Local Vibes

One year ago I packed my car (my mom's car, too), said goodbye to my family, my friends, my dog, my state and drove around eleven hours to my new home. We arrived to Charleston around 10p.m., so unpacking the cars was out of the question. Nonetheless, the guy I was subleasing from had left the keys under the front door mat (safe, right?), so we drove over to take a peak inside. The apartment was located in downtown Charleston, so it had a keycode you needed in order to enter. I didn't know the keycode. Luckily someone was leaving the sidegate, so I slipped in behind them and pretended I knew what I was doing! Ha! My plan was working until I realized I didn't know how to actually get back out of the gate and had to ask some random stranger that apparently didn't even live there. When I finally figured out what the heck was going, I went to find my new crib. The first apartment I came upon had about fifteen palmetto bugs lining the top of the front door. I squealed when I looked down to see one running right under my feet. What had I got myself into? I didn't have an actual conversation with someone until a week later when I started work. (Unless you count chatting with an Old Navy worker a conversation?)  I spent my free days before work lounging on the beach and exploring my new city. I was (still am) obsessed with downtown Charleston, even if I am seeing and going to the same places. I made friends at work, but it wasn't until a month later when a new intern started and demanded that the out-of-staters should start hanging out more. And that was the beginning of eating our way thru Charleston, trips to the beaches, midnight swims and crab hunting, nights of trivia, karaoke, and dancing while drinking cheap drinks. I've been to "The Bachelor" casting calls, local brand and store launch parties, cannonballed into the Charleston Harbor, sat by the runway of Charleston Fashion Week, *partied* with "Southern Charm" cast members, toured the harbor during sunset, ran the Cooper River Bridge Run, survived a hurricane and so many other incredible things within the last year of living in the Lowcountry. Cheers to one year and hopefully more months of exciting adventures! P.S.- Can I officially be a local now?