Thursday, March 4, 2010

My moving story

So I had been checking out this free state project for a while. I fell into the strong version of freedom about four years ago. I made a visit to New Hampshire, even had a job interview, back in 2007. It wasn't until this past summer that I actually made the move. I had a job, it was nice, but I felt that I was stuck in a rut. My job wasn't taking me to where I wanted to go. I fell in love with silver as a currency. It wasn't until I was at a libertarian party meeting that I finally decided that I MUST move. After a nice conversation about freedom in my former stomping grounds I approached the libertarian party chair. I asked him "What's going on with the silver economy around here." The answer threw me. I expected the answer to be "not much." Instead I received an answer that suggested that he did not understand my question. That very night I signed the statement of intent. That night it was official: I was a free state project member.

Since I had moving to New Hampshire in the back of my mind I had been saving up money. Now I was even more motivated to save. Money helps anything, and I wanted to have all the help I could get moving to New Hampshire. Signing the statement helped me set specific savings goals and stick to them.

Since I was sure I was going to make this move. I thought another visit was in order. This time I was going to visit for a week. I spent time on various websites trying to communicate with people already based in New Hampshire. I had to go on forums. I hate forums. After much asking around, and a few dead ends, I met people online suitable to my temperament. I made appointments to have lunch with this person on this day, seacoast liberty meetup on Wednesday, welcome wagon on Saturday, social Sunday in Keene. I got in my car and started to make the two day drive to my new home. I got a flat tire before I left my home state. Luckily that only threw me off an hour. I needed a sign in my back window "New Hampshire or bust." Ohh the anxiety, I remember thinking "these people better show."

My visit went better than I could have imagined, except for getting lost now and then. Not only did I do everything I had planned, I discovered more things to do. By the time social Sunday rolled around I was beat. I remembered all the fun I had, but I had yet to understand the help of this visit.

See I had asked around enough to find a liberty lover in New Hampshire who worked close to my industry. I met him for lunch, and he introduced me to a person who I asked for a job, a similar job to the one I had, just a job. My perspective employer said that he couldn't hire me, but gave me his cell phone number. I was tired of getting rejection letters, and E-mails. A rejection in person to a cold visit was refreshing. The fact that I left with a cell phone number was outstanding. My goal was to have fun, not get a job. I went back to having fun.

Then the big day rolled around. It was the day that I had planned to move. I fit all I could in my car. I left behind furniture, and other physical goods I had acquired. My stuff was not worth the cost of the truck to carry it to New Hampshire. I was in the middle or reading Walden then too. I'm sure that influenced my decision to travel "light." A two day drive stretched into three with a few visits to old friends and I arrived at my new home state. Some people call it "the soon to be free state." I had arranged to stay in a porc manor, a house full of liberty lovers established to help people like me move to New Hampshire. It was beautiful, the people and the pond.

The week before I moved I called the cell phone number that I acquired during my visit. I was told there was still no job but he invited me to stop by his office. My first full day as a resident of New Hampshire I intended to look for an apartment, but finding a job would influence where I would want an apartment so I took the invitation and dropped by his office. Before I left one of my many housemates said "I have an office upstairs, let me know if you need to use it." I actually thought that this was a strange offer, and did not know what I would use an office for. After my meeting with my contact I was begging to use this office. My contact had given me a lead on a job; I needed a resume pronto!

The very next day I went in for a cold visit. I was just going to show up. I had had it with cover letters. My housemate helped me get together a bare bones resume, something quick to read, something without distractions. What happened next is almost enough to make a non-religious man like me wonder. I got an interview, a job, another interview, and a promotion, in that order, all in the span of three days.

So now, six months later, I still can't believe that I'm living in New Hampshire. When I think of my car full of everything that I was going to keep possession of, when I think of leaving a good life behind, it's hard to believe the great life that I now have. It would be easy to call it fate, but some of it was carefully planning and making contacts; Some of it is a welcoming liberty community; Some of it is the expanded liberty which brings lower unemployment to New Hampshire; Some of it was not letting fear hold me back; A lot of it was the hard work that brought me to this stage in my life.

LIVE FREE OR DIE!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bad link to the free state project, you have a comma after www.

(And this is from someone who thinks the whole thing is silly.)

Daniel Tobas said...

thanks.

Anonymous said...

Should be lower UNemployment to New Hampshire.

(And this is from someone who thinks the whole thing is awesome.)

Anonymous said...

I envy you, but wish you liberty and joy!

Mike said...

Welcome to NH. Great to hear that you are off to a great start. also, the anonymous person that said this is silly should "get learned" before they make such judgements.

Daniel Tobas said...

Thanks Mike. I know the move was right for me.