I Moved to Colorado with No Job: Here’s What I Learned
On September 7, 2018, I loaded the last of my boxes into my Subaru Outback in the driveway of my parent’s house in Virginia and after a final look at the house that I called home throughout college, my father and I were on our way west.
I was on my way to start the newest chapter of my life. I had decided only two weeks prior that I was moving to Colorado. When I decided to move I had no job. I had no house. I had no plan. I just knew that I wanted to be in Colorado.
But before I jumped into my personal adventure, my dad and I were going to make a road trip out of my move. Leaving the house early Friday morning the only thing we knew was that we had to make the 1,700 mile drive to Denver by Sunday at noon so we could catch the Broncos vs. Seahawks football game. The rest of the drive depended on how we felt on the road and what attractions interested us in the moment.
Craft beers and local restaurants are important to both of us so we briefly stopped at a few local breweries and Jimmy’s Pancake House, but drove without stopping for most of the trip admiring the long, flat, straight roads that we were driving on. A big history buff, my dad picked to stop at the Herbert Hoover Birthplace and Museum which was a lot cooler than I expected it to be. Did you know that Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer in Australia and was stuck in China during the Boxer Rebellion? I didn’t either, but four hours in the museum taught me a lot about our 31st president. I admire Herbert Hoover for his worldwide adventures and humanitarian efforts and aspire to be more like him.
After twenty-six hours on the road, countless Brian Regan routines, and several craft beers, we arrived in my new city of Denver.
When I decided to move I had no job. I had no house. I had no plan. I just knew that I wanted to be in Colorado.
Lessons
People questioned my decision…my lack of a defined plan; but it’s been this flexible approach that has led me to where I am right now and has taught me so much about myself and others.
I have learned three important lessons on this journey:
1. There are signs
When I left I wasn’t completely sure that this was the right move and worried that I was making a mistake. There were signs along the way that made me feel confident that everything was going to be okay.
The only rest area that we stopped at on I-80 was in Iowa for a quick break and to try to get some photos of the plains. Wandering about to stretch the legs, we fell upon a placard with the story during America’s expansion from coast to coast about Horace Greeley giving Josiah B. Grinnell the advice “Go West, young man.”
I decided to pickup and go west more or less on a whim and it felt as thought Greeley was speaking to me and telling me that I was making the right decision and just keep going west, don’t turn back now.
That last day of driving from North Platte, NE to Denver started really gloomy as the sky was filled with clouds that threatened to open up with rain at any moment. Immediately after we crossed into Colorado, the clouds disappeared and the sun lit up the sky. It may have been that the haze was still burning off, but to me it was a sign that Colorado was welcoming me and that I’m supposed to be here.
There are events that can help point you in the right direction and signs (they don’t have to be literal signs like the one I encountered) along the way that give you reassurance, just be on the lookout for them.
2. People want to help
I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea that people want to help people. I knew it to be true, but throughout this experience, I’ve had the opportunity to witness the significance of that statement.
When I decided to move, I didn’t have a place to stay. I knew three people in the greater Denver area and was hoping that they would let me crash on their couches for a week each, which would buy me three weeks of uncomfortable sleeping to find a job.
A week before moving, a friend of my dad’s mentioned that he has a sister in the Denver area and that she has an empty room that she may be willing to rent out. Two days later, after a brief phone call, I had a bed to sleep in for two months while I find a job and my own apartment.
“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.” –William Butler Yeats
Since moving out here I have grabbed coffee and beers with as many people as possible, and continue to do so. I try to say hi to as many people as I can each day because you never know what they may be able to do for you or what you can do for them. Every person that I have reached out to has given me advice and offered to help in any way possible. I have spoken with many high-level business men and women–at advertising agencies, colleges, startups, outdoor companies–and am finally starting to figure out what I want to do thanks to each of them taking the time to meet with me.
All it takes is a phone call or an email. Just ask, the worst they can say is no. People have been in your shoes before and know what it is like, so odds are more people want to help you than you may realize.
3. Life is truly about attitude
Life is going to have setbacks, there is no question about it. The question is how you are going to handle it. I’ve learned that being confident and positive while being yourself opens tons of doors.
Moving to a new city by myself and getting rejected by companies sucked because I felt at times like I was losing this game we call life. I found that being around other people who were positive helped me when I got bad news. I am surrounding myself with people who see the best in me and who are pushing me to be better and I can tell that I am becoming more confident in myself and my abilities because of my friends that I am meeting and spending time with.
Having a positive attitude and seeing the good in every situation as opposed to the bad has caused me to stress less and led me to try new things that I typically wouldn’t. Writing a blog was never something I considered or even thought I would be good at, but I want to try to see what I can make of it. So here goes nothing.
I encourage you to try to find one positive thing about a bad situation. It may be that you found the job of your dreams after you got laid off, or that you got rejected by a company but you became friends with someone you interviewed with. There is good out there, see if you can find it and embrace it, as life is about attitude.
- Go Out On A Limb