My name is Devyn Evrist Rice, I am 28 years old, and I recently decided to quit my job in the medical field to travel alongside my husband. Before you roll your eyes, let me explain to you the many reasons that this is the most responsible decision we could have made for our family.
I worked the last six years for a well known medical facility in California. I worked as the sole purchasing agent in supply chain for 8-10 buildings across two service areas.
Unfortunately, during my time there, what we all know as the 2020 Covid Pandemic had hit full force, and what was supposed to be a short two week quarantine, spun us into years without seeing smiles, feeling hugs, or having much social interaction. This was quite a lonely time for everyone. Personally, the pandemic felt especially lonely because my parents moved two states away, my little brother and his wife moved across the country, and my husband, who is a travel wind technician, was only home 6-8 weeks out of the year. I encompassed myself in my work, and with the extension of the pandemic, the workload continued to rise.
I was spending two and a half hours of travel time commuting to and from work, and was the sole caretaker of our home in California. Everyday life tasks that everyone experiences became impossible to schedule during the pandemic, and while trying not to fall behind at work. Paid Time Off that would have been used to give myself a mental break - taking vacation, and visiting my husband - became the days that were used to meet with any contractors helping with homeowner pains - whether it be plumbing issues, broken appliances, or even pest control.
The 6-8 weeks that my husband would be home utilizing his own Paid Time Off, I would still be working, leaving me only two days out of the week to spend with him when he was back home.
16 days...out of 365.
My husband also has a son, from a previous marriage, who we share during his weeks off. So we spend those 16 days a year, as a family, doing things like taking him to the beach, or to Disneyland. Leaving rarely any days for us to just be adults. Unlike a typical family, we are all together so rarely, that there weren't days where we could just "get a sitter for date night". We utilized the short amount of time we all have together, being a family.
My health started spiraling late 2020, and not only was I battling with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), but I started getting numerous skin infections and rashes, ear infections, sinus infections (unrelated to C-19), UTIs, Weight Gain, and overall body inflammation.
Due to the accumulating health concerns and the constant stress that was piling up, I decided it was time to schedule an appointment with a therapist.
"What do you enjoy doing when you're not working?"
During my first appointment my therapist initially asked me this question, and I didn't have an answer for her - Other than being with my family, I couldn't remember what it was that I truly ENJOYED. So my homework was just that. Each night until my next appointment, I would try to write down things that I used to do for fun when adult responsibilities didn't flood my life to the point of drowning.
My next appointment came and my list was filled with things that I loved but didn't have time for:
Travel
Reading
Meditation
Hiking
Evening Walks
Writing
Museums
Painting
Photography
Animals
Antiques
Massage
Facials
The Beach
Documentaries
Pedicures
Baking
Cycling
Yoga
Baths
Candles
Hot Tea
Hockey
Plants
It became pretty clear that the way that we were living was not sustainable. I was alone, I developed chronic stress, anxiety, and depression, and cost of living wasn't helping matters. I had no time to take care of myself, my mental health.
Every day was the same routine -
Wake up, drive to work, drive home, go to the gym, drive home, make dinner, walk the dog, go to sleep. Do it again tomorrow.
I wanted to feel like myself again. I wanted to find a way to have time to do the things I enjoy. I wanted time with my husband, and not just as a parent, but as a woman. It took us a while, but my husband and I kept running numbers over and over to see what we could do to make this crazy plan work. The numbers were shocking when we realized that it was costing us more financially for me to continue working and living in California - away from him, than it would be for me to leave, sell our home, and travel with him.
It seemed too good to be true.
My anxiety skyrocketed even more when it came time to list the house, but we did it. We listed the house a couple of days after Christmas of 2021. We had an offer within 3-4 weeks, and the house was empty by Mid-February. February 19th was my final day at my prior job, my co-workers and managers all came together to wish me farewell, and Chris made the drive from Minnesota to California where we loaded up his truck, and our Porsche Cayenne with the remainder of our lives.
We drove from California to Washington State to spend a few days visiting family before our Trek across the United States, and from Washington we traveled through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota until we finally made it to our first destination, Rochester, Minnesota.
I am so lucky to have this life changing opportunity, to explore and experience new places alongside my husband, and to have the opportunity to create and share this blog with you, and with others who also love to travel, and to share with you this lifestyle that I am still learning to navigate moving from hotel to hotel in different cities, and different states.
My hope is that this blog inspires others to be brave, and to take control of their happiness and their capabilities to make changes in their lives, and I hope that this will give people insight on the lives of traveling workers, as well as help people plan their own travels, even if just a vacation.
Thank you for following along, I hope that you'll get as much enjoyment out of learning about new places as I do writing about them, and that it inspires you to go out and experience yourself!
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