Third Time's A Charm

Yes, that's right, we're moving again! For the third time since our engagement. {The fourth time if you count the fact that we moved in together 2 weeks before M proposed.}

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I haven't made it much of a secret that we've been pretty unhappy with our living situation for the past 2 years. We knew that if an opportunity presented itself this summer, we had to jump on it and go. As it happens, just such an opportunity presented itself a few days ago in the form of an incredible job offer for M.  So in a little less than 4 weeks, we'll be driving our dogs and all of our worldly possessions to Vermont.  I'm becoming a Yankee!  After our somewhat nomadic lifestyle over the past couple of years {4 moves in 2.5 years}, we are looking forward to putting down roots in New England.

I am a bundle of nerves right now. I'm excited and scared and stressed and happy and stressed and nervous and stressed.  Did I mention stressed? Coordinating a 600-mile move on 3 weeks' notice to a place I've never set foot in is causing me to consume a lot of Tums. It will absolutely all be worth it and we're lucky to have friends and family connections in the area, but woof. Throw in the 100+ pounds of neurotic coonhounds who will be moving with us and I am a bonafide mess.

Things I Am Excited About:
*Christmas in Vermont {Hello..."White Christmas" is only one of my all-time FAVORITE movies.}
*Fall in Vermont. Duh.
*Summer in Vermont. Goodbye Southern heat and humidity. Won't miss you at all.  Except in months November-May.
*Proximity to Canada. No, seriously. I have never been. And we will be 90 minutes from Montreal. So basically 90 minutes from France Lite. Just go with it.
*Proximity to Boston. 3 hours from many dear friends and one of my favorite cities. Yay!
*Proximity to seriously amazing skiing. Can't wait to hit the slopes.
*J. Crew, Trader Joe's, Williams-Sonoma, and TONS of adorable little locally-owned shops and restaurants. {I realize I've probably just committed a major Vermont sin by listing large corporations as a reason I'm excited to move there.}
*Being the most conservative person in political conversations for once.
*Finally justification for my obsession with coats.
*Living in a fun city with lots to do and lots of people our age. I am going to go on a friend binge. I can't wait.
*ALL THE CHEESE.

Things I Am Nervous About:
*I have never lived outside of the state of Virginia, let alone outside of the South.
*I have never lived more than 3 hours away from my parents.
*Winter in Vermont. I am terrified.
*Our heating bill. See above.
*Lack of Duke's mayonnaise.
*Lack of "y'all" in the vocabulary.
*Moving somewhere I have never been and renting a house I have never seen. All the makings of a potential disaster, or at the very least, an interesting living situation for the next year.
*Finding gainful employment. Vermont has a rather small economy and people hold on to full-time jobs with both hands.
*Money. As if I wasn't already nervous about that, we're moving to a place with a higher cost of living.
*ALL THE CHEESE. {I don't do moderation very well.}

The positives far outweigh the negatives and we are both over-the-moon excited. I've promised the dogs that Mummy will buy them some snow boots and jackets and they're not so sure about the whole thing, but I promised them there would also be dog treats, so they're on board. This will be an exciting adventure for us and a place to start over after a challenging couple of years.

Native New Englanders, any advice on what cold-weather gear I should start stockpiling now?