Hi all, I have officially launched the moving gofundme,
https://gofund.me/03139361I can entirely understand if you are too strapped to donate, things are so so tough, But if you could share it, I would be incredibly thankful.
Howdy ♥
My name is Angell, but you can also call me Allie.
A GoFundMe was never something I saw myself making, however as life takes its twists and turns I have decided that making this fundraiser is a good idea. No one has an easy life, but in recent months it has become increasingly obvious that I need to ask for help.
My husband, dog, cockatoo, cat, and two guinea pigs are headed cross-country again. Sadly, this decision is not really something we wanted to make, we love it here in Washington. Unfortunately, the state's tax law is so predatory to self-employed artists. This is the first year in Six years that my business Is running entirely in the red. Which is awful because this is also the first full year that I have spent being a full time artist. Add in the fact that the cost of living is incredibly high here... it leaves us in a tight position.
We would love to stay, to live near all the beauty that Washington has to offer and to eagerly explore all the nature surrounding us. But I haven't left my desk in months, any time off is enough to pull the pin on my living circumstances. Any weekends I have taken have been full of stress and anxiety about not working. I have gotten to the point with my anxiety that I can't sleep until 6-8 am every day because I lay in bed full of worry about the future. I know being an artist isn't an easy thing and that I need to work hard to live happily, I am not afraid of hard work by any means. However, the cost of living works against me at every turn here and the taxes being around $5k if not more for state alone, only adds to my stress. I don't have that money and yes, I have always budgeted for my taxes and have always afforded them. I taught myself how to file and learned how to do my taxes on my own just so that I could have a deeper understanding of my financial security as an artist.
We moved to Washington in October 2022 in a very sudden emergency move as we were told to leave our apartment.
You can read more about my eviction here We had not planned on moving so suddenly and when friends offered us a place to stay here in Washington to get on our feet, we took it. While it was an opportunity to get back on our feet, it ended up being a huge financial set back when my husband was unable to find work easily due to the job market here in Washington. Only after six months of job hunting and hundreds of applications was he able to get a job. During that time, I floated two people's expenses on my own income and stretched myself financially thin so that we could get a place of our own to unburden our friends.
Normally, when I would decide to move, I would work my hind-end off to be able to afford the move. But we never financially recovered from our last move. I would stay if I knew I could find a light at the end of the tunnel, but when I looked at my estimated taxes for 2023 I knew we had to go. Staying another year in Washington would be the end of my career as an artist, due to taxes alone.
So we are headed to Pennsylvania, where once again friends have offered us a soft place to land. It was suggested to me to try a GoFundMe to ask for aid, and this is where I am asking for help. Unlike our move to Washington, I know that this is the right decision because I have had time to research, I have had time to thoroughly dig and future-proof our move. Both my husband I are from New England, so going back east means we will also be closer to family we haven't seen in coming up on seven years. Rentals in PA are also about a $1000 cheaper than what we currently pay for in rent. The tax laws are also much more flexible for artists, the cost of living is cheaper, and we will be able to truly get our feet under us again.
I would never ask for help if I thought I could do this on my own. When we moved last time, I had just finished paying for my summer course for college out of pocket and graduating from university. We had to pull a lot of our resources just to get here, but we did it. I don't want to call it a mistake because there has been a lot of good here. But I know staying would be the biggest mistake.
The financial cost of moving to PA is hefty, up front it is incredibly expensive, but in the long run I am sure that we will be able to recover. To help with some of these expenses, my husband and I are selling a majority of our furniture just for the sake of using the smallest U-pack we can. I have thoroughly researched what way we will move as well and compared the numbers, and we have decided to use U-Pack instead of U-haul because it will save us at least $2,000. If we can get all of our items down to 10ft, we can save even more from the original Uhaul price of $7,292 (gas, hotel included). Not to mention, moving in the winter is much safer in a car rather than a Uhaul.
Please trust that I plan to mitigate as much of the expense as I can. I do not live lavishly, I grew up in a "paycheck to paycheck living off debt" household and I have always been proud of the lessons I learned from my parent's mistakes. Unfortunately, with my rent being $1900 a month, my student loans, my utilities, insurance, etc., my abilities to save for this move are stunted.
All together It looks like I need to get together at least $5k to be able to afford this move, with the added rent of $3800 for my last two months here. Our moving day is picked to be March 26th, and we will be driving the 2,600 miles to Pennsylvania from Washington in our car. I am fine with the distance, but when it comes down to the finances, I need help. If I want things to get better and to improve, I need to ask for help.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to even read this and for considering my circumstances.
Love,
Angell
