Moving Back To Michigan

Yes, the secret is out. I Ryan Redoute did leave Michigan for around two years to chase my dreams of living in Chicago. Please don’t cancel me for it. Haha. It was for the best and I learned valuable lessons moving back to Michigan to share with you all that I’ll detail below. 

Chasing “Big City” Dreams

I think it’s always good to push yourself out of your comfort zone every now and then. After getting my bachelor’s from Michigan State (Go green!), I threw caution to the wind and decided to start applying for jobs in Chicago. I focused on applying for jobs there because I wanted to live in a big city and I was dating someone at the time that lived in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Living there would obviously put us closer together which would have been lovely.

I would apply for jobs like crazy and tell recruiters that I was visiting in the future and could interview then. The interview process was what I expected with some twist and turns. One time after an interview, I actually found myself sprinting downtown toward Union Station on a 90-degree day. With a messenger bag and carry-on in hand, I was rushing to make my ride on an Amtrak home.

On my first visit to Chicago, I lined up 3 interviews and got no offers. But on my 2nd visit a month or so later, I lined up 3 interviews got 3 offers! I did it. I said goodbye to Vernors, bonfires, seeing Detroit Lions apparel, and packed up my stuff to live in a studio apartment in the lovely neighborhood of Andersonville.

How Chicago Is Different From Metro Detroit

Immediately upon arrival, I felt like I was in a different world. I didn’t see trees everywhere that I looked, I turned on the TV and saw news anchors talking about Bulls and everything was branded in red. My studio’s windows only looked out on brick walls and everyone was walking around with headphones. Oh, and I didn’t have a boyfriend because we broke up soon after I moved in.

I grabbed this fresh start by the horns and got to know my surroundings and the public transit system quick. I also ended up meeting some of the loveliest people in the world and joined a volleyball league. The greatest surprise was that my job at a big ad agency downtown led to me living a very “Emily In Paris” lifestyle but instead let’s call it “Ryan In Chicago”. My brain was overstimulated, I had a blast living the “big city” life, but something was missing.

 

Life Back In Michigan

As much as those who move away from their hometowns wish the life we left behind would pause and not change until we return, it keeps chugging along without you. My sister was getting married (and we’d find out a year or so later that she was pregnant). I was missing countless “Wednesday Redoute Family Pizza Nights”, my high school bestie got engaged… so many things were changing and I was too.

In Chicago, I was yearning to start my own business and kept hearing news about “Detroit’s Renaissance”. The dating scene was fun but I wasn’t staying with anyone longer than 2 months or so. Honestly, I think missing those family pizza nights was getting to me too. 

Cha Cha Cha Changes… OMG I’m Having A Panic Attack

One day on the commuter train heading home from my job, I had a panic attack which threw my time in Chicago and my mind for a whirl. I then had a second one a few days later which also happened to be the day that the Chicago Cubs won the world series. As the crowds cheered on the streets of of the city, I was in my bedroom crying to my family. During these rough few days, I received so much comfort from my friends in Chicago. I gravitated toward my family (and medical professionals) for help as well.

I was able to get my brain back on the rails and started enjoying my life in Chicago again. But, I also started craving a change (like I do often) and Michigan. It felt like a Michigan siren was calling me back.

Officially Moving Back To Michigan

I think those of us in the LGBTQ+ community have a really interesting relationship with the areas we grew up in which is why so many of us end up leaving those areas for ones that are maybe more welcoming to all (I’d be lying if I said the amount of rainbow/unity flags didn’t impact where I wanted live). As you can imagine, these types of feelings made me hesitant to move back to my hometown which I knew could be a bit more conservative. But, I began applying for jobs in Metro Detroit regardless and actually ended up landing one pretty quick.

Saying goodbye to daily life in Chicago (which I grew to enjoy very much) and amazing friends that impacted me so deeply, during a profound chapter in my life, was hard but I was excited to attend pizza nights again, get to watch my niece blossom into the delightful firecracker of a kid she is today, start my own business, and be able to live a full-fledged “lake life” all summer long. My best friends from High School also surprised me at my parent’s house the night I moved back from Chicago which nearly brought me to tears. It felt so good being close to the stable foundation that my family provides, but I decided not to be too close.

I decided when I moved back that I was going to do things my way. Create the Michigan that I want to live in. Instead of going back to the more conservative area that I grew up in, I chose to live in an area that had a lot more rainbow/unity flags, had a big choir for me to join, and overall offered me the change and comforts that I needed.

Creating My Michigan

I do feel moving back to Michigan was meant to be. That point was made very clear when I started receiving praise, and now 140K+ followers on TikTok, from my Michigan-focused content. I was recently asked to emcee Macomb County Pride which I’m very excited about and I’m continuing to create the Michigan I want to live in.

I better see the beauty of Michigan as a state and how amazing and unique the people here truly are. Oh, and I found myself a man who I just can’t get enough of.