When I was a kid, my family moved more than a half dozen times before I turned 18.
On my 18th birthday, I moved out of my parent’s Knoxville, Tennessee home to my first apartment. It was near UTK , where I was enrolled.
I rented my first apartment on 13th and Highland in Knoxville and moved in on my 18th birthday. The building is still there.
Within a year, I had left Tennessee and moved to California.
And in the past 20 years, my husband and I have moved six times, mostly for my career.
So when I told family and a few friends that I was moving again, no one seemed all that surprised.
But I surprised myself with this decision to relocate.
When we moved to Richmond, Virginia six years ago, I hoped this would be my last big move. We were ready to finally put down roots.
We bought a house (even before we had sold the house we owned from our previous South Carolina stop.) I joined a couple of local community groups. After a lot of failed attempts, I found a place to get my hair done where I felt comfortable strolling in, knowing I would leave happy with my haircut.
So why move again?
This move is for love. After being out of the daily newspaper business for more than a year, I realized how much I missed it. I realized how much I love it.
It’s been a thrill launching my company, In Your Shoes Media. I’ve enjoyed helping community newspapers create digital content for their websites.
I worked at the Virginia Department of Transportation and learned more about potholes, tolls and roadkill than I ever imagined.
But I missed the excitement of being in a newsroom each day. I loved working with a team to find the best stories and figuring out the best ways to share those stories with our audience. And I want to be a part of the important changes happening in the industry now.
So I’ve moved from Virginia to Lafayette, La. to get back into the newspaper/online/mobile/media business and to do what I love doing.
It’s surprising what we do for love.
(I’ll share more about my Va2La move over the next few months.)
I am going to miss having drinks and talking about writing and social issues, but I’m so thrilled that you’re going back into journalism. Women of the world need to hear strong and thoughtful voices like yours. You are an inspiration to me and now you’ll be in a place to be heard again by many. And, I’ll have a girlfriend giving me a reason to come south to LA.
Karen – I will miss our chats too but I promise to connect when I’m in VA. And I expect you to visit me here in LA. — Best
I think the News Sentinel needs to read In Your Shoes! Is it La FAY et or La Fay ETTE?
Feel free to share a link with the Sentinel. From what I’ve been told it is LAFF -ee-yette is the correct pronunciation.