a few minutes’ drive.
Who knows? Maybe someday you’ll be able to move back. I have the feeling that this is your true home of the heart, even if life and work require other journeys and explorations.
Maybe. I hope Vermont figures it out.
Congratulations. At long last. I gather you will actually be in Virginia (not DC itself). Nothern Virginia is not a small area, so whereabouts?
Far be it from me to say this place is a back-water of any kind but (just to tease) you might not be aware that today, terrorized by the cold and some icy-rain and snow yesterday, much of this area’s schools and many institutions shut down. Not enough localities will pay to make the roads safe to drive even under the “catastrophic” event of a mild snow and ice event and cold.
There Vermont does have us beat.
Ellen
I will try to be polite about the weather.
And in Manassas.
It must have been a difficult decision. Vermont will be the poorer for your absence.
Indeed to the former, and thank you for the latter.
Bryan, I will miss your axe weilding photos and metaphors. Good luck in the move and the transition into a very different community.
Vivian
Thank you, Vivian. I will bring the axes and figure out how to use them.
(A sentence which looks more ominous on the screen than it did in my mind)
All best wishes for a successful move; change is challenging, as you well know. You’ve somewhat inverted the usual journey (urban career to rural retirement) but so like you to reflect the future. You know where we are in NoVA, so don’t be a stranger, as they say!
It’ll be great to see you.
We’ll miss you! (I did EdTech for Marlboro College for the last 10yrs and live in Brattleboro, VT). We live right in town, which is very walkable and convenient, but we have been constantly torn about homesteading 5 miles out or so on some woods! And jobs are few and far between here.
That lack of jobs is a killer, isn’t it?
Bryan,
You are a truly brave futurist. Yes, please keep blogging on this topic as it is one of the few that I understand!
What a hero journey you are on!
Love from Sandy and Peter in Eugene, Oregon
Thank you (two).
Congrats on the decision. DC is amazing in so many cool ways. Will miss having you nearby even if we rarely saw each other.
You’re very kind, Jessamyn.
Bryan — I’m going to be in DC area several days per week for the next few years! How happy I would be to see you more often.
How fortuitous!
Let me know where you are landing, and I may be able to assist with further integration into the George Mason University community (of scholars and other) and other Northern Virginia stuff.
Michael
Very interesting idea, Michael. Thank you!
write/call me when you want: mgalvin@gmu.edu/571-245-4410
Thank you, Michael.
Ooh, Bryan! How exciting! All the best! And don’t forget the ironing board…I have lost three ironing boards in moves. Where DO they go?
We’ll get your Reclaim Video membership card printed in short order!
How far away are you?
Depending on where in DC you land and how traffic on 95 is feeling it can be an hour or so to Fredericksburg. Would love to see you and catch up at some point, safe travels!
Personally, I’m excited to have you closer. Perhaps we’ll see each other slightly more often. I’m in the area quite often. It’s a very quick train ride.
Congrats! What an exciting transition.
Welcome to Ol’ Virginny. Yes, we panic at the least amount of snow. But it will be amusing. You’ll also find ethnic food in every strip-mall of NoVA that is world-class.
That last part has been surprising me during my visits.
What a big change! I’ll miss homesteading vicariously through your posts but I’m sure this new stage in the adventure of life will bring you much to share as well. Best wishes to the both of you on the move!
Best wishes to you – we once lived in Burlington to work at the University of Vermont and we enjoyed our time there, learning how to ski, playing in snow, wearing silk long underwear (top AND bottom) 24 hours a day for at least three months straight, and wondering why our condo complex even had a pool when the only day you could use it was July 4. I had some employees who were rural, with no electricity and no Internet… surely you could retire back there one day and resume your beloved lifestyle! For now you can go back for visits!
I second the welcome to Virginia! The nice thing about New England is that you can still visit…but winter is much much shorter down here!
Darn. And Yea! We’ll miss you here in the 802, but absolutely understand. It’s going to continue to be a great adventure, eh? We wish you the best…
We’ll miss you all.
Bryan…while we will miss you Up North – this sounds like a great move for you, your family, and your students. Congratulations on this next big chapter.
Bryan,
I guess you won’t exactly be missing all the snow predicted for year ;)! I believe your kind heart and friendships made, over the years, warmed up countless Vermontarians! ( I’m not sure if this is correct). Surely, when that blizzard snow arrives next year and unexpectedly melts the snow quickly away, it will most likely mean that you’d been warmly thinking of your friends up there and maybe sometimes those of us who adore you like me here in Connecticut.
Come to think of it, you really aren’t that far away from Connecticut after-all!
Wishing you Safe Travels and Blessings for a Wonderful new Beginning !
Roxann
I’ll always think warmly of you all, and hope to visit.
Thank you all for the kind words. They mean a lot.
Bryan,
I moved my family to Virginia a year and a half ago from California and we love it. You will love high speed internet that is reliable as well as the beauty of Virginia, and its close by neighbors Maryland and West Virginia.
Best wishes!
Hey, you won’t be too far away.
Congratulations!
I hope the change brings you peace of mind and happiness!
Cheers to the next chapter (and congrats on selling the place)! All the best for you, Ceredwyn, and the cat!
Congrats. Bryan on the move! You will need a pair of shorts for the warm summers in the DC area! Cheers!
Bryan,
I don’t think Ripton will be the same without you. And, a part of me wonders how you will survive without all of Vermont’s creature discomforts. I will miss you, though we’ve not seen each other in a few months. And I want to take this moment to thank you for all the advice and help you’ve given me over the years (in my last life; a new one is underway as you may know) and, on occasion, to the kids I worked with. Please stay in touch. Drop me an email when you think of it to let me know where you’ll be living. I do plan to be in the area in the not too distant future and hope that I will be coming down on a regularly irregular basis should my proposal bear fruit.
Be well, friend. I will continue to connect with you here and elsewhere. My best to your family.
gg
You’re very kind, Geoff. I suspect some of Vermont will heave a sigh of relief when I go, and others won’t notice.
Thank you for the kind words. You’ve always been a delight to bounce ideas around with. Do visit us.
Thanks, Bryan. I will visit you. Keep in touch.
https://geoffreygevalt.com is my new enterprise.
be well and good luck with the boxes and the cats and the trip south.
Sorry to hear that you are leaving our beautiful Ripton, and lovely Pearl Lee Road. 🙁
Will miss seeing you drive by and your smart presence in the community.
May the DC area gain Ripton’s loss.
Enjoy your new life and adventures.
Will look forward to hearing all about them in future blogs.
All the best to you and Ceredwyn!
your former neighbor
You are very kind, Mary. Thank you!
If it’s not too personal, can I ask the name of the cohousing place in Manassas? I’m not finding any online. We are currently planning to re-locate to Frederick MD, so I have been following your saga!
Happy Birthday and best wishes on the move.