THE FIVE: Carbondale, Colorado

This week, one of my lifelong friends contributed her latest adventure to The Five. Angela Paulone is an experienced teacher and writer (her blog is The Writer’s Corner) who — after leaving a highly stressful job last year made the decision to completely change her life and move to Colorado. Angela and I pretty much grew up together; we come from a small city in Connecticut, where very few people ever make it out. It’s a family oriented place, and coming from very Italian families who had spent generations in the area, something always made us feel a bit trapped. Of our group of friends, only a few have managed to make a move out of state, and some of those ended up back home. But Angela has now made that huge move, and I wish her the best of luck, because it’s truly an adventure to be out on your own really making it for yourself.  And how can you beat the mountains of Colorado? Here is Angela’s take on her first few weeks in Carbondale, Colorado.

What force propelled me here, in the middle of two mountain ranges, in the middle of cowboy country Colorado?  The answer comes quickly: Connecticut, as much as I love it, has not offered the lifestyle I’ve been innately searching for my entire life.

The mountains I now live among are the gurus of my reconnection with nature.  They are the spiritual directors of my faith journey.  They are Mother Earth embracing me, calling me Home.

The sun winks at me, the dry air of this desert climate eases my aching joints and the stillness calms my East Coast nerves.  My body is working harder to breath, circulate blood, burn calories and such, but my mind is relaxed with the help of the thin air at 6,620 feet.

As a teacher, I will live to live here, not live to work.  My life will be who I am and what positive achievements my students reach not what reports I don’t do.  Reality is among the ski slopes, the hiking trails and the horses.

Is this my future long-term residence?  That answer is uncertain, but if Mt. Sopris and the red rock mountain of Carbondale have anything to do with it, I will heed their whispers and rebuild a new, active, healthier life within their bosom.

Chris Cavallari

About Chris Cavallari

Chris is a longtime digital content producer based in Maine. Since 1999, he has been an early adopter and active participant in blogging, podcasting, and social media, and has been guiding small and mid-sized businesses in leveraging video, social media, and digital publishing to the fullest. With an avid love of travel and the outdoors, Chris started PartTimeVagabond.com in 2009 to give him a platform to showcase his outdoors and travel adventures, and to help educate others in doing the same.