So you want details?

If you didn't read our moving announcement read HERE first. Here's the delio. When we moved to New Jersey we felt really strongly that we should come and things fell completely into place for us to come. So...why would we be moving just one year later? Have we accomplished whatever it was we came here to do? I struggled initially with those questions when we were deciding whether to make this next move. In fact, at first I pretty much told Randall I wasn't ready to go yet. So since this is my "journal" of sorts I will explain.

This move is not exactly because of a job change. Randall is still working for Adobe and loves his job. He did change positions and the specific responsibilities of his job did change in November. At that time his boss told him he could now live anywhere as long as it was still in the Eastern time zone. At first we didn't give moving much thought because we had just come here and were feeling settled so why make a change? Then Winter hit and it was one of the worst documented winters of all time. Now winter alone is certainly not going to make us move elsewhere, we aren't that wimpy. But, the associated costs that came along with this Winter became ridiculous. Bordering on TMI, we were paying 600$ a month to heat our home on top of our already outrageous rent. The mere cost of living expenses kind of out weighs the charm and nifty factor of living here. NYC is a great land of opportunity in regard to business, and fun things to do for that matter, but Randall's job is thankfully secure and the company continues to thrive, despite the economy so hanging around just in case we need a different work opportunity isn't necessary.

If we wanted to buy a home we would have to pay at LEAST 500K and it would be a very old house that would need gutting and redoing. We are not handy people. I'm sure we could learn if we wanted or had to, but we don't want to. If we bought a home we would have to move anyway from our current city because the 3 bedroom homes where our kids go to school literally cost 850K . That would never be an option. Is this now all starting to make sense? So when it came down to it, it was choosing to move and buy something here that we can't really afford and spend even more money to fix it up, or move and buy a home we can afford and would have the space we need as well as a garage and yard etc. So, quality of life for us would go WAY up.

Admittedly I like living somewhere "cool". It's fun that Rand works in Times Square, and people actually want to come see us. Truthfully it's my pride that makes it difficult to move away from all of this. But I'm learning that life is life no matter where you live. Whether it's Paris, London, or NYC, I'm a wife and mother of 4 and my day to day life is just that...day to day, with laundry and car pool and all the normal stuff. Our initial thoughts of living it up and constantly being in the city don't coincide with the busyness of real life with church callings, basketball games, birthday parties, business trips and everything else that keep us from doing the fun things we want to do. We have been able to do some really great things while we have been here and plan to do and see more before we leave. Just seeing the Macy's Day Parade was a dream come true for me, and I admittedly LOVE every time I do get to go in the city. but when it comes down to it, we have decided that we want to live in a place where day to day it is the best place for our family.

So, why Atlanta of all the places? Rand still wanted to be in a great place for business, or a "tech hub" as he calls it, so our options were Boston, which is also very expensive, or Atlanta. Atlanta has some of the most affordable real estate, similar to Texas, has a nice climate with moderate seasons, and is close to Disney world. (ok, so that wasn't really a factor but it certainly doesn't hurt) Oh and the real estate is affordable, have I mentioned that? Actually the cost of living on a whole is a lot less so we can live much more comfortably and get out debt which is our overall goal.

All in all it makes "logical" sense. When people in our ward find out we are leaving they first say they are sad to see us go, and then tell us they are jealous that we are "getting out". Even though it makes logical sense, I still didn't want to move until I felt like it was the right thing to do. That part of the equation has taken some more time. I can truthfully say that this will be a good move for us and our family. I actually wouldn't trade any of the places we have moved and people we have met along the way. Though cliche, our family has been blessed with many rich adventures and our children have been blessed to learn to make friends easily, and to just go with the flow. They adapt well to change and I hope that our "adventures" will serve them well in the future. The hardest part is that for whatever reason our kids have done very well here. Ethan especially has loved his school and friends. It's interesting to me that even though we have no yard, and live on a busy, crazy street, he has just loved it. As usual though, once we explained to him why we are leaving and the things we will have in the way of a yard and a family type neighborhood he has had a really good attitude. He has even been praying that we can find a "big, wide house".

Whether we accomplished everything we came here to do...I don't know the answer to that. I do know we've done a lot, and that I don't regret for a minute coming here. We have a learned a lot, have served and participated heavily in our ward, made good friends in and out of the church, shared the gospel, and been blessed professionally. We have also made some changes within our own family that have been good for us. In less than a years time that's not too shabby.