relocate?

[Paulie]

I love your avatar.

Well, I still live in the same town I used in for years. Actually I live 2 blocks from where I spent the last 5 years using (before being homeless).

IMO wherever I go, there I am.

[aasharon90]

I relocated to Houston some 10 yrs ago mainly to
offer more opportunities and open more doors
of personal and education growth for them...

The move there for them was extremely positive
for them as they have grown and flurished into
2 AWESOME young adults.....however.....

For me....when i moved away from my first
6 yrs into my recovery, i left behind my AA
family and support....I left my hometown
of Baton Rouge ...my comfort zone to a
fast pace city where anxiety and fear
dominated me for all those yrs....

As for as my program went....i started
right off the bat connecting to AA meetings
as i knew how important it was to
my own recovery......However i just
didnt connect to the program like
i was suppose to.....

As was suggested in many meetings...
getting involved and being a part
of the fellowship makes a world
of difference....then u wouldnt
feel all alone where ever u r.....

For me....i found a softer easier
way to deal with my problem....
I connected here to online to AA
then eventually found SR....

SR has become another wonderful
tool to use in my recovery and
SR has also become my AA family....

I eventually returned to Baton
Rouge alone.....leaving my family...
husband of 25 yrs back in Houston
where they have NO DESIRE
to return here.....

Baton Rouge is HOME to me and will
always be...Baton Rouge is home of
my AA family....Baton Rouge is where
my heart is at.....

If Baton Rouge is where I am suppose
to be to be instrumental to others
in recovery and if its my HP's Will
that I remain here then this is where
I shall stay.....

Sharong my ESH with others achieving
sobriety ONE DAY AT A TIME.

Thanks for letting me share.

[Phinneas]

Originally Posted by Paulie

IMO wherever I go, there I am.

I agree with Polly.

People, places and things, huh?

The common wisdom in recovery is that the geographic cure rarely works. I think Paulie hit that nail on the head as to why.

It did help me, however. But my situation was seriously life or death. I moved to get away from a catastrophic divorce and an abusive spouse. I basically ran 2,000 miles away and found good recovery in my new city. But I, too, brought all of my baggage and issues with me.

What's the situation with you, dogged?

[SaTiT]

It depends..because if I was still in texas...them damn blue eyes will
still be hauting me :rof
If you're young and single..sometimes that helps.

Just remember onething..there's drugs and dealers everywhere.
and no matter where you go...there you are.lol

No it dosen't change on my motive of drinking or using.

It's like a contradiction in a way..becuase they say
don't hang out in your old play ground.
If that's a geograhpic...then I don't know what is ??

I did move to another town but was still in the same county.
But just living in a different town gave me a boundary..but my damn
next door nieghbor turned out to be an addict anyhow.

So when life got better, i moved out to the country.
Had my cozy life raising my family.
It was good for my family..but there was a drunk on one side
and a stoner on the side of where we lived :rof So there you go.

And when i go into work....there was a stoner behind me and
a drunk in front of me..lol

So i did the next best thing...i fell in love with an addict that live
under the same roof as me.lol
Put my program to the acid text...i relapsed.lol

From the frying pan and into the fire.lol

I'm living with an alocholic at the moment...i have a lot of moments.lol
Havn't had to used over it thou. Something about acoa and instantly I'm codi.lol

[REZ]

I have moved quite a few times in my recovery, though each time the reason I moved was not to escape, but because of my education/career/family situation. Each time I moved, what helped me the most was to get connected to people in recovery in the new place--ASAP. As a result of these moves, I have some great memories of different meetings, people, sponsors...

[Gmoney]

I only tried the geographical change once, and it didn't work. I went all the way from New York to Arizona and after 3 months I found a dope house and used. The facility I was in had a zero tolerance policy and kicked me out. There I was..broke, with three suitcases in 98 degree weather and no place to stay. If not for family members sending me a bus ticket home, I don't know what I would've done. Not long afterwards I made the committment to get clean and stay clean AT HOME. In a sense, relocating did help me. It helped me understand that no matter where I went...I took me along. It helped me realize that drug addicts and drugs are everywhere, and if I'm not serious about staying clean...I can always get one more. But most of all, I learned that I can change me without having to change where "me" is.

[swmnkdinthervr]

I moved for many years to follow work (construction) and drug my wife and kids along, most of the moves weren't made using the best judgment and few worked out as well as I'd hoped not to mention the toll on my family, it was many years before I realized that I'd brought my addiction along for the ride. (often hoping in vain that the change would help with my "problems" too) After choosing the sober path I've only moved 4 times in nearly 20 years and those moves were well thought out and had measurable success.

[Thundar301]

I moved back home in recovery,:atv to my home town where I grew up and where my using started, I had 11 month's clean and sober then use the help of my Sponser's and the grace of my higher power. But it wasn't moving to get away from something , it was getting back to where I cause most of my trouble and hurt so many family members at :wtf2, I came back home to work on my amends and clean up some of my past. So far it has been the best thing I have ever done, People are seeing me do things I have said I was going to,and this time I have been following through to the best of my abilities, unlike the past. So I have to say this has worked so far for me , although I do miss the strength of the recovery meetings I was attending in So Cal E.I.E. area. that and my friends:ghug are all I miss from the left coast!

[Aa_vark]

Originally Posted by REZ

Each time I moved, what helped me the most was to get connected to people in recovery in the new place--ASAP. As a result of these moves, I have some great memories of different meetings, people, sponsors...

Rez, you hit the nail on the head for me, bud.

I moved, my head moved, my addiction moved, my home group didnt... Staying connected to others in recovery, and to service is a necessity for me.

[Taking5]

This topic came up a a meeting once. I heard a guy talk about how there should be a sign at the Alabama state line that says "Whiskey and Cocaine will F&^% you up in this state, too".

I suspect that this is true everywhere. The AA Big Book even mentions that you could go to Greenland to get away from it all but then an eskimo could turn up with a bottle of gin and ruin everything!

Having said all that, I do believe it is important to change the people, places and things in our lives to support our sobriety. For me that did not mean moving, but no longer hanging out in bars or running with the same pack.

I think a geographical move could help, but what is much more important is our state of mind and keeping ourselves on sound spiritual footing. This is what will keep us sober.

[ccgirl2]

Somebody said at my meeting a couple nights ago what Paulie said "Wherever I go I am always there" Seem we can't run away from ourselves or our issues.