I have been in Portland for a little over a week now and it feels like home already. It is a summer of many firsts. First time living outside of California. First time living alone. First time living in a city. I was worried about the weather (and still am!) but luckily it has been sunny and warm, keeping my California withdrawals to a minimum.

Currently, I am subletting a tiny studio downtown and I have fallen madly in love with all of its natural light. I came here with a theory that living in the brightest possible place would help me adjust better. That was just my excuse to look at pretty vintage studios with big windows, white walls, and wood floors. But I can tell you now that it is really making a huge difference. I’ll only be in this studio for a couple weeks, but I wish I could live here forever. Truly. Natural light is my jam.

– My dad drove up here with me, which was really fun! He hadn’t been to Portland before so we were able to explore a bunch of foodie places in the area for a couple days. It was great to have some quality time with my padre, even though it made saying goodbye really tough.

– Living in the city is the weirdest. I keep telling my phone to take me to simple places like Target or Office Depot, and I end up in giant parking structures. I would choose this city over the suburbs any day, but I kinda sorta miss free parking.

– I really appreciate the community here. My friend invited me to a meadow the other day and there were just tons of groups of friends everywhere, picnicking and watching the sun set. Beautiful!

To see more Portland goodness, find me on Instagram @earlgreyjenn. :)