That’s why I’m still here. I guess working in software meant it was easier for me to stay, so who knows. Maybe I would have gone with them had I felt stuck in some other career, but I’ve always earned more than most people I know simply because I know how to press the buttons on the keyboard better.

The wilderness here makes me feel like I could never leave. I’ve been plenty of other places, and the idea of not being in this place is unnerving. The ocean, the forest, the temperate climate, rain, all of it. I’ve come to feel a deep connection to it.