Personal

Six Months in South Carolina

February 22, 2024

It’s hard to believe February marks six months of living in South Carolina. Despite moving states, starting a new job, and buying a house all at the same time, it’s been a relatively smooth transition. In this post, I’m catching you up and sharing my musings on home ownership, decorating the new place, and building community in SC.

Home Ownership

I love my house. From the open-concept living and dining to the spacious master suite, it’s beyond anything I imagined I’d have for a first home. On an emotional level, having a home of my own means so much to me. As a kid of divorced parents with joint custody, I switched houses every 3.5 days. I felt like I lived out of a duffle bag and never had that quintessential sense of home. Now, I am grateful each morning to wake up in my space.

Home Repairs

I’m often asked if I’ve had to do any home repairs yet. First, I must state the obvious: A con of owning versus renting is that at any given moment, I could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in repairs. This has been a motivator for my emphasis on building up savings. To answer the question, so far, I’ve had to replace three circuit breakers and a pipe under the sink for a total cost of $700.

Decorating

I am decorating gradually. It feels nice to take my time, knowing I will (hopefully) be in this house for many years to come. The living room, dining room, and kitchen furniture I had in Richmond work well here, so I haven’t had to buy much. The only notable items I have purchased so far are a headboard for the guest bedroom and two hallway runners during my Turkey trip (it would be sacrilegious to go to Turkey and not buy a rug). Also, for Christmas, my mom kindly gifted me a mattress for the guest bedroom.

On a fun note, I am in the process of executing my vision for my fabulous, feminine home office. Over MLK Day weekend, I painted the room pink! I’ve also started shopping around for quotes for a custom desk and scouring Facebook Marketplace for a small loveseat. In the coming weeks, I’ll share my vision board for the space.

Building Community

If I had to choose a word of the year, it would be belong. A large motivator for the move was wanting to belong to a place. I was tired of the transient nature of my life during the pandemic and longed to put down roots.

My homecoming to South Carolina touched my heart. I was met with more warmth than I ever expected, and it’s been wonderful to reconnect with people I hadn’t seen in years. So many hilarious and cringey middle school memories were resurfaced. Likewise, it’s been great to have family nearby. In the past six months, I’ve gotten more quality time with extended family than in the prior six years.

Along with deepening my existing relationships, I’m cultivating new friendships and ties to the community. I’ve volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, found a church, gone to networking events, and recently signed up for a weekly improv class. I continue to put myself out there and sew the seeds (a theme of this year) for the community I ultimately want to have.

– – –

Six months in, I can confidently say the move to South Carolina was the right decision for me. Place is personal, and this place feels right for me at this stage of my life.