Saturday, June 09, 2007

movin'...but where?

howdy...we're home.
and have been for almost a week.
and, due to a busy week and uncertainty of how to write what i've been thinking, it has taken me this long to articulate it all into something resembling complete sentences.

so...here's what has been swirling around my head all week:
1. we live in the bay area.
2. we both have good jobs and earn a decent amount of money, considering our respective careers.
3. no matter how hard we try, it looks like we cannot afford a home in the bay area without paying off loans and making significant payments for the next 30+ years.
4. we'd like to own a home someday, with enough room to have a family and a yard for our little kiddos to play in.
5. problem: the bay area cannot provide that for us.

so we have begun looking elsewhere for places to live.

as i have mentioned (and have then failed to follow-up on), we took trips to boise, idaho and austin, texas to see what those areas have to offer. we'd heard good things from family and friends and decided to check it out for ourselves. and, after both visits, we realized some very important and positive things about both areas:
1. they have job options for the husband and i (more in austin...but there are still options).
2. homes are cheap (by comparison) and we could move into a beautiful house that we could grow into as we start and raise a family.
3. both have great downtown areas, minor league sporting teams (i do enjoy some good minor league athletics), and many other neat things to do that appeal to our interests.

after all the positive things about both places, there is still something that is keeping me from jumping on the 'let's move out of state' bandwagon. after many talks/discussions with matt about all this, i've narrowed it all down to my desire to make everyone happy ~ matt, myself, my family, his family, my friends, his friends, etc.
something we enjoy now is how accessible our families and friends are. if we want to see them, we can just hop in the car and drive (for 40 minutes or 2 hours) and we're there. it's been wonderful to have such close proximity to the people we care about most. we've talked about how nice it would be to have our families close by when we start a family - we want our children to know their grandparents well. and i know my mom would love for us to stay in california for the same reason. we've also looked at sacramento (very near my parents and not far from matt's), but it's also a little more expensive than we can afford.
i keep going back and forth about what factors to consider when we're looking for a new community. jobs are important - we need to be able to find good jobs. the housing market is another factor - the more affordable, the better. and, of course, family is important to both of us, but we also need to consider the family that we want to start. do we stay here in california to be close to our families, but maybe live in a condo or apartment? do we move to idaho or texas and see our family infrequently, but live in a nice house? right now, it's been difficult to consider all these factors and attempt to decide where we might live for the next 30 years.
my question to you, my wonderful blog readers, is - how have you balanced all these factors and made your choice? i know many of you have made decisions to move away from what is familiar and known for a chance at a great new opportunity. ultimately, we'll have to sit down and hash it out...but for now, i'll get any wisdom you lovely, travelling people have to offer. :)
happy saturday friends.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

aaahhh, jill! you know this will be biased as one of those friends who want you nearby, but hear me out:

i think california is the best option.

the family thing is huge. undeniably. while i understand your desire to have a home to call your own, i think that relationships are most important. sure, a house is awesome...but will your kids remember a house more, or will they savor times with your families? i think that while living away would be a grand adventure, you may ultimately end up missing the people you love most.

most of all, i hope that you and matt listen to your own hearts, spirits and God...that's what's most important.

but, sacramento sounds good to me :)

sending you love, clarity and wisdom...know that i love you and will support you no matter where you end up.

Fern said...

I know I've been absent lately from the bloggy world but I thought I might weigh in on this...
I've lived in a lot of different places. Away from family and with family. With kid, without kid. This is what I think:
Having grandparents nearby is huge. It just feels right to see the generations coming together. At the same time, choosing to start you OWN family is a big step and sometimes it's best to have some space to set up your own family identity. Close but not too close. Maybe look into places that typically offer cheap direct flights? Have you considered the northwest? We'd love to settle in the Seattle area. It's cheaper than CA, but is AMAZING! There's always Portland etc, these places are closer to California...Anyway, that's my opinion. Having lived REALLY far away from my grandparents for a while, I can tell you that family always finds a way.
Fern