Moving in the Middle of a Pandemic

2020 has been a strange year for all of us. I sure did not expect to move across the east coast of the united state in the midst of a pandemic and move to a city reentering shutdowns.

My 2020 has been like any other, my businesses have been struggling to keep the doors open and I was working for employers who were taking advantage of me, saying I should just be thankful to just have a job at this point in the pandemic. I looked around, and all of my friends had moved away from Pensacola, Florida. My assistant helping me with my business was on my last nerve and was driving crazy. My bosses constantly expected more than 40hrs of work without overtime compensation.

Hurricane Sally devastated the Pensacola area on September 15th 2020. It took out one of the bridges that connected the city with the beach side of Pensacola. My employers office was in that area. After, I came back to work post hurricane and vacation, my employer said I was not doing enough for the office and that my head was not in the game. Granted this was all not true, but this was the turning point. When this conversation happened, I decided to search for other jobs and to find a job that would make me happy.

I spoke with recruiters and human resources of many companies and it came down to the fact that I was still not going to be happy. This is when I decided to open my own accounting practice. The one hiccup, a noncompete. I kept thinking about it and talked to many individuals and ran pass the idea of moving to New York City and what their thoughts were. My parents hated the idea. All of my friends and allies loved the idea and supported me endlessly. Safe to say this is where, I said why not.

I told my parents about the move and my mother was very supportive and my father was not because of Covid and the shut down and all the concerns that all parents have. Now after a month of being here he is accepting that I am here and he is proud of me.

The next step was to tell my employer. I was honestly hoping to just give them 2 weeks notice and one of those weeks be the week of Thanksgiving in which the office was closed and then say goodbye. They called me in for a status meeting and to review how my status has changed since they last talked to me. I unfortunately struggle to keep a secret. And I told them because they wanted me to dedicate even more of my time and energy to the business without a pay raise. So I said you have me for 3 more weeks and then I am starting a job with a big corporation in New York. They were not happy and still have not paid me my vacation and benefits payout.

Then it came time for packing, I was ambitious and thought I could get all of my stuff in an SUV and drive up to New York without issues. Well, 3/4ths of my belongings are still in a storage unit in Pensacola including all of my shoes.

The drive from Pensacola to New York was interesting. My mom assisted me on the drive, s0 I did not have to travel 20hrs by myself. We made it in a day and a half and were not forced to quarantine by New York. I showed my mom all the sites and showed her the city. My mom felt comfortable with my living conditions as it was not as bad as the horror stories that you hear.

In all, the city has issues with covid and has many particular restrictions. At the end of the day, Ive had great food, drank with friends on rooftop bars and have enjoyed the city in the midst of a pandemic. Eventually the city will return to its greatness when the pandemic is contained but for now I am enjoying a quiet city.