Our Move to Gatlinburg and the Things That Went Right...and Wrong

Moving is never easy. Anyone that says otherwise hasn’t done it. My wife is the most organized person I know, and even she gets full-on flustered during the process. However, this was far and away the most exciting move we’ve ever done. We understood the magnitude of it. But a move is still frought with stress and anxiety times ten (or a hundred). Here are some of the ups and downs from our “dream” move to Tennessee.

We had to downsize…again. That’s not such a bad thing, save for the trips to the local thrift store. We did make some money doing a few garage sales, but all that did was make us realize how much sh—stuff we had. Securing a storage unit fairly conveniently located near Gatlinburg helped us figure out a small space to put some things that we didn’t have room for in our new apartment. This was a wise choice, and we did well selecting a unit that efficiently held these items we’re still holding on to.

Hiring movers was the smartest decision we made with regards to our move. They were only hired to do the grunt work: load our possessions, drive to our apartment, and unload them; we would handle the packing and unpacking. I absolutely did not want to rent and drive a moving truck; plus, we simply were not able to do this on our own—at least not without losing our sanity and upright mobility.

The phone calls, paperwork, emails, regarding our move did not go smoothly—at all, it seemed. Every time we thought we had something resolved, either someone didn’t get an email, or we were missing something that we had to scramble to gather. This is arguably the most stressful part of a move, by far, and we were beyond happy to cross that rickety bridge.

An extra concern which we couldn’t really predict was how our cat would do on the 7-hour drive. Sure there were some moments where she was obviously craving to be freed from her carrier, but everything turned out fine. We weren’t too worried about how she would handle it, given our other concerns, but it still made us a bit anxious, as we’re sure she felt the same way.

Once we finally made it to Gatlinburg, we dropped our son off with his cat at our new apartment so they could spend the night, sans furniture and bedding. We were happy to find a place to stay for the night that was way more comfortable than our empty apartment (I’ll have more details on this in another post). After some problems getting into our room, we were relieved and desperate to finally take a load off for the evening, despite all the head-butting, bickering, and blowups we had during the whole ordeal.

You would think breakfast in the morning prior to heading back to our apartment would be a nice and hearty, relaxing experience. Nope, not happening. We ate at Little House of Pancakes and always had efficient, timely service. But not this time. The food was good as always, but the one time we needed to GO was the time they were in no hurry. We didn’t make it back by 8 when the movers arrived, but I don’t think they were there more than 10 minutes. But still, we wanted to get unloaded as much as they probably did.

Other than that, the unloading went well. With the exception of two totes that cracked, our prized possessions were delivered unscathed. The guy in charge of the small crew was very professional and pleasant to work with. He was jealous we were going to live here, and he joked about staying for a little while. It seems everybody back home in Ohio loves this area (understandably so), but he said he’s visited 42 states, and Tennessee is the place he loves the most. Those statements reinforced our belief—not that it was needed—we were in the right place.

Currently, we are very close to having our apartment set up as a dream home. Our view is what we wanted, and we are doing plenty of walking, including to our jobs. I know people have thought and will think we are nuts for doing this, but we didn’t want what we’ve had anymore in Ohio. I see it as escaping the rat race and going outside the box, thinking intelligently about what we really want to do with our lives. It’s amazing that we have moved on. And maybe, just maybe, found some resolution in life’s ultimate dream. It is ours now to fulfill!

Thank you for reading my latest post! I wanted everyone to get a taste of what is possible if you set your mind to something. These personal stories of mine aren’t normally free, but I wanted you all to read this one. If you feel you will enjoy reading about our new life in Gatlinburg, I would be totally thankful to have you as a paid subscriber. It will help me do more of this in my spare time. I still have to work for a living, but this is my passion! I hope you’ll join me on this fantastic journey!