An older friend on FBook recently bemoaned the time she moved from eastern California to a house in Nevada just north of Reno. She did this move in the 1980s when her kids were in grade school. They're all adults now and she's retired.
(No idea who this person is but she looks way too happy to be moving)
It got me reminiscing about my gypsy-footed life with my own Mom when I was a kid. Our mobility was something I detested and tried to hide because I couldn't offer a valid explanation for why we moved. The summer I turned nine, it was because Mom's spirit guides told her there was going to be an earthquake in Reno, so we had to leave post haste to avoid the impending disaster. That summer in 1974, when I laid eyes on Battle Mountain, Nevada for the first time, I burst into tears. It was the ugliest town I've ever seen, still is.
Then I passed the mythical age of 18 and wild, desperate years of couch surfing and moving in and out of undesirable rentals in the crap side of town became my New Normal. It never occurred to me that part of my incessant migrating had something to do with the fact I was penniless and that many of these hurried relocations had to do with jobs,
the offer of jobs or even the hope of work. Often in my twenties, my father held the tempting carrot of "help with the rent" out before me and I lunged. The help never lasted and neither did the jobs.
Here's the best I can recollect,
With Mom (or my Dad):
Born: July 1965 Monterey, California
Moved into house in Carmel Valley, Calif. 1967
Mom divorced Dad, we moved to Sacramento 1969
Mom moved us to L.A. to stay with Aunt/Uncle while she was
in a psychiatric facility 1971
Moved in with Dad/Step-mother 1972 in Carmel Valley
Moved with Mom to Reno early 1973
Lived in Reno near Virginia Lake
Moved with Mom and her friend to Boise, Idaho 1973
Moved back to Reno 1973
Lived in rental house in Sparks off Rock Blvd/G St in
1973(?)
Moved into condo near Gentry Wy in Reno, Nev. 1974 (?)
Moved to Battle Mtn., NV fall 1974 and lived in trailer from
1974- spring 1979
Moved to Elko, NV in summer 1979 and lived in basement apt until
late 1979
Moved into crappy trailer rental in Elko in Dec 1979
Moved into “low-income” apartment in Elko in spring 1980 and
lived there from 1980-1983
Moved to Hollister, California in July 1983 and lived there until Dec 1983
On my own:
Rented room from weird chick in Salinas, CA in Dec 1983
Lost job in Moss Landing in Feb 1984, moved with Mom
back to Battle Mtn.
Moved from B.M. to Elko for community college April
1984-June 1985
Moved to Sacramento June 1985 (at Dad
insistence)
Lived with Sacto roommates from June 1985-Oct 1985
Moved back to Battle Mtn and Mom Oct 1985
Moved to Elko Jan 1986 and lived in a studio apt off Ash St.
Left Elko Sept 1986, stayed with oldest brother in
Ellensburg, WA for one month
Moved back to Sacramento in Nov 1986 (at Dad’s insistence)
and rented room
Moved into different rental share off Marconi Ave, in Sacto, Dec 1986
Moved into studio apt in downtown Sacramento in Jan 1987
Lost crap job via Kelley Temps,
moved back to Elko March 1987
Stayed with Elko friend for a couple months
Moved into rental trailer in Elko in May 1987-Aug 1988
Moved to Reno to go to college late August 1988
Lived in crap studio near Rancho San Rafael Park Aug
1988-June 1989
Moved into basement apt off Plumas St from June 1989-May 1991
Stayed with psycho hippie in north Reno from June 1991-Aug
1991
Moved into 1bdrm off Mt Rose St from Aug 1991-Jan 1992
Moved to Carson City for welding job Jan 1992-May 1992
(homeless)
Stayed with friend(s) in Sparks May 1992-July 1992
Moved into studio off Keystone/W 4th from July 1992-Jan 1994
Lived in rental share in Cold Springs from Jan 1994-Sept
1994
Moved into studio behind frat house near UNR Sept 1994-May
1995
Moved to Ridgecrest, CA for reporter job May 1995-July 1995
Moved to Lake Crowley, CA for new reporter job July 1995-Oct
1995
Took road trip to Santa Fe, NM Oct 1995 for job interview at
newspaper
Moved back to Reno and into condo w/ friend Nov
1995-April 1996
Moved to USFS barracks April 1996-June 1996
Moved into engine crew barracks Frenchman Lake June 1996-Oct
1996
Stayed with friend in Battle Mtn Oct 1996
Moved into slum studio near Wells Ave in Reno Oct 1996-Jan 1997
Moved to friend’s in San Andreas, CA after New Year’s
Flood Jan 1997
Moved to ranch outside Ely, NV for one month Mar 1997
Moved back to friend’s in California April 1997
Moved into converted garage in Reno May 1997-June 1998
Moved into studio apt off Bell St west of UNR June 1998-May
2001
Moved into house in “old” Reno May 2001-Dec 2001
Jan 2002 tried to move to L.A., didn’t work
Moved into rental off S. Wells in Reno in March 2002-Dec
2002
Went to England for a month in Jan 2003
Moved into shitty cluster apt east of UNR Feb
2003-April 2003
Moved to Colorado for US Forest Service job April
2003-Sept 2003
Went to Australia for 3 months
Stayed with friend in Sparks for one month fall 2003 while
car was fixed
Moved into rental room in Seattle Nov 2003-Mar 2004
Moved into current apartment Mar 2004-Present, 9 years this
month
Moving is one of the most stressful experiences in
life, comparable to divorce, job loss or a cancer. I'm not proud or ashamed of these 60-plus moves. I did what I had to and I'm typical of the American population.