moving – Thinker Mommy

How Starbucks Spring Blend Saved My Life – Or, Moving 300 Miles Away

I’ll always remember what we did this Spring because we moved from New Jersey to Vermont… and we only had 11 days to do it. My husband had applied and interviewed at a few different places and we were waiting to see if any of those jobs would pan out. We had already gotten permission to do a 6 month extension on our lease, just in case, but once we got the offer for this job in Vermont, it was now or never. Eleven days is almost 2 weeks – totally do-able, right? I don’t think any of us actually believed we were going to go through with the move though, because we didn’t pack a single box until that day.

Not only did we wait until the last minute, we also have 2 young children who made packing nearly impossible during daylight hours. I don’t know how many boxes were unpacked while I was distracted elsewhere and how many times children had to be evicted from box houses (and other newly empty structures) before I realized it was much more productive to pack after bedtime (which luckily isn’t too late at 7 pm). Even so, the adults were up until midnight or later on most nights.

It’s probably not surprising that this adventure involved A LOT of coffee. With fortuitous timing, to say the least, I received a bag of Starbucks’ 2014 Spring Blend to sample! But, since images of us drinking the coffee would also include bleary eyes, no make-up, messy hair and ragged, not-afraid-to-get-dirty clothes which just shouldn’t be broadcast online for all of eternity, instead I give you…

Only because I received my coffee sample right before all this chaos started, I can tell you that Starbucks’ 2014 Spring Blend is delicious. (By the end of the move, all I could have said was that it was hot and caffeinated). I’m not sure I tasted the chocolate or sweet orange undertones, but I was surprised that the few sips I savored were light enough for my palate, even with this blend being described as a medium body (I generally favor breakfast and other blonde blends). My husband, who is drawn to dark roasts, also enjoyed it. Of course – the one coffee we can happily share is only available seasonally, haha. Coffee can be stored for a long time in the freezer, right? (– looking it up now.)

The day we loaded up the rental truck, New Jersey decided to punish us for leaving with monsoon rain all day and all night. (Worst move ever!!). But the following morning, like an omen of a happy future, we were greeted with nothing but sunshine. We fueled up with more coffee for the 6 hour road trip and it was blissfully uneventful. I would have loved to pair my drink with buttery shortbread and early harvest berries as Starbucks suggested, but unfortunately, I was at the mercy of the convenience stores’ inventory, and it was more like peanut M&Ms and cheese sticks. Luckily, the taste of the coffee didn’t suffer from the lack of sophistication. :)

And now we’re in Vermont – getting to know the people and the area. Most of the trees were still bare when we arrived, but it only took about a week before birds were singing and flowers were blooming (tons of dandelions). I don’t know if my kids will remember ever living in New Jersey, but I will. This is the Spring that we moved 300 miles away. And maybe every Spring hereafter, when the snow completely melts and there’s no threat of it coming back, I’ll sit on my front porch with a cup of Starbucks Spring Blend coffee and thank god I won’t have to move again for a long, long time.

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50 Reasons to Move from NJ to Vermont

This list is, in part, courtesy of my sister who started a campaign to get us to leave New Jersey shortly after her arrival in the Green Mountain State with her husband. I’ve linked to proof of my statements and other interesting factoids so click on a few if you’re curious (especially the one about the serious maple syrup pride).

Drumroll please…

You can see more than 5 stars from your backyard
Burlington, Vermont was named by Parenting.com as #2 in the Top 10 Best Cities for Families in 2012
Ben & Jerry’s!!! (almost got the #1 spot in my list, haha)
No sales tax in Vermont when ordering online (at least for now from Sephora and Amazon)
Second healthiest state in the US
Sugar on snow in the winter from a maple sugarhouse and…
Serious maple syrup pride statewide
Kid-friendly Shelburne Farms with farm animals and activities
WalletHub ranked Vermont 3rd best in its list of “The Best and Worst States for Working Moms” (NJ was 15th)
Kid-friendly indoor waterpark at Jay Peak Resort (indoor= instant vacation in the middle of winter!)
The Northern Lights!!
The Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium (got a Groupon deal for a years family membership for less than the price of regular admission for 1 trip with my family!)
Rated the 5th Happiest State in the nation in 2013
The Stowe Recreation Path
Breweries: Magic Hat, Long Trail, Harpoon
Not one but two Hot Air Balloon Festivals: Quechee and Stoweflake
Montpelier, Vermont is the smallest U.S. state capital and the only one without a McDonalds.
There are more than 100 covered bridges in Vermont
Lake Champlain Ferries (I see the appeal, but I find it terrifying)
Champ, Vermont’s own Loch Ness Monster of Lake Champlain (this is adorable though!)
Billboards are illegal
Vermont is the 5th most educated state of 2013 (ahead of #6 New Jersey)
The Vermont high school graduation rate is roughly 90 percent – one of the highest rates in the nation. And highly rated schools overall.
Leaf Peeping season
Walk the trail to Quechee Gorge
Cleaner air (Fine. I guess we won’t miss the garbage smell on the way to Newark Airport)
Traffic and rush hour are almost non-existent (especially when compared to NJ/NYC)
About 2 hours from Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Lots of farmers’ markets and artisan/craft fairs
Cutest ever trick or treating event for little kids, Halloween morning on Church St.
Open Community swimming pools (unlike residency-required pools in NJ too full to even accept new membership)
Cut your own Christmas tree farms
Movie theaters where you don’t have to buy tickets in advance
The King Arthur Flour company (the bakers out there will be excited with me!)
The Vermont Solar and Small Wind Incentive Program (cool)
Legal same-sex marriage since Sep. 1, 2009 (I definitely want to live in an open-minded, liberal state)
VT Restaurant week
For my husband: fishing!
No IKEA. :( Which makes anti-materialism the pro here. Kind of.
It’s possible to house livestock in your backyard (my husband has always wanted chickens)
Getting away from the Blue Laws in Bergen County, NJ (practically nothing is open on Sundays)
Just look at these beautiful pictures (from Buzzfeed)
The Green Mountain Reiki Institute (for my mom who had enormous success using Reiki in treating her migraines).
Skirack‘s Annual Bike Swap (one person brought in 34 bikes to swap/sell and there were a number of people with 10+!)
For my husband: there IS a Five Guys in South Burlington
You’ll see stories about baby moose roaming around the city in the local newspaper
And the newspapers write stories about helping turtles, frogs and salamanders cross the street, if it’s safe to do so. (FYI to self: look up how to identify a snapping turtle and DO NOT TOUCH!!!)
Mandatory composting
Getting out of a super expensive area! Forbes magazine’s 2012 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in the United States list included 12 Bergen county municipalities in the top 500. (And in 2013, Alpine, NJ, a Bergen county city, was #8). Yikes.
Your husband gets a great job offer…