Where Relocation Begins

 

     We decided on a small-ish apartment in downtown Bellingham on State Street. The rent is nearly half of what we would have been paying if we had stayed in Seattle. 

     Perhaps the strangest part of this dislocation/relocation is a socially sanctioned mechanism called EDRA, created by the Seattle city council in 2022. It stands for Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance. 

     What it amounts to is that we were paid by the city via our landlord to leave Seattle. It has been determined by the powers-that-be that we should be paid for the anguish and disruption this has caused us---to the tune of $7,000. (I guess they figured that a monthly rent times three would cover the majority of costs.)

     But let me tell you, after living and rooting myself in a city for 42 years, I no longer believe there is any amount of money that adequately recompenses my husband and I for the loss of proximity to our friends and family---the most cherished people in our lives. 

     Such is the world we live in, that every event must, at some point, be related to a dollar figure. It is how we have all been taught to think. And make no mistake about it----

     THIS HUMAN THINKS IT SUCKS. 

     Let's face it. At heart I am simply not a capitalist. There you have it. 

     There may be a happy ending to this story, but that has yet to be determined.