I remember this past winter like it was yesterday. I was back home, anxious AF to break the news to my mom. Everyone was expecting me to come home after graduation. After all, we had discussed this prior to my decision to leaving Cali for grad school.

Let me tell ya, having my family’s support was the greatest blessing. It felt like a huge weight has just been lifted off my shoulders!!

But what exactly prompted me to stay on the East Coast? Sure, my friends and family were there, but I felt like I really needed to do this… for me.

Job Opportunities

As a public health professional, I found that a lot of what I wanted to do was based on the East Coast. NYC, Boston, and DC were all “public health hubs.” And sure, California has a wide array of opportunities as well, but they weren’t exactly for me. They were more within the hospital admin/healthcare management type things that I did not foresee myself doing. While all the “cool” jobs are in NYC/DC, I chose to stay in Boston bc of all the connections I made throughout my time at BU and bc well, I have another support system here. I did not feel like packing my things up again (I did it once last summer and I don’t want to anytime soon).

Support System

Thanks to my time at BU, I’ve established an additional support system here so staying was definitely an option. While most of my friends are in Boston, I have MSF-USA to thank for my support system in NYC. I am so grateful for the wonderful people I met and my roommates who later turned to be my friends. Keeping both cities in mind as I pondered over what’s next, I was lucky enough to have this option to stay bc of this. If I were to leave for DC for work, I knew I would have had to allocate more effort into meeting new people in a very unfamiliar space. While this would’ve further prompted my growth, I wanted at least a constant in my life… so I chose to stay in Boston.

And let’s not forget Brian — the most incredible man in my life right now! 😉

Growth

Being away from family is hard. I’ve missed several holidays, birthdays, etc, but even so, our bond is stronger than ever. Being miles away has forced me to focus on myself and to essentially GROW. I was too heavily dependent on my mom for household things and although I miss her food SO SO SO MUCH, I needed to continue being on my own so I can learn and continue my own metamorphosis. I definitely still take the time to FaceTime and fly back though bc distance simply isn’t a thing in my family. Being away shouldn’t mean I love them any less. In fact, I’ve come to appreciate them so much more.

Personal Preference

Honestly while I miss laidback chill and hip LA (like um hello, yoga and kombucha vibes?), I definitely LOVE the hustle-and-bustle vibe on the East Coast. I crave chaos and constant on-the-go energy. The East Coast mirrors my home-home Singapore where it’s humid AF and everyone walks 5000x faster than Cali people do. Like we have zero time to waste, people!! (I kid!). Additionally, there is still so much to explore on this side of the country so what better way to do so than to stay?

Overall if you’re contemplating moving to a new city, definitely weigh out your pros and cons (i.e. support system, work opportunities, lifestyle changes, etc). Send me a message if you need someone to talk things out with!

Off I go to enjoy this AC at the library sipping on some Dunkin’. *gasp* Who am I? Don’t worry, I’m still a Starbs girl. I was just craving a basic iced coffee 😛