Moving During a Pandemic
One year ago, we were blissfully taking care of last minute wedding planning. We were supposed to get married in April 2020. For obvious, contagious reasons, we were unable to do so, and moved it seven times since, landing on November 2021. I tell you this because the last year has been…I honestly don’t even have words for it. Or I have many words for it. Both and neither at the same time.
In my first blog post, I mentioned that we started our casual home search in the late summer/fall of 2020. With the wedding pushed to April 2021 (at the time), we wanted to see if we could find a place we liked and get settled before we got back into wedding planning. We didn’t want both things to back up to each other - that’s just too much for any humans - so we figured we’d look around and maybe land somewhere by January 2021.
January 2021 just ended and we ended up in Oregon. Not the original plan, but is anything ever the original plan?
Moving is one of the most stressful things anyone can do. Packing up years of belongings, all the nostalgia that goes with it, coordinating all the logistics, daydreaming about couch placement, physically moving boxes and furniture, unpacking, deciding where things should go, changing your mind and then your fiance can’t find the plates, ya know, stressful. Moving during a pandemic is another level.
Neither of us had moved out of state, nor had we ever hired movers. I’ve always been the rent-a-UHaul-ask-friends-and-family type. This time, after living in the same home for almost 14 years, and being a slight hoarder (note: I am the hoarder, J is the antithesis of a hoarder, just so we’re clear), we decided movers were the way to go. I have an entire monologue about that process that I will get into sometime soon (it has not been good), but for now, I just wanted to leave thoughts on moving during a pandemic.
Movers have a hard time finding crews right now - pandemic
Mask wearing seems to be optional for some reason with all these people - not cool
We have no idea what Medford is like and we may not ever know what it was like before. The post-pandemic Medford may be completely different and we will never know the difference.
Making new friends here is going to be really hard and take much longer because of the pandemic. It’s already so.so.hard. to make friends as adults and throw a stay at home order into the mix and we’re lone wolves.
Restaurants: open closed open closed open closed. We don’t know what’s good and what’s not, who’s just off their game because of all the changing restrictions, which beloved eateries are now gone and we never got to try them.
When we go back home, things will be different and they will continue to be, for the same reasons as how Medford will likely change after all of this. Home won’t be the same either.
Things are more expensive - pandemic
Things take much longer to receive - pandemic
Services - contractors are working 2-6 months out
Having strangers in your house is now VERY weird. I guess it was always weird, but now there’s a level of “ew, cooties” a bit
Pandemic stress + wedding postponement stress + moving stress is a lot for someone to bear