Chew on this

Yesterday, I met up with someone I haven't seen, or even really talked to, since high school.  He goes to George Washington University and is originally from Seattle.  We went to high school together in Indiana.  During our conversation, our talk naturally turned to our plans for after graduation.  He told me he is seriously considering moving to Chicago.  I, of course, would like to stay in DC, although I will really go anywhere I can find a job.  Seattle is actually one of the places I would like to move.  Talking to him though, I realized how migratory we all are.  He, for instance, has moved from Seattle to Indiana to Washington DC and now probably to Chicago, all in the last roughly six years.  I have gone from Chicago to Indiana to Boston, back to Chicago, back to Boston, now to DC, and then who knows where.  Perhaps Seattle?  Many of my friends are following this itinerant trend.  One of my close friends has gone from California to Boston to Shanghai to Beijing and back to Boston, and she's looking to move either back to China or to New Orleans (last I heard).

I do not know if society was always this unsettled or if this is a recent shift.  My guess is that it is somewhat recent.  I think there is a sense of a world of unexplored possibilities growing with my generation.  We do not have to settle down right away in the career or specific job that will last us the rest of our working lives.  It is no longer considered that strange to just move somewhere and see what comes of living in a new place.

My friend's rationale for moving to Chicago was that he's done DC, and it is no longer anything special for him.  I understand that sentiment; I feel the same way about Boston.  Neither of us are ready nor have any reason to settle down in one place.  This is the time of our lives to live wherever, for whatever.  I am much more concerned with experiencing as much as I can than living in any sort of comfortable bubble.  I don't mind small apartments and cheese and tomato sandwiches for lunch and dinner four times a week...  I do, however, draw the line at bed bugs (see former blog).  So for now, I am in Washington DC, walking just about everywhere and filling up on pitas and Progresso soup.  This city and life are still new and exciting, but who knows where I will be in six months or a year.