From Sweet Tea to Sagebrush: Moving from Mississippi to Washington

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Well, y’all, we did it.

We packed up our life in Clinton, Mississippi and moved 2,300 miles across the country to the Tri-Cities, Washington. That’s right. Two adults, three kids, one dog, one cat, and enough snacks to fill a small convenience store made the epic journey together. If you've ever wondered what it's like to uproot your Southern life and replant it in the Pacific Northwest desert... buckle up and let's begin.

Why the Move?

Call it a leap of faith, a quest for adventure, or just a serious change of scenery. Ryan and I had known when we moved to MS that we would only be there 2-3 years and that the next move we made we wanted to be a more permanent stay. We have been dreaming of a new chapter for a while—somewhere with big skies, new opportunities, space to explore, and maybe most importantly, Hockey! The Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) kept popping up on our radar. Sunshine? Check. Family-friendly? Check. Outdoor activities for days? Double check. Plus, we heard rumors that people actually like the dry heat. (Good hair days everyday...?)

The Road Trip: Chaos & Car Snacks

Imagine a minivan bursting at the seams with:

  • One 11-year-old daughter channeling pre-teen sass and Spotify DJ powers (okay 90% of her selection was Olivia Rodrigo and she lost DJ powers pretty quickly) This poor girl also had strep throat and powered through the 3-day trip like a CHAMP!

  • Two boys (8 and 6) who could turn a backseat into a wrestling ring in under 5 minutes, and one of which did not want to wear clothes... 

  • A dog who thinks every rest stop is his personal kingdom and desperately wanted to sit on my lap

  • A cat who did not sign up for any of this who thought the whole van was her personal kingdom and she would go wherever she liked, whenever she liked. 

Add in some epic roadside snacks (All the chips, Lunchables, chocolates, and gas station gummies—don’t judge), hotel adventures, and a few “are we there yet?”s... and you've got our cross-country road trip in a nutshell. Even though it was a long trip we scheduled lots of stops and time for exploring to make it as fun as possible.


First Impressions of the Tri-Cities

We rolled into town slightly delirious, and SOOOO ready to be done with the road. But the moment we saw the Columbia River sparkling in the evening light, it hit us—this was home now. It was a mixture of bittersweet and unreal. 

The Tri-Cities has this kind of quiet magic to it. Wide open skies. Mountains on the horizon. I thought I might feel overwhelmed moving to an area with such a large population compared to what I'm used to, but it has this small-town feel. 

The kids immediately found a park to conquer. Our dog thinks the river trails are his new personal daily walk spots. And our cat is...well, she’s still in protest, but she’s warming up. We did go 2 1/2 weeks without anything that we didn't bring in our minivan or buy at a local store which meant, no real beds. I don't think my boys cared one way or the other on sleeping on the floor vs a bed. However, I very much cared about the difference between an air mattress and my real mattress and was so thankful when all our stuff arrived even though more than half of it went to a storage unit.

What We’re Loving So Far

  • The weather – Dry, sunny days and cool nights? We’ll take it. Even though it did snow and was cold for a bit, it wasn't bad at all. We actually got to enjoy a winter season, and the snow melted before it lost it's fun and magic. We took the kids sledding and built snowmen. Spring is turning out to be absolutely gorgeous and not anywhere close to the amount of pollen we are used to having.

  • Local vibes – Everyone’s been super friendly, and there’s a small-town feel that reminds us a bit of our old towns. While I LOVED my people in MS, the general population was not as desirable. We've met so many incredible kind and helpful strangers here and it felt like a bit of culture shock going out to the stores and having employees that actual talked and were nice. 

  • Outdoor EVERYTHING – Hiking, biking, river walks, fishing, sledding, skating, kayaking, SIDEWALKS! The list could really go on for so long, but I've missed being able to do stuff outdoors and now there are so many choices.

  • Hockey - Did I mention that a big part of the reason Tri-Cities was on our list of possible places to move to was because they had Hockey? Because my boys were signed up and out on the ice skating before I even had them enrolled in school. It's fine, they got learned real goods in Mississippi, so they done did knows school things. 😂

  • Farmers markets & fresh produce – There are so many different mini farms that allow you to come and pick fruit yourself and markets to buy homemade products and foods. Bucket list items are being checked off left and right.




What We Miss from Mississippi (and the "South" in general)

  • Seasoned food (IYKYK) - Let me also extend this to Chick-fil-a and Raising Canes! My 2 favorite chicken fast food places and they are not here in the tri-cities, but we should have a CFA by August so there is some hope.

  • That deep Southern hospitality - in our 6 months of living here not one person has asked me if I have found a home church yet. 

  • Thunder/Lighting storms - To be fair I would sometimes complain about all the rain in MS but that was only if I had to get out in the rain. I loved it as long as I got to stay home. Of all the things I knew I would miss this didn't even cross my mind, but I am missing it so much now. 

  • Kudzu. Kidding. Definitely not that.

Honestly, there are so many things I'll miss, I'm sure the longer I'm here the more that list will grow. I am born and raised southern and I'm sure I'll always have my accent and call the south home. But overall? We’re loving the adventure and dramatic drop in the number of bugs. It’s not always easy (navigating new schools, weird traffic patterns, having to find new doctors/dentist/etc), but it’s been worth it.

What’s Next?

We’re settling in, exploring every inch of the Tri-Cities, and learning how to be a desert-loving family. I’ll be sharing more stories soon, like our adventure on trying to find a place to live. 

If you’ve made a big move like this—or are thinking about it—drop a comment! I'd love to hear your stories or answer questions about our experience. Until next time, wish us luck, sunshine, and maybe a few quiet minutes in the car.

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