Hi, I’m Lauren! I’m originally from Cleveland, Ohio. I moved to Arizona in October of 2018. I graduated from grad school in May of 2018 and I wanted to move out of Ohio. Ideally, I wanted to go somewhere warm. I looked into Austin, Tampa, and Phoenix. My goal was Phoenix! I didn’t know anyone who lived in Arizona, but for some reason, it was calling my name. My undergrad degree is in Journalism and Promotional Communication and my graduate degree is in Communication Theory and Methodology.
I started looking for jobs in Phoenix, Austin, and Tampa months before I graduated from grad school. I felt like it was tough to move past the first interview because I wasn’t in person to interview. I graduated in May and still didn’t have a job lined up. I moved back in with my parents and continued to job hunt. Eventually, I realized I had to take a risk if I wanted to move and I flew out to Phoenix with my mom and best friend to interview and look at apartments. I looked at apartments throughout the valley in different price ranges. I also had an in-person interview that I thought went well, but a few weeks later I found out that I didn’t get the job. I was devastated and to a degree felt embarrassed.
I had money saved up from jobs I worked in college, but not enough money to sustain not working. I ended up interviewing at DSW and was about to work there for some type of income, but the next day I received a phone call for a job offer in Phoenix! A week later I drove across the country with my mom. Unfortunately, my dad couldn’t come with us because he had to work. Saying bye to my family was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
Figuring out how to move my stuff across the country was difficult. My mom and I didn’t feel comfortable pulling a trailer across the country nor did we feel comfortable driving a big van with my car attached to the back. I didn’t have the money just to buy new furniture in Phoenix, but it was also really expensive to hire movers. We ended up finding a moving company that was reasonably priced. They loaded up my stuff in a big semi-truck, with other people’s furniture, and drove it across the country with stops along the way. This helped keep the price down. They then unloaded my stuff and moved it into my apartment!
I toured several apartments when I visited Phoenix. I picked the cheapest one in Glendale and only signed a 6-month lease in case I hated it. This was my first time living alone! The job I accepted in Phoenix didn’t pay well and even though the apartment was one of the cheaper ones I toured, I still struggled to make it paycheck to paycheck and there were even times I had to put my car insurance on a credit card to get by.
Before I moved to Phoenix I never hiked or camped before. I started off with small hikes in the Phoenix area and in November of 2018 I adopted Finnick from a rescue. Even though he’s small I felt more comfortable hiking by myself with him. I didn’t have the money to buy hiking gear so I used an old school backpack and tennis shoes. I eventually bought my first pair of hiking boots after I fell hiking Tom’s Thumb because my shoes had no traction. After hiking Tom’s Thumb I signed up for Orange Theory because I wanted to get in better shape. Hiking exhausted me and I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Orange Theory has helped me so much! I used to go twice a week, but now I go four times a week.
After 6 months I decided to move closer to Scottsdale but was in Phoenix so it was more affordable. I decided to move because a lot of the people I met lived closer to Scottsdale and I found myself driving to the other side of Phoenix often so it just made sense. Making friends as an adult is hard! I used BumbleBFF and met two great friends off of it. One of the girls was even a bridesmaid at my wedding! BumbleBFF felt like dating in a way. You pick a place to meet up and sometimes you connect and sometimes you don’t.
A few weeks after I moved closer to Scottsdale I matched with Owen on Hinge and we instantly hit it off. Once I moved I started to look for a new job because my commute was a lot longer and because I needed to find a job with better pay. I luckily found another job with a lot better pay and started in August. Before we knew the world was going to shut down because of the pandemic we decided to move in together. We moved in together in April of 2020. A few days before we moved in together I was laid off due to the pandemic. It was a very scary time and it took me 6 months to find another job. However, because of the pandemic, we started to hike a lot more on the weekends and that’s when we decided to make The AZ Hikeaholics!
I worked for a small marketing agency based out of Phoenix but was laid off again in March of 2023. Luckily I was already looking for a new job because I was pretty unhappy in my role. An hour after I was laid off I had a second job interview and was offered a job with better pay. I am still in this role today as a Paid Media Manager!
Owen surprised me with a fake photoshoot and proposed in April of 2021 in front of our favorite mountains. We got married in February 2023 in front of those same mountains. It was the outdoorsy wedding of our dreams!
Looking back at the last 5 years feels a little crazy. I can’t imagine what my life would look like if I didn’t take the risk to move to Phoenix. However, it doesn’t come without challenges. I think one of the hardest parts has been being so far away from my family. When I first moved to Phoenix I didn’t have the PTO or the money to fly home. Even now plane tickets are pretty expensive to fly to Cleveland. Watching my nephews grow up over the last 5 years over Facetime and photos has been tough. I know I miss a lot of moments and it’s not lost on me that we only get so many. Even though it’s hard being away from my family they have supported me every step of the way and I am forever grateful for them. I try to fly home at least once a year.
Thank you for reading my story! If you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out 🙂
