Go west young couple

A while ago I saw the movie "Away we go". It's a very charming story about a young married couple who (ironically) through a selfish act by parents are forced to relocate to a new place. So they scour the country looking near all their friends and relatives for the best place to settle down. It was a fun little trip to the movies...little did I know I'd be living that same situation not 3 months later.

Last week, my mother-in-law's (MIL) boyfriend came for a visit, and as you know from my Friday post that she got engaged. She's also decided to sell her house, which means that early next year, we're have to move.

Surprisingly it took me about a week to realize that through a selfish (and insane) act by a parent, my wife and I were now in the same boat. So...we did the same thing. We looked at all the possible places where we had connections aka friends or family that we could move to. That broke down into the following list.

1)Long Island

2)Upstate NY

3)Florida

4)Colorado

Choice Number 1: Stay and get an apartment on Long Island

Since I have my job here this was a serious consideration. The problem is that the Teaching market for my almost graduated wife is slim pickings, especially since we heard retired teachers are now subbing instead of letting new graduates get their foot in the doors. While my Salary is the best I've had I don't see a future in this company where my pay will allow me to buy a home or have children in NY without serious financial hardship and struggle. LI has the second highest utilities in the entire country, the median home price is 6 times what I make annually right now. I can't see making a life here where we won't be struggling constantly with both of us working just to keep our heads above water. My job and to a slighter extent my parents are the only reasons to stay here...and I don't think that staying somewhere for a job that can't support you long term is just a bad idea.

Choice Number 2: Upstate NY

This had it's appeal. It was close enough to my parents and my wife's father to be accessible for holidays. Much cheaper then Long Island. Hawk and Dove are up there already doing very well in both the elementary and high school. This creates an immediate "in" for my wife as they love Long Island teachers there. However, there are no tech opportunities in the area. This leaves me with no job opportunities other then going back to waiting tables, which I'd prefer not to do.

Choice 3: Florida

If you remember back to about 10 months back, we said that we were going to be Floridians and live with my best friend and his family. We had wanted to do this very much, but my friends luck took a turn for the worst. He just found a job after a year out of work, but he moved out of his house and into his in-laws house. He's also joining the national guard in February and will be gone for 6 months. The entire economic outlook to Florida can be summed up as "Abandon State, Abandon State!" House prices may in a pitfall, but so is the employment rate. We were leaning towards Florida when we had a home base to go to until we could set up camp till we found jobs. Now that our only friends in the state are in financial troubles themselves, we can't see moving down there blind.

Choice 4: Colorado

Now, this wasn't even a choice up until August. Maybe it was the warm weather or the warm welcoming extended family that accepted me as their own. Maybe it was the affordable home and apartment prices. Maybe it was the 4-5 relatives employed and networked through half the tech companies in Denver, but whatever it was the august trip put Colorado on the map as a place where we could settle. Judging by the other choices, this one seemed really good. My wife has scads of family on both sides out there. I've become great friends with her cousin through playing WoW, and her extended family seems to think that I am the greatest thing since sliced bread ever since they saw the Montage I made for them. The clincher though was the offer of family to "put us up" while we got settled, and the fact that a 2 bedroom apt out there is 650 dollars a month, utilities included. That's almost a third of what it is on Long island.

So we ran the numbers and made a decision. Come early next year, we'll switch being forty minutes away from this:

To being 40 minutes away from this:

For better or worse.