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On Being Home

April 20, 2016 by Beth Meyer

London Phone Booth

Today marks exactly one month since I left London to move home to the States. In some ways it feels much longer than that, and in other ways, the time has flown by.

Leaving London was tough. I’ve had a lot of incredible times in the Big Smoke over the past few years, but the last few weeks leading up to the move were some of my most cherished moments in the city. Those weeks exploring reminded me exactly why I fell in love with London and ended up living there for two and a half years longer than originally planned.

London Sunset from Bussey Building

Actually leaving London was really tough. One of my dearest friends took me to the airport and helped manage all the tears that followed when the Air France agent told me I was overweight and needed to lose some kilos (not possible). We were a little delayed arriving because of delays on the Piccadilly line, so I was flustered and teary (and maybe slightly dramatic) when I handed over my credit card and asked how much. He then spotted my carry-on luggage and said it looked overweight (of course it’s overweight, that’s where I put all the heavy stuff!!!!). Two trips to the repacking area and scales left me no closer to solving the problem until a sweet supervisor took pity on me and allowed me to check a third overweight bag and didn’t charge me any extras. It benefitted me that it was a partner airline, they didn’t have the exact cost in their system and she thought we were traveling as a twosome. When she realized, she said it was fine and I gave her a big hug. All of this after I already shipped three boxes and gave stuff away. Sheesh!

Luggage

Luggage drama aside, I had so many emotions about leaving what had become my third home that I cried all the way to Paris (the sweet cards my friend gave me didn’t help eliminate the tears), where I was connecting for my long haul leg to Atlanta. I had a twenty euro note in my wallet, so it seemed appropriate that I spend it all on macarons to cheer myself up during my layover in Charles de Gaulle!

My first two weeks were spent in Atlanta, getting re-packed for move part three and spending time with family and friends. I moved back to Los Angeles at the start of the third week and have been here now for two weeks, most of which has been consumed with the business of being an adult and slowly piecing my life back together.

Piecing my life back together has been overwhelming to say the least. Job searching, mattress searching, car searching and moving all at the same time is not something I’d wish upon my worst enemy. On their own those items can be daunting, and all at once has made me feel like I’m slowly cracking.

Fortunately, through friends and social media groups, I found an apartment before I moved back. That came with drama as well since rental agencies don’t love it when you don’t have a job yet (and when you’ve been living out of the country and they won’t count any income you made abroad). After coming to an agreement, having an apartment sorted was one huge thing that gave me a place to feel settled. A home base to start to piece my life back together from.

El Porto Beach View

My London home meets my LA home

During the moving and repatriating process, it’s been difficult not to get wrapped up in everything I should have done differently. Hindsight makes it so easy to get up on a soapbox and judge myself on all those shoulds.

Had I known the path life would take, I would’ve done a few things differently – like not store a twelve year old car (which was driven occasionally) – but all of those choices led to all the wonderful things that happened in the past few years, so while I might not remember where I stored my really great tool set I’ve been building for a decade, or had to go through the hassle of selling my car now versus in 2012 where I would’ve gotten more money, these things are trivial in the grand scheme.

Slowly but surely, things seem to be coming together (knock on wood). I’ve sold my car on Craigslist (yay!) and gotten a new car. After a week of research, eight trips to five dealerships, a podcast on negotiation, I  got a great deal (exceptional price according to True Car) on a Subaru Forrester. I look forward to not doing this again for another decade, at least! I will say, it’s very nice to experience all the fun stuff that has happened to cars since 2000 when I got my Blazer. Haha! 😉

Buying a Subaru Forester

As for pastry chef jobs, a friend told me about the Women Chef & Restaurateurs national conference that was being held in LA April 17-18. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. More to come on this amazing group, but it was one of the best decisions that left me filled with inspiration and connected me with a network of incredible women in the industry. I’m so excited to be a member of this organization! More on this next.

Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Food Games

Finally, the mattress hunt is still on. Taking suggestions! 🙂

None of this would have been possible without my family and friends. I’m not sure thank you will ever be enough to those who have helped me throughout this entire moving process. Listening to me cry, vent, problem solve, lend me money, and generally just be there for me as an unwavering support system. Without the support of them, these past few weeks would have been significantly more traumatic.

For now, your repayment will be in the form of baked goods and getting to talk to me on the phone in a similar time zone. Except the Londoners…y’all just get to FaceTime with me all the time! Haha 😉

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all of the support! I love y’all dearly!

Los Angeles Beach Sunset

Filed Under: Atlanta, California, Countries, England, General, Georgia, London, North America, United States

Comments

  1. Sarah Potter says

    April 21, 2016 at 3:00 am

    What a fun post! I’ve always envied those that have had the opportunity and embraced the idea of living abroad. I always wanted to, but never took the plunge. You won’t ever regret that experience and all you learned.

    • Beth Meyer says

      April 21, 2016 at 4:16 pm

      Thanks so much Sarah! Your message made my day! The experience for sure was well worth all the things I did “wrong” and in a few years time, I won’t even remember those things. Thanks again! 🙂

  2. Ashley says

    April 21, 2016 at 2:09 pm

    Happy move! Glad it turned out ok for you. That is a rough trip on its own much less when you’re moving your life and leaving friends. Good luck in LA!

    • Beth Meyer says

      April 21, 2016 at 4:15 pm

      Thanks so much Ashley! I really appreciate it 🙂

  3. A Lady in London says

    April 21, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    I’m glad you’re feeling more settled now. Moving is so emotionally draining, but it sounds like you’re through the worst of it. I can’t wait to catch up sometime when I’m back in the States!

    • Beth Meyer says

      April 21, 2016 at 4:17 pm

      Thanks so much Julie! I hope so! Taking things one step at a time and trying to embrace all the change…who knows where it’ll lead. 😉 Can’t wait to see you when you’re over here! 🙂

  4. Lianna Balestracci says

    April 21, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    Moving is so stressful I’m glad you’re adjusting well now! Congrats on the new car! I’m making a trip to Europe in August and the first stop is London, I’m super excited and nervous all at the same time. I’d love some tips!! haha. Good luck in LA!

    • Beth Meyer says

      April 21, 2016 at 6:36 pm

      Thanks so much Lianna! Really appreciate that. Oh fun!! August will be such a nice month to travel in London and Europe. Don’t be nervous at all! Happy to give you lots of tips! Shoot me an email – beth@recipeforadventures.com 🙂 Thanks again!!

Beth Meyer

Hi y’all, I’m Beth. Born and raised in Atlanta. Moved to Los Angeles to work in event marketing. Spent 2012-13 traveling around the world for a year with my best friend. Followed by living in London for nearly three years where I attended pastry school. In April 2016, I moved back to the City of Angels, where I am a pastry chef and food stylist... read more...

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