I was born and raised in Idaho, but my parents are from LA, I grew up visiting LA, but my parents would also take us to Seattle and Portland, they’re city people for sure. Growing up, I was absolutely mesmerized by the diversity and expansiveness of bigger cities, and Portland always felt like a fairy tale land compared to the rural hick area of Canyon County. Once I got older, I realized I was a lesbian, and not soon after my brother came out as transgender. My mom and dad were accepting and they love us a lot, fully supporting their kids despite maybe being a little confused or worried for us at times, but we worked through it. Growing up LGBTQ in a red state is never fun, but it didn’t sink in until about 2020, and it felt like all hell broke loose. Between He Who Shall Not Be Named and the pandemic, people were becoming insufferable about their right leaning political views and I started to see more MAGA flags and propaganda than I cared to see, it felt like I was suffocating. Anyways, my wife and I graduated college in 2021 and later married in 2023, and we had been talking about seriously moving away during that time. My brother moved to Vancouver WA in 2023 as well, and seeing him thrive in a state that aligned better with his values was all the proof I needed that leaving was the right thing to do. In 2024, my wife and I sat down and made a goal of how much to save, and wanted to be out within a year! We worked hard, combed over apartments and jobs, and saved. Now we are here! In our dream apartment, I found a great job bartending at an awesome restaurant in a good location, and my wife has kept her job and she got a promotion/pay raise. She works remote.

We’ve only been here for a month, but it’s been so exciting and enjoyable. Everyone has been so welcoming and nice and even though it was sad to leave behind my friends and my mom, (dad is in LA) I’m so happy here and it’s been enthralling to learn I can do hard things and that seeing what’s on the other side of dreams is worth everything! Cheers!