Hello—it’s me! Long time, no talk. The blog really took a back seat over the past couple of weeks, but I finally feel like I am about to be able to come up for air again, and wanted to check-in.

Back at the height of shelter-in-place in April and May, I really started to feel like I could use more living space. My little studio was perfect for my go-go-go lifestyle—I stayed at hotels 40+ nights last year, and when I was home, I basically was there from 8pm to 8am, and a large chunk of that was (obviously) spent sleeping. Then, despite all my denial, on March 12 my apartment became an all-inclusive resort (aka where I lived, worked, ate, drank, worked out, cried, laughed, and watched a shit ton of Netflix) and it became clearer with each passing mask purchase: I needed more space.

I absolutely loved living in Dupont Circle—it’s the best neighborhood in DC and that is a hill I will die on. But another thing I realized during those dark shutdown days was that not having a car during a pandemic is hard. In the before times, I was the queen of public transit—I took the Metro to work since the day I started working a “real job” and if I wasn’t taking the Metro, I would walk. Of course, the occasional Uber was thrown in there, too, but when possible, I opted for a cheaper route. Then, all of a sudden, one day I had 160 pre-tax dollars on my Metro card and an order from the Mayor to avoid taking it if at all possible. I suddenly was left only with my two feet to get around, and while they’ve taken me very far the past few months, I really miss the freedom that comes along with having your own four wheels.

So when I combined the need for more space with the desire to free up some money in my budget for a car, I concluded it made the most sense for me to move back to Arlington—where I lived for five years before moving into DC. And as an added bonus, my sister now lives in town and my cousin is her roommate, so I’ve got the best built-in neighbors.

I’ve been here for four days now, and I am SO HAPPY with my decision. Life on this side of the river just seems a little bit easier, and I feel like I can finally take a big exhale. And when I’m craving my favorite jalapeño feta dip from Dupont Market or queso from Lauriol Plaza, I’m lucky enough that DC is just a long walk—or short Uber ride—away. Read more “Hello from Arlington!”