Moved From Texas to New York for a Job; a Mistake, Left After a Year

In 2021, my husband and I packed up our belongings in the three-bedroom Dallas house we’d tirelessly selected.

It was a midcentury modern beauty that we’d once called our “forever house” — but here we were, trading it for a one-bedroom apartment in New York City.

This wasn’t just any move; it was for my dream job. I had been offered a senior editorial role at a storied media brand, the kind of position that made me feel like every late night, every underpaid internship, and every career setback was worth it.

Of course, we would miss the life we’d built in Texas over the years. My husband and I had first met in Lubbock, my hometown, before moving to Dallas, where a lot of our friends and family lived.

I’d always wanted to live in the Big Apple, though. I’d visited over a dozen times, often for work events, and the prospect of a new adventure excited us both.

As expected, I fell in love with my job — but after a few short weeks, we started to feel strained. Our new home was tiny, the rent was higher than our Dallas mortgage, and the city was lonelier than I could have imagined.

Just one year after our move, I was unemployed, living in a city I could no longer afford, and wondering if I’d made the biggest mistake of my career and relationship.

Early on, I noticed some cracks in the New York fantasy

My commute from Queens to Manhattan was long, and my train rides were often slow and crowded. I found myself spending more on groceries than I did in Texas, too.

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I started to think about what we’d given up: quiet evenings on our patio, our friends and family stopping by for a quick chat, and the comfort of knowing that we had a strong network behind us anytime we needed anything.

In Dallas, our weekends were spacious and slow. In New York, they felt loud and expensive. Even our dogs, who had traded a backyard for a few square feet of sidewalk, seemed unsettled.

Still, I pushed the doubts aside. We’d made this leap for my career. It had to be worth it.

When my dog passed away and I got laid off, we realized we’d made a mistake

Then came two of the worst moments of my life. My dog — who had been with me through the grime of my 20s — passed away in his sleep, just five months after our move.

I was on a flight when it happened, on my way to my hometown to check on my mother, who just had a life-altering surgery. My husband frantically called me, and I had a full-blown panic attack in an Uber from the airport to the hospital.

I thought lightning couldn’t strike twice, but it did. Layoffs are common in my industry, and just six months after starting my job, my role was eliminated.

So now, I had no job, newfound grief, and rent that my husband couldn’t afford by himself.

I felt shaken and untethered. Without the job, I had no anchor to New York. The subway delays didn’t feel charming anymore, our apartment suddenly felt even smaller, and the city that had once felt full of possibility now felt like a very expensive cage.

The shock of the layoff left me disoriented and questioning the decisions that led us here. I realized that we had left behind a life we loved for something that could vanish in an instant — and it had.

We decided to go back to Texas — and although I believe moving to New York was a mistake, it’s one I would make again

I could have stayed, scrambled for another job, and doubled down on making it work. Instead, we decided to step back.

We sold or donated most of our belongings, bought an RV, and spent a year traveling. It wasn’t glamorous: Some days were long hauls on bumpy roads, and WiFi was always a gamble, but this decision gave us space to breathe and figure out what we wanted next.

When we finally decided to settle again, we chose Galveston, Texas, a small island with history, charm, and enough creative energy to keep me inspired.

Our life now isn’t the one we thought we’d have when we moved to New York, but it’s one we built intentionally, with a clearer understanding of what we value: stability, community, and freedom.

If I could go back, would I still take the job? Absolutely. Some dreams are worth chasing, even if they don’t end up working out.

I know now, though, that careers can be rebuilt, apartments can be rented, and cities can be left, but a life you love is harder to replace.

I’ve learned that for me, the dream isn’t a city or a job. The dream is making sure I’m living for myself, not just my résumé.