Moving Back to Spokane WA

I Moved Back to Spokane

I have the most exciting life update, I moved back to Spokane WA! All the way back in 2016 I first moved to the city to attend Gonzaga University. Those four years completely changed my life and I quickly fell in love with the city. When I had to move home earlier than expected, I started to miss the big city with a small town feel and after a crazy career journey I am finally back! To hear the full story, keep on reading.

Why Did I Move?

My sister and I in Spokane circa 2019! This was my senior year at Gonzaga

Now, initially the plan was to move home after graduation and stay on the west side. However I moved home sooner than expected due to COVID and I soon felt my time in the city was cut short. I always loved the amenities of Spokane and funnily enough it was where I started my whole social media journey. My senior year of college I slowly started networking and I was finally feeling like I was getting somewhere. Of course that plan got curtailed when I had to move home early and it was a series of unfortunate events after that.

About six months after moving home, I was done with college and started working at Nordstrom. I tried finding jobs in Spokane but the efforts were futile. I was initially supposed to do a management internship that summer but things changed due to the pandemic. It was fun being back in retail for awhile, I have always loved working with clothes and it was a job I was familiar with. But, as with most things, it wasn’t totally for me and after about a year I was ready to switch into a more corporate role.

I had initially been applying to roles at Nordstrom as a manager but a friend at the time told me about a marketing director role at Chick-fil-A. Honestly the pay and commute was better so I took it! In hindsight that was not the move but it was a learning experience. Around this time I also had moved to Tacoma to be closer to work and get out of my parents house but this was a learning curve for the worst. It was not even a month of working at CFA when I noticed myself daydreaming about Spokane constantly and realizing that was where I was meant to be.

Myself in Tacoma 2021

Now, to get to Spokane was another can of worms. It took me a whole year to actually get up and move! I first left my directorial job in January of 2022 and took social media full time. I absolutely loved the freedom and was tickled pink to be doing what I was actually passionate about all day. My goal for that year was to be self employed and dammit I did it!

Leaving my corporate job did come with a pay cut at first because I am still a micro influencer and I didn’t quite know what I was doing. I was making some income but not enough to replace my old salary. It was okay though, I had saved a lot during that time and was fortunately able to move home with my parents. That was definitely not ideal but it was better than the incredibly toxic household I was in before.

During the living at home era, I was lucky enough to reconnect with a bunch of high school friends and travel to Spokane every few months to see friends from college. I finally was starting to feel like I could make a life out here and I had a goal I was working towards. I realized I needed to scale my business big enough to support myself and then I would take my work to Spokane! It took me a good 8 months to learn how to pitch myself to brands and sell my value but my goodness I did it.

Moving to Spokane

Sneak peek into the apartment!

After all of this craziness getting me to Spokane, things finally started falling into place this September. My sister found a job out here in social media and we decided to be roommates! We are our oldest roommates and already know how to live with each other so the transition was pretty smooth. I also know that we can fight about anything but at the end of the day we have each others backs and want the best for each other.

As to the actual apartment, we got a cute place in a quiet neighborhood. Its a newer build so everything is aesthetic and super cute. The only downside is the fact that we are on the third floor with no elevator but we made it work. Right now we are awaiting some furniture but our rooms and bathrooms are all good to go! Be sure to stay tuned for room design tours on the blog.

Welcome to my Spokane Chapter

Overall Spokane has always felt like home to me. From college until now it’s the city where my heart feels at peace. With the plethora of events to attend and the supportive network of friends I’ve made over the years, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I honestly can see myself starting a family out here and really planting roots in this city. For more up to date information on the move and decorations, be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I’ve been loving decorating and making this a place to call home!

Until next time,

Lauren