New Location New Vibes

Jon / October 2025 (181 Words, 2 Minutes)

🎰 New Location, New Vibes

Work-life balance is always talked about, but what that balance looks like for everyone – not as much. And, where the life part of the balance happens matters a lot too, as I am discovering.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve made a nice 3-hour move off the mountain and across the desert to Las Vegas. This change was somewhat usual, as I’ve seemed to have made a habit of doing this every year and a half or so. But this time, the decision of location was more about personal preference and less about family. Now, I’ve ended up back in a metropolitan area and I can’t help but feel what a difference it has made.

There are more opportunities for fun and an insane amount of dining locations for a gluten free prisoner like myself. This was lacking on the mountain and feeling anxious for the weekend and do things makes those long days easier to face. I feel proud to be where I am and curious about what’s out there instead of staying in due to a lack of variety.

Being more connected to the world has also made a large impact. Seeing bands, events, festivals, new shops, popups, or even having reliable shopping might not be important to everyone but I think it is for me. I never really considered myself a city person, but this experience has shown me that having the option to drive 15-20 minutes and have access to so much more is a soup for the soul. Even the nearness to the airport makes me feel better. Having to drive 1+ hours to get off the mountain to even shop at a department store or catch a flight made everything seem less important or that it didn’t affect me. Now I’m excited about opportunities to travel to new places and be in a place people come to.

I’m excited for the changes and the chance to level up my vibes! I never could have imagined where I am now from when I left graduate school, so who knows where I’ll be in a few years. To new adventures!🥂