Transitioning from Colorado to Omaha has been… difficult.

Yeah, I know. “But Patrick! You’ve moved 13 times in your life! How can moving to another place be difficult?”

Well, partly because, one, this is one of the few times I’m moving back to a city I used to live in, and two, moving doesn’t get any easier, just the process of moving does.

I suppose one of the more difficult things is transitioning from living in rented rooms and my parents’ basement to my own place. It’s been nice, having a place of my own. But MY GOD does it get lonely.

Also, now I have these things called “bills” that I have to pay. Electricity, water, parking, rent, student loans, credit card. The first month of payment, in particular, is difficult. Most of the time, they ask for a deposit or down payment that you can’t get out of. Unfortunately, I’ve had to use up most of my savings just to pay these down payments off.

Luckily, my brother and father have hammered fiscal responsibility into me for the past 24 years of my life (but only the last 5 in which I’ve actually listened). So I’m on top of that.

But then there’s the whole social aspect as well. I thought moving to Omaha would mean being able to spend more time with friends and getting to meet all new people.

However, one of the big changes I’ve noticed from College to the real world is that everyone seems to have different lives and schedules. For instance, I was talking to a friend today (who’s in Med School), and he told me that Mondays have become his Fridays since their tests are always on a Monday. His Friday is a Monday, while my Friday is still Friday.

Meeting new people can be hard too. I could say it’s because I’m not in College anymore and therefore not able to tap into a large community, but I think it’s more due to the different points people are at in their lives.

Some people I meet have their group of friends that they’ve had for years, and so fall back on that social group because it’s the path of least resistance. Others have families, kids and teenagers and mortgages and specific schedules that accommodate their family, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for much else. Others are simply not concentrating on socializing, instead focused on their career or school.

Which means less ability to meet people than in College, less time to spend with friends. Also, less spare cash to do things with because of the above mentioned bills. Oh, and less things to do when I get home from work since I live alone now.

A conundrum.

At least there’s Netflix.

…right?