Most of my podcasts tend to revolve around shoes, shoemaking, the shoe industry, or some specific topic within the world of style. This one is a little different.

This one is about me.

Or at least, it is about the version of me that has been forming over the last few months. The version that packed up life in New Jersey, drove across the country, moved to North Idaho, slowed down, disappeared from filming for a while, and started trying to build a new life around family, purpose, practicality, and a more focused version of The Shoe Snob.

I have not filmed properly in nearly three months, which is a long time for me. But the truth is, I needed that time.

I had to put some things on the back burner. The blog, YouTube, and this side of the business took a hit during the transition, but that was not because I disappeared or stopped caring. It was because I had to focus on my family, our new life, my retail business, the move, the systems, the logistics, and everything that comes with leaving one world behind and stepping into another.

👉Listen to theVideo Podcast here, or continue reading below:

A New Office, A New Chapter

For the first time in my life, at the ripe age of 42, I finally have my own office.

That may sound small to some, but for me, it is huge. In my previous house, even though it was larger, I never really had a proper private space to film, work, and think. Now I have a room of my own. I can shut the door. I can set up the camera. I can actually start creating content again without feeling like I am constantly fighting against the environment around me.

The wall behind me still needs work. The gray space is a bit bland. But the fact that I have this office at all feels like a big step.

And in many ways, that is what this whole move represents: a step into a new phase.

Building The Shoe Snob Ecosystem

A lot of people may think I simply vanished for a while. In reality, I have been working hard in the background.

The difference now is that I am trying to bring everything under one larger world: The Shoe Snob.

For years, my attention was split. There was this project, that project, the blog, the old brand, the events, the marketplace, the retail shop, the YouTube channel, social media, and everything else. My focus was everywhere, which meant it was never fully in one place.

Now, I am trying to create a proper ecosystem.

There is The Shoe Snob Blog.
There is The Shoe Snob YouTube channel.
There is The Shoe Snob Shop.
There is The Shoe Snob Marketplace.
There are the Super Trunk Show events.
There is a new Shoe Snob Shop Instagram page.
There are new products, new accessories, new ideas, and new projects coming.

It is all starting to become one world, rather than several disconnected pieces pulling me in different directions.

That is the goal now: focus.

Moving from New Jersey to North Idaho

In mid-July, I packed up my life in New Jersey and made the long move across the country to North Idaho.

The first trip was in a large Penske truck with a family friend who is a truck driver. We drove across America in a few long days, slept poorly, slept in the truck, showered at truck stops, and pushed through to get everything to the new house.

It was not glamorous. But it was an experience. And I like experiences. Even the uncomfortable ones. They become stories. They become memories. They become things you can say you did.

After dropping everything off in Idaho, I flew back and did it again, this time with my wife and son in our Jeep, packed to the brim. That trip was slower, more family-focused, and much more enjoyable. And in many ways, it reminded me how beautiful America is when you actually drive through it.

Every state feels different. Every place has its own culture, or at least its own rhythm. There is something special about experiencing the country that way.

Starting Over in a New Place

Arriving in a new place is exciting, but it is also daunting.

Anyone who has ever left one world behind and stepped into another knows what I mean. You have to learn new systems, new routines, new roads, new rules, new stores, new people, new processes, new everything.

Changing states sounds simple until you are actually doing it. New licenses, new license plates, new business registrations, school enrollment, soccer, family, taxes, logistics, routines. It all piles up.

And rather than continue my old habit of trying to do everything at once, I made a conscious decision to slow down. I decided not to overload myself.

In the past, I have often tried to do too many things at the same time. And when you do that, you end up doing a lot of things poorly. This time, I wanted to prioritize properly. My family came first. Our new life came first. Getting everyone settled came first.

The content could wait.

Putting Family First

One of the biggest shifts for me has been putting more energy into family life.

My son adapted quickly. He is a lot like me in that way. You can place him in a new environment, and he will figure it out. He loves his cousins, his school, and the fact that kids can play outside in the streets here.

For my wife, the move was a much bigger change. She went from the Dominican Republic to New York and New Jersey, and then suddenly to North Idaho, which is an entirely different universe. So a big part of my focus was making sure she was okay, making sure the transition worked for her, and making sure our family could settle into this new life properly.

That mattered more than filming a video. And I do not regret that. (For context, this post came from a Podcast video)

Slowing Down

The biggest change I feel is that I have slowed down. Not stopped working. Not given up. Not become lazy. Just slowed down.

There is a difference between working hard and constantly stressing about needing to work more. In New Jersey, I often felt like I was behind. Time moved quickly. Days disappeared. Weeks disappeared. Months disappeared. I felt like I was always chasing something.

Here, time feels different.

Maybe it is because I am making a conscious effort to be more present. Maybe it is because I am closer to nature. Maybe it is because the driving is more peaceful, the surroundings are calmer, and the pace of life is different.

Whatever it is, I feel more grounded.

I find myself noticing the sunset, the trees, the birds, the quiet. I find myself wanting to sit outside, spend time with my family, discover new restaurants, cook more, be more physically present in the world in front of me rather than constantly trapped in the world of screens and deadlines.

That is a good thing, at least for me.

How My Style Is Changing

Of course, this move also affects style. I will always be The Shoe Snob. That has not changed. My opinions have not disappeared. My love for beautiful shoes has not gone anywhere.

But I also have to be practical. I now live in a place where I am regularly walking through grass, gravel, dirt, and soon enough, mud, snow, and slush. That changes what you reach for.

I cannot always wear pretty leather-soled shoes out here. It is just not realistic.

And funny enough, I now find myself looking more seriously at boots. I even bought my first pair of Merrell boots (see above), which is something the younger version of me, especially the version working at Nordstrom twenty years ago, would have never imagined.

But they make sense here. They are comfortable. They are practical. They work for winter, hiking, walking, and whatever else I might need to do in this new environment. And while that may sound like I am “going casual,” that is not really what is happening.

I am adapting.

Loafers, Boots, and the Middle Ground

I suspect my wardrobe will shift more toward loafers and boots.

Loafers still feel casual to me. I can wear them with jeans and a T-shirt and feel completely natural. Butterfly loafers, suede loafers, soft-soled loafers — those will always have a place in my life.

Boots will likely get much more wear now too, simply because of where I live. But the middle ground may start to disappear a bit. At least for my personal use, but not for my taste and what I will inherently love to support.

Formal oxfords, button shoes, two-tone fringe monk straps — I still love them. I still want to wear them. But I also have to ask myself where and when I will actually wear them here.

In a city, you can dress up more easily. You can walk down the street in a pair of formal shoes and blend into the environment, or at least not feel completely out of place. In North Idaho, wearing navy suede butterfly loafers with white piping already makes me look like an alien compared to the people around me in combat boots, running shoes, and practical footwear.

And that is fine. I am still me. But I am also aware of my environment.

What I Miss

People ask me if I miss New Jersey. Honestly, not much. Of course, I miss my friends. That goes without saying.

But in terms of the place itself, the thing I miss most is the accessibility of multicultural food. I had restaurants I loved in New Jersey, especially a Korean barbecue place that my wife also came to love, which is not easy because she can be picky outside of Dominican cuisine.

Here, that kind of food is farther away. It exists, but it is not right around the corner. Still, the trade-off feels worth it.

I may have less immediate access to everything, but I have more access to nature, peace, space, family, and a slower kind of life. And right now, that feels more important. On top of that, I feel the further away you are from something you like, the more you will appreciate it when you are able to get it. We often take things for granted, and now, being a bit more rural, I can truly appreciate what I used to have and feel grateful when I visit the big city and am able to get it again.

Getting Back to Content

Now that my office is finally set up, I can get back to creating.

I have more unboxings coming. More educational videos. More episodes of Becoming The Shoe Snob. More blog posts. More projects. More products. More of everything.

But I want to do it differently now. More intentionally. Less rushed. Less because I feel pressured to produce, and more because I actually want to share something meaningful.

That is the difference.

The Shoe Snob Shop and What Comes Next

A lot is happening behind the scenes.

The Shoe Snob Shop is growing. I am expanding the product world there with travel shoe bags, shoelaces, shoe brushes, several types of shoe trees, and more accessories to come.

If you do not see or hear from me for a moment, it is not because I have disappeared. It is because I am in the background building.

The love for shoes has not gone away. That will never happen. But the way I live, work, dress, and think is evolving. And that is okay. In fact, it is probably necessary.

Final Thoughts

This move has been one of the biggest transitions of my life.

From New Jersey to North Idaho.
From constant motion to slower living.
From scattered focus to one larger Shoe Snob ecosystem.
From city dressing to a more practical style reality.
From always chasing the next thing to trying to be more present with what is right in front of me.

I am still The Shoe Snob.

But I am also entering a new chapter.

And I think that chapter will be better, more focused, more intentional, and hopefully more meaningful.

So thank you for sticking around. Thank you for following the journey. And do stay tuned, because there is a lot more to come.

Check out my Podcast series, if you have not already done so.

—Justin FitzPatrick, The Shoe Snob

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