This has been a big topic of conversation in our house lately. Where do we want to settle down and live forever? We like it here, but we know this is not where we want to stay forever. We LOVED California, but we will never be able to buy a house there as it is WAY to expensive. Small houses generally had $6000/month mortgage payments, I can't imagine what we would have to pay for a four bedroom house. So unless we win the lottery, I don't see living in California permanently as an option. Now, as has been discussed on this blog in depth, I enjoyed many things about St. Louis, but had a hard time with the lack of friendliness/ability to make friends. Also the fact that the nurses are paid crap doesn't help. If I could move the zoo, the museum, and the science center to an area of the country that was friendlier and paid better, I would have found my dream locale (as long as the weather suited!)
The weather is actually of significant discussion in our house. We would love to live in California as I said, and we could deal with the lack of four seasons for the payoff of a mild summer. However, as we can't afford to live there, this is a non-issue. Since we are living on the East Coast we really are living in an area with four seasons, which I love. However, I like a cold, snowy winter and that does not exist in Georgia. I hate hot, sticky summers, but I could deal with it if the trade off was a cold, snowy winter. This is why dealing with St. Louis summers was okay, we generally had cold winters even though there wasn't enough snow for my taste. I prefer cold to hot anytime, no matter the precipitation levels.
So, of late, we have been discussing the Northeast as an option. Now, I HAVE to have a pediatric facility to work in as I WON'T go back to adults, and to be honest, real pediatrics is done in children's hospitals, not on "pediatric" floors in regular hospitals. My experience with nurses who have worked on "peds" floors is that they say they take care of adult "overflow" patients more than they care for kids. So anywhere we would go would be contingent on the availability of a pediatric hospital. Of course, pay versus cost of living is of significant concern. My pay would have to be the same as it is here, based on the cost of living of wherever we moved to, meaning if it would have to increase if it was more expensive to live in the area, and it could decrease if the cost of living was less.
The other issue is Drew, we won't move ANYWHERE until he is out of high school unless he gives his approval. We have promised we will stay here until he graduates, which is four and a half years from now. However, he knows we won't be here permanently, so if he ever decides he doesn't like it here or he just wishes to move on, we will start looking.
My mom and my brothers live in Virginia, and though I don't want to move there, I do want to be "relatively" close. Driving, they live about ten hours from us now and I wouldn't want to be farther than that unless we win the lottery and move to California, but then we could fly back and forth frequently without money concerns.
We have discussed Philadelphia, as this meets most of my needs. Philly has cold winters and an outstanding children's hospital. CHOP is the number one children's hospital in the country, so there is nothing to complain about there, I just need to research how they pay.
We have also discussed New England, and some areas have children's hospitals, so again the issue would be pay, since I know New England has snowy winters.
Thomas is opposed to NYC, which is somewhere I would love to go. He would go to New York if it was outside of the city. I am not sure if there are any children's hospitals outside of NYC, so I will have to do some research.
It all boils down to not really having some place either of us really feel is home. Thomas would go back to Raleigh in a heartbeat, but I have no desire to live in North Carolina again. I grew up in Virginia, but its not home anymore, unfortunately I don't think I have found anywhere that is home. I will just pray that wherever we go is where we are supposed to be and we go when we are supposed to.
2 comments:
I don't think where you live is the issue. I think making a good, solid, loving home no matter what your geographic location, is the issue. It sounds like you have done that.
I applaud you for allowing Drew to have a say in his last years at home. Is he a freshmen now? I cant imagine moving mid-way through high school. Good for you to help him to achieve the benefits of long term relationships with his peers.
The NE is awesome, but very pricey! California was awesome too, San Diego was my favorite...but again... very pricey. The Mid-west pretty much sucks, the South is full of preachers and princesses and the Southwest is too damn hot. We talked about moving to South Dakota, but the reality is...NO ONE REALLY LIVES THERE.. I am not even sure it exists. LOL
It all just comes down to this: Home is where your heart is. Pick a place and make the best of it.
I know where we live isn't the issue, it is just geography. In talking about Philadelphia, Thomas went to college there before he went to Tennessee and he really liked it up there. Also, my girlfriend who lives here wants to move there as that is where her sister lives. Heather is my best friend and I really like her sister as well. Her sister also has kids around Possum and Olivia's age, so that would be nice as well. However, Philly would offer some of the same challenges as living in Atlanta or St. Louis does, except fot the public transportation aspect. SEPTA is awesome and I learned to love public transportation when we lived in Northern California. I miss being able to walk a block to a bus stop or the train station.
Drew will be a freshman next year, he is in eighth grade now. I still have a hard time acknowledging that he is as grown up as he really is. I have a picture on the mantle of him at nine months and it is unbelievable that my baby has grown up so much.
My other concern, no matter where we move, is the educational opportunities for our children. The public school systems in Georgia are lousy, which is a letdown after being in the Lindbergh School District in St. Louis, Lindbergh Schools were awesome. I went to the second best school district in Virginia growing up, we were second only to Fairfax County which was (and is still) the best in Virginia. My younger brother was bored for two years after he moved to NC, because the schools were so far behind and he had advanced well beyond what they were teaching at his grade level. Thomas and I both hold education as a high priority for our children, so I guess wanting the best for them is only natural.
Well, I have been busy reading other people's blogs tonight. It is fascinating to read about other people's lives and sometimes it makes me thankful that my life is "boring." Well, not boring, but not as eventful as some and based on what I have been reading, I wouldn't want their events. Maybe boring is a good thing sometimes.
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