So many things in my life changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The biggest being I moved away from the Northeast, which is where I grew up and lived for the decade prior in New York City.
But everything changed in 2020 when I was no longer required to work in the office and had my first baby.
Needing more room for my family, and no longer feeling tethered to New York's exorbitant rental prices, my husband and I started brainstorming where we might move.
We considered my home state of Connecticut, but couldn't find a home to buy that didn't need many repairs, and longed to give up the Northeast's long dreary winters.
We kept coming back to Palm Springs, California. It was the place we loved to vacation, where we got married, and always said, "Wouldn't it be cool to live here if we didn't have to be in New York for work?"
After a monthlong visit during the summer to test out the intense heat and look at houses, we had an offer accepted on a home, and two-and-a-half years later, we're still happy Coachella Valley residents.
It was a leap of faith — we didn't know anyone when we moved here, and many things continue to surprise us every day.