5/1/16 9:18 PM

Reflections on Our First Home Together

Over the past decade, I’ve been somewhat of a nomad. I’ve lived in over 15 different places, lugging my belongings in heavy-duty cardboard boxes that I received from my short stint at a seafood shop while attending VCU.

Even though I’ve moved around a lot, I’m a sentimental person. Before I depart a dwelling, I stand and stare for a few minutes and take time to relive all the memories. If the place was extra special, I’d do a double or triple take to make sure and appreciate and celebrate all the times it had to offer.

Ariele and I moved to Boston in two years ago today because we wanted to try something new, something different. I remember we decided to set our anchor on Boston after a road trip from Raleigh, NC to Martha’s Vineyard, MA. We just knew.

We found our place through a Craigslist ad (mainly where I find everything I need). We knew we were going to have to secure a place site-unseen, so our goal was to find something in a good area with a layout that we liked; I’ve come a long way from my nomad days where a roof is all I was looking for.

I remember falling in love with the layout of our apartment. It’s a u-shaped design where the living room is at one end and the bedroom at the other with the kitchen attaching the two at the curve—smart use of space for a 590 square-foot unit. Additionally, and one of the biggest pros of the apartment, is you can see the lights of Fenway park from the living room window. Growing up a Red Sox fan in rural Virginia, yeah, this was a dream come true.

When we moved into our little oasis, Ariele quickly turned our blank canvas into a home—pictures on the wall, tables arranged with decorations—something I thought I was good at until I saw what her mind was capable of. 

Of any place I’ve lived to date, our place on 91 Westland Ave was the most memorable. It’s also the first time I truly unpacked and arranged my belongings since I left home for college in 2006. I’m not sure why it took me so long, but doing so brought this newfound positive energy and vibe to the place that never got old—I was home. 

Fast forward to April 2016; we’re 10 months into our tiny home renovation and we’re in need of a sublease to help buy us some time to finish our road-steading dream. Our apartment would not offer a short-term lease, so we took to Craigslist and found our new dwelling. It’s in Brighton, MA, just off the Washington T stop on the green line.

Packing our place was a difficult experience. With every picture I took down, I felt I was erasing Ariele’s masterpiece. I’ve always been sentimental, but this was different. This wasn’t just another dwelling; this was my first place I called home since I was a kid.

There was one installation in particular we decided to keep up until the end; a string of Christmas lights and an American flag, which covered the not-so-becoming AC unit. The first thing we would do when we came home, night or day, was plug in those lights. They always enhanced our mood. On night’s like in the one below, they were extra special as the lights of Fenway Park sparkled in the background. 

reflections on our first home together 

Moving was particularly difficult for us this time around. Our tiny home, Virginia Blue, is only 152 square-feet and our truck to truck camper project, George, is about 32 square feet. To comfortably live in less than 200 square feet, we had to shed many of our belongings.

Losing weight is never an easy process, and all you think about is how you just want to purge and be done with it. We learned very quickly that it’s most effective to take your time and have several rounds of downsizing for each category.

The preliminary round should be meant to take a role call of all your belongings and weed out the easy decisions, things you’re comfortable getting rid of. Next, step back and give yourself a day or two before approaching the pile again. Oddly enough, you’ll find that the item you thought you were so attached to doesn’t really hold much weight and it’s much easier to part with it now. Wash, rinse, and repeat this process until you’ve reached your goal. Remember, giving yourself time to consider as opposed to forcing a decision makes for a successful downsizing process.

Yesterday was moving day and we met our downsizing goal; we “tetrised” our entire apartment to fit in George.

 

Phase 1 downsize goal: Tetris all of our belongings inside our truck, George. Complete 👍

A photo posted by Wild We Wander (@wildwewander) on

Before we left I followed my routine of appreciating the space, soaking in all the memories: the roars of the crowd and the singing of Sweet Caroline from Fenway Park, the frustrated Massholes honking at drivers for making wrong decisions, the many visits from friends and family, purchasing a 1973 RoadRunner travel trailer, coming home from our honeymoon, the list goes on.

Once we arrived at our new place I unloaded while Ariele unpacked––a smart way to move in. And even though we only have our couch cushions from Virginia Blue for a bed and moving boxes with tapestries for furniture, I’m not sure we need much more.

reflections on our first home together

We still have a long way to go to complete our downsizing process, but for now we’re going to take time and enjoy our new space and make it a home for the next four months.

become a digital nomad

Written by

Justin Champion

Justin Champion

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