After spending most of her adult life living internationally, a woman with roots in Northeast Ohio faced a pivotal moment in her life as she sought a sense of stability.
Having lived seven years in Asia and two in Mexico, she felt the allure of a more settled existence, especially as she witnessed friends back home achieving significant life milestones such as marriage, home ownership, and starting families.
In early 2021, she accepted a social media job offer from a small nonprofit newsroom in Chicago while still living in Mexico, anticipating the chance to experience life in what she described as ‘the coolest city in the Midwest’.
However, her excitement quickly turned sour as the reality of her new job began to unfold.
The position was remote, but it required her to reside in Chicago, where she found herself overwhelmed by the workload, often feeling that her contributions were insufficient.
By April of that year, she was crying almost daily—sometimes before starting work, at lunch, or after her workday ended.
In an effort to cope with her rising stress levels, she initiated breathing exercises and began taking anxiety medication.
Sadly, by the summer of 2021, she had parted ways with the company, expecting that another opportunity would arise quickly.
Instead, the job market proved to be more daunting than anticipated.
She immersed herself in the job search, sending out hundreds of applications, tailoring countless cover letters, and networking with friends and colleagues.
Although she secured a few interviews and picked up some freelance work, the solitude of her apartment became increasingly overwhelming as she found herself constantly refreshing job postings online.
Tragedy struck in November when her brother passed away, shifting her perspective entirely.
In her time of profound grief, life seemed to carry on around her.
Before her brother’s death, she had started rejuvenating her social life, rejoining dating apps, and attending more events.
However, in the aftermath of her loss, she struggled with maintaining both new and old connections, often feeling that interactions lacked genuine substance or depth.
Reflecting on her time abroad, she longed for the effortless connections she once enjoyed and found it challenging to reconnect with old friends in the expansive city of Chicago.
Though her time in Chicago was riddled with challenges, it was not entirely devoid of positivity.
Last year, she received an opportunity to write a self-help book on sober curiosity and took on a part-time, one-year assignment at a local university.
Nonetheless, the cost of living in Chicago posed significant difficulties, and her income made it hard to sustain herself.
Upon the conclusion of her university contract in May, she realized that staying in Chicago was untenable without a solid plan in place.
Ultimately, she made the decision to return to Ohio, seeking clarity and direction for her future.
Looking back, she remains uncertain whether her move to Chicago was worthwhile.
As she considers her next steps—whether to return to graduate school or pursue another adventure in Asia—she acknowledges that she has yet to find her footing but is determined to explore her options.
This journey sheds light on the complex emotional landscape of those trying to balance their global experiences with the yearning for stability at home.
image source from：businessinsider
