Moving Tip #1: Make New Friends BEFORE The Move

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I have some very exciting news that I have been dying to share for the last few months but due to numerous setbacks that would make for a great reality show I have had to stay mum. But we have signed a new lease and have an official move-in date so I feel it is okay to share with you that

I am moving!!!

Yep. My parents (who have so graciously been supporting me since I came home disabled in 2014) have found a new home in South Orange County and we are moving in February. There is a lot of excitement knowing that I have new adventures and new memories ready to be made. Of course there are also a lot of nerves such as needing to make all new contacts in the Orange County area and finding new doctors and physical therapists in the area.

As part of my journey to Orange County, I thought I’d share with you all some moving tips based on my own experiences. if you have any questions and wishes to see specific tips, please feel free to e-mail me and/or comment in the comments below!!

Moving Tip #1

Make new friends BEFORE the move! Thanks to this social media age we are living in, it is not as impossible as it once was to get connected in your future hometown. When I was a month away from our intended moving date (the saga of dates is for another time), I posted on a Facebook group asking if anyone was in Orange County and would like to connect. Luckily one of the gals, Betsy Correa @betsyb_bliss, told me about a group (originally called #BloggerBabesProductions) with numerous regional chapters including Los Angeles (Betsy is the regional leader) and Orange County.

#BabesWhoCreate

It was an easy decision to join #OCBabesWhoCreate (originally #SoCalBloggerBabes). Even being on disability, I knew that my $$ spent would go to a good cause:

• helping me get connected in my new hometown/community
• a chance to make my friends
• hopefully make some new business contacts in the area

I signed up, paid my dues and eagerly scanned the October events sign up sheet. In my first month I was lucky enough to get a beautiful gel manicure AND attend:

• Knott’s Scary Farm (IG)
• Oktoberfest (IG)
• their Fall event (#BabesofFallFest) (IG)!

My First Event

I met 6 other babes at Knott’s Scary Farm including 3 executive leaders (including the founder herself) and 1 regional co-director. Talk about an amazing group to meet at my first event.

I literally met these ladies for the first time at the main gate. I was definitely nervous. What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t fit in? What if they’re all perfect OC Barbies? But they were all so very welcoming and inviting. Even though they already had their long term friends to hang out with, I didn’t feel like the 7th wheel.

I didn’t feel like the fat, disabled girl. When I pulled out my trusty walking stick there was not a single eyebrow lifted.

Amazing Opportunities:

Since my first month, I have also been able to

• get a blow dry at Gold and Braids,
• attend JIS Jewelry Show in San Diego,
• make a donation and take a tour of OC Rescue Mission,
• participate in a group SHEIN photoshoot (IG),

and there were so many other opportunities I was not able to attend due to my health and prior engagements. The ladies went ice skating, had a Halloween party, attended brunch, attended product launch events, went apple picking, had a Christmas holiday event (similar to #babesoffallfest), and did so much more!

Paying it Forward:

Because of how amazing my first month was, I knew I wanted to pay it forward and invite some of the ladies to join me at events I had additional tickets for. So in November, I invited Betsy and two other gorgeous L.A. babes to join me at LA Zoo Lights and we had such an amazing experience! So many great laughs and photo ops and memories and new friendships!

A couple days later I had four OC babes (including 2 of the ladies I’d met at Knott’s Scary Farm) join me at Cinemark to see the newest Charlie’s Angels movie and I also had the chance to take one of the beautiful ladies I’d met at LA Zoo Lights to join me for The Nutcracker.

It felt so good to give back to the group knowing I was investing in future friendships and hopefully blessing others in the group with additional events they could choose to attend.

Giving Back Together:

Speaking of giving back, I was really excited in December to join some of the ladies at the OC Rescue Mission to bring our donations and get a tour of the amazing facilities. We’re actually going back to the mission this weekend to serve dinner.

It’s so awesome that the ladies don’t just take, take, take, but are interested in how we can give back to the community.

Well Worth the Money:

I did the math and I think I got my year’s dues worth of experiences in two months time!!

And when I move to South Orange County, I will have ladies I can call for coffee or ask for advise about the area. By investing in the regional chapter of Babes Who Create I am investing in my future and thanks to the new friendships I’ve made and the great experiences I’ve shared with these ladies in the last few months I am more comfortable in the area and even more excited to get to know my new hometown.

And as of right now, I believe they have 24 chapters from LA to Houston to New York City and everywhere in between! So it is likely that if you are moving to a metropolitan area in the United States there is a chapter waiting to meet you and make memories with you!

Meet Some of the Babes:

www.adayinsocal.com

@adayinsocal

Alice (Inland Empire Chapter)

AllThingsAlison.com

@allthingsalison

Alison (Executive Leadership/Regional Director, Orange County Chapter)

fellowfashionista.blogspot.com

@fellowfashionista

Guadalupe (Co-Regional Director, Orange County)

Joining Babes Who Create:

I’ve only touched on a small percentage of the perks to a Babes Who Create membership. Here are all the terrific perks they highlight on their website: