After selling the NYC apartment, I felt like a weight had been lifted. Not only was I no longer paying for it but I didn’t have to deal with it mentally or emotionally any more. I thought I would be devastated but I was actually thrilled. I even took a quick weekend trip to the East Coast and didn’t even do a walk-by.

It was official: I had let go.

A week later, my lease in Vegas was up, too. Talk about crazy timing…

I had debated resigning the lease but ultimately decided that I was overpaying for the apartment – shockingly, way more than my downtown Manhattan place – and was sick of living in a college dorm. Having a pro poker player as a a neighbor is, well, intersting. Not to mention the constant walk-of-shamers, strippers, all-night partiers and such. Absolutely no judgement on how anyone wants to live their life…but I was done.

It was time to keep moving on.

So in typical Casey fashion, I sold ALL of my furniture, moved some remaining items into storage and brought the rest (mostly clothes, considering I had pawned everything else off in 24 hours on Craigslist) to my amazing friend Melissa’s – a fellow New Yorker AND Star Magazine alum! – place in the suburbs. And it felt perfectly perfect.

I’m now staying in the guest room of her grown-up house and loving relaxing nights of Chelsea Lately and catching up on New Yorker back issues. Trading in the club banquettes for the couch was exactly what I needed. I’ve only been here  for two days but life off the Strip is an much-needed change.

And the morning walks (the trees! the grass! the juice bar on the lake!) are way, way better.