After two wonderful years in Kansas City, we have decided to pick up shop and move! As many of you know, my husband, Zach, works for Amazon. For the past few years, he has worked in warehouse operations and will be leaving his current role as a Senior Operations Manager. His new role will be in worldwide logistics based out of Seattle, Washington! After much consideration, we have decided to accept the position and move out west! Never thought I would be able to call myself a “coastie”, but as they say, never say never!
For a long time, Zach and I have talked about what our life could look like living in the Pacific Northwest. Two years ago, when we moved from Milwaukee to Kansas City, Zach was sent to Seattle to train with the new management team that would be launching the new Kansas City Amazon warehouse. He was there for a couple months and I had the opportunity to go and visit. Many times throughout the trip we commented on how beautiful the area is, how temperate the climate is, and how wonderful it would be to have access to multiple National Parks. Not only is Seattle close to the ocean, but also to the Cascade Mountains, Olympic National Park, and still offers the city life that we’ve grown to love. Seattle is a short drive to Portland and Vancouver, two cities that are super fun to explore. We would be a 6 hour drive from Zach’s family in Idaho and a 9 hour drive from Banff National Park in Canada. At that time, moving to Seattle was only a dream, but now it’s reality!
Working in warehouse operations truly takes a toll, mentally and physically. For the past few years, Zach has worked close to 60 hours a week, sometimes more. Every year during Christmas time, he worked 6, sometimes 7, days a week to make sure customers had their packages before Christmas. This holiday season, known as “Peak” amongst Amazonians, is the busiest and most stressful time of the year for everyone in the warehouse. It’s also the most difficult on Amazon spouses (that’s me, yo!) Those of you who know me personally know the struggle of this time of year! On top of that, Zach flip flopped between day shift and night shift, taking a major toll on his sleep habits. When Zach was offered the option to transfer to a different area of the company that doesn’t involve any of the above, he decided it was time to get out of operations. This move into a new role will be so much healthier for Zach and our marriage. This is a decision we made together to create a better work/life balance for both of us and hopefully create a better schedule for when we have a family someday! That being said, I am extremely grateful to have the profession I do. Working as a nurse has its benefits, one of those being the ability to travel across the country and find a job relatively easily. Hopefully that won’t be too difficult to accomplish once we get to Seattle!
While we are super excited to take our adventure out west, we are bummed to leave Kansas City. After two years, we have finally established a good group of friends and feel comfortable navigating the city and the surrounding areas. It will definitely be bittersweet leaving the city at the beginning of May. The next couple months are going to be crazy! Between finding an apartment and signing a lease, a bachelor party in Arizona for Zach, making the move across the country with two cats (suggestions please!), a wedding to attend back home in Wisconsin, and an upcoming trip to Europe, you could say we have our hands full. Since we have about a week to move, we’ve decided to make it into a cross-country road trip! We will be stopping in Denver for a night and Boise for 2-3 nights. If you have any suggestions for things to do or places to eat in either location, let me know!
To our Kansas City friends, thank you for welcoming us to this city. You’ve opened your homes and your hearts to us and we are so grateful. We will leave this city with wonderful memories that we will cherish forever. We will be back to visit, so don’t forget about us! To my wonderful work family at St. Luke’s, thank you for taking me under your wings in the new (and sometimes overwhelming) world of EP. I am humbled by your dedication to our patients and honored to have called St. Luke’s my nursing home for the past couple years.
Are you from Seattle? Are you familiar with the Pacific Northwest? Do you have friends in the area? We would love to have your suggestions! We plan to live in Bellevue, just east, across Lake Washington, from Seattle. Are you a nurse? Do you work in healthcare? Have you worked in Seattle? Fill me in on all the details about Seattle hospitals! Where are the best places to work?
We can’t wait to have you follow along on our newest adventure!
Until next time!
XOXO, Sarah
Que Sera Sarah 
We aren’t located in the West (all the way to the East actually) but I feel ya on the moving part and leaving friends. We just left our apartment in the Bronx and will be moving into our new home in Philadelphia in the next week or so. Making a new community is SO exciting but also extremely daunting. The best of luck to you guys as you navigate a new city and community.
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It’s definitely not an easy experience! We had previously moved away from home, from Wisconsin to Missouri. The first few weeks are exciting, exploring a new city is super fun. But then, the following months can be difficult, especially being far away from friends and family. In my experience though, it’s well worth it! Good luck on your move!
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I am from Missouri originally. 😀 And so far it has been wonderful! We just moved into our new home three days ago and ah. Such a relief to be here. <3. Thanks for the luck!
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