I was born and raised in Southern California. I also spent the majority of my life in California. I've moved to Texas twice in the last five years.
Eiman and I are still married, but we're separated. We're really good friends because we parent our 12-year-old daughter together. I also have two older kids from a previous relationship.
Eiman and I lived in the same apartment building in Riverside, California, for a long time. I really appreciated the convenience of California. Everything was close by.
There were also a lot of job opportunities, even if they weren't the greatest. Plus, you were so close to the mountains, close to hiking trails, and near the beaches. One of the things I loved best about California was the access to diversity.
I met so many people from different countries and learned about their cultures, food, and lifestyles. But starting in 2019, the rising costs in California became very challenging. I worked at a health and wellness resort.
It was a good place to work, but it got to the point where if I missed even one day of work, it would impact my finances drastically. Money was the main stressor we were dealing with. I felt like I wasn't able to really live my life because the cost of living was so high in California.
I was working in warehouses for a while, before going into security. I had to get a second job to survive, and even that didn't leave me any money left over to take my daughter out to do something fun. I left California with my daughters for .