Jun 4, 2021
Remember that time I moved to Missouri?
If you’re not familiar with the story, my husband and I, both born and raised in Utah, moved halfway across the country last November to Missouri.
Did we have family here?
No.
Was job offered a job here?
Not exactly.
So why did we move to Missouri?
Well, here are four reasons we took this crazy leap.
We Were Looking for a Place to Call Our Forever Home
For the last two years, Scott and I have not had a real place to call home. We sold our house in 2018 and moved me in with my parents in Las Vegas while Scott deployed to the Middle East with the Air Force. For over six months, I lived with Obi in my parent’s guest bedroom.
When Scott returned home from deployment, we moved me to an apartment in Utah so I could have access to all my stuff while Scott took a contracting gig in Afghanistan. He was gone for a year. During that year, we thought we might stay in the apartment for a while after Scott got home. But then COVID hit and with all the regulations, social distancing, and gathering guidelines, I become lonely very fast.
With a month left on my contract, I decided to move out, back in with my parents. So everything went back in storage and I moved back to Las Vegas. And I’m glad I did this because with all the traveling restrictions, Scott was not able to come home until months after he was supposed to.
Not only have we felt uprooted over the last two years, before all this craziness started we moved around way too much. And we were tired of it. We wanted a place to call our forever home. So we started looking and considering all our options.
We Wanted Land
While we were considering where our forever home could be, Scott started talking about land. I have no idea where this came from, and now if you ask him, he’ll probably say he doesn’t remember. But he was so interested in getting land that he was actively looking at lots in Arkansas and Missouri. Why these two states in the Mid-West, where we had never-ever before considered? The land is cheaper.
At first I was against it. Scott has always wanted at least five acres, and I have always said that is too much. But here I was, all of a sudden, giving into his dreams. And the desire for how much land grew–from five to ten, to fifteen, to twenty.
I’m not sure if I’m glutton for punishment or what, but I started dreaming with Scott about what we could do with that much land: chickens, cows, a big garden, a lot of outdoor fun space.
Housing Is Getting So Expensive Back Home
Another big reason we started looking outside of Utah and Nevada, away from our families, is because the housing market in both states is rising and rising and rising. And the lots are getting smaller and smaller and smaller. The last house we bought sold for over $20k more than we bought it. And it’s worth even more than that now. I wanted to stay in Utah, but I wasn’t sure how we’d be able to afford a house again anytime soon.
We Felt the Pull, and We Listened
The biggest reason we moved to Missouri was actually not the money, the land, or the adventure. It was the pull. We prayed to be led to where we would be happy and useful, and we felt prompted to move to Missouri.
It truly is one of the best decisions we have made.
Although we miss our families so much, we love this place a lot. We have a home that needs a lot of work, but we have many dreams and plans to make it a haven for our family, our friends, and others God may send our way.
Why Did We Move to Missouri?
We felt like it. And we’re happy. That’s all that really matters.
Check out these pics of our someday homestead.
