Tale of Two Cities (or more accurately, one city and a town)
Since moving to California I've been commuting between San Francisco and Oregon House. If you've never heard of Oregon House you would be in the majority. It's a town of about 500 people near Grass Valley/Nevada City. If you haven't heard of either of those, then O House is about two hours west of Tahoe and three hours northeast of SF.
When my boyfriend Will and I decided to leave Denver, we knew we were going to spend some time in Oregon House because that's where Will is from and where his parents still live. They kindly offered to put us up while we job-searched and got situated. I spend about three weeks there and one week in SF a month, spread out depending on interviews and such.
The commute has revealed an interesting contradiction in my personality. While in SF I find myself craving the outdoors and small town mentality of Oregon House. While in O House I find myself bored and wishing there were more things to do and more people to see. While these contradictions may simply show that I don't feel at home in either place, I doubt this will be an issue that goes away anytime soon. So how to deal with these two parts of my personality that feel so at odds?
1. Find outdoor space no matter where you are. What I do love about SF is how walkable it is (check out my other post about this). When it's a sunny day I find it easy to walk miles in the city rather than take a bus or train. The benefits of feeling direct sunlight is proven to be so crucial to a person's happiness so it's good to remind myself that any outdoor time is beneficial to my mood and health.
2. Establish routine. For whatever reason I find it easier to get up early in the city. So in O House I need to establish a specific routine and goals so I don't lie in bed until 12pm. This means setting a specific wake up time, planning meals, making attainable goals and tasks throughout the day and of course scheduling in some fun. Since I'm juggling job hunting and freelancing right now, I always have plenty to do as long as I get up and get to it.
3. Don't travel on the fly. One thing I've found myself doing is taking off for the city or the country on a whim, depending on how I'm feeling. Not only does this add up to a lot of time in the car, it's also expensive. Instead, I'm trying to focus on the place I'm in while I'm there and only travel when something demands it. Now, when I feel the urge to go to SF I plan a hike to do instead. Or if I'm already in the city and thinking of going to Oregon House, I make plans to explore a new part of the city.
There will come a time when I'm in SF full-time so I'm trying to spend as much time in the country as possible. But I'm lucky enough that it will always be a three hour car ride away.
