Monday, July 6, 2015

Moving on My Mind

Yesterday in one of our classes at church we were talking about the seasons we go through in life and while I was listening to all the different people in various season of their life, it dawned on me that so far, this has been my favorite season in life. I'm no longer a kid, and while I did being able to be more carefree, I enjoy the independence more. I'm no longer a single "young" adult, and while that was also a really fun season, it's much more fun to be married. Jesse and I are no longer newlyweds, we've both graduated from college (technically I have 10 more hours but it should be completed by next week--please hold me to it), Jesse has a great paying and stable job with many opportunities available to him and we're expanding our family. We are finally out of the scary season of uncertainty and waiting, and in a season where the possibilities are endless. This is the happiest I've ever been in my life. I love this season; I love my life!

Ever since Jesse got his job at the U, we've been able to have a better and more clear 5 year plan. The biggest lesson I've learned in life is that nothing (let me reemphasizes, NOTHING) goes as planned but I'm learning to go with the flow and let God's will be my will. With that being said, we understand our plans might change.

But right now here is a pretty small portion of our five year plan:

Some of the great perks with Jesse's job is that Jesse get's 50% off his tuition after 6 months. Since, we've always had a graduate degree in the picture, this now makes it possible for him to do. He is fairly certain he will go for his MBA and we hope, assuming he is accepted, to have him starting the part time program January 2016. This will be two full years so we are 100% certain we will be living in Utah until 2018.

Now that Jesse's job is considered a professional Human Resource profession, after two years from his work start date, he can test for his PHR. So that means in two and a half years, Jesse will have a masters and a HR certification! I am so proud of him for all his hard work and ambitious goals! Not only am I married to a super stud muffin, I also got a smartie.

But let's get to the part of the plan that has really been on my mind...the part of the 5 year plan (or 2 and 1/2 in this case...) I'm most excited about. After graduation (assuming that he doesn't get offered an amazing opportunity at his current employment) we have decided to move out of state. This really shouldn't come as a surprise, I mean, I've been pretty vocal about wanting to move out of Utah (no offense to my Utahn friends-- you all are amazing). It's crazy to think that we could move anywhere. It's exciting and wonderful to not know exactly where we'll end up! We've always hoped to move out of state (the biggest reason being that HR is a harder field to progress quickly in in Utah) and now it's a real possibility! We hope to move somewhere we might want to end up permanently, so I've been looking at a few states. I am so excited I have spent almost every day looking at houses, doing a ton of research about fun things to do, the environment, population, crime rates, and naturally, I've made sure there were plenty of HR openings. We've narrowed it down to three places: Olympia, Washington, Salem/Eugene/McMinnville, Oregon, and Charleston, South Carolina.

I have found all these adorable little towns right outside of Charleston, South Carolina (Goose Creek, specifically) and the homes are just like I've always imaged living in. Beautiful and big front decks, with giant willow trees, has me day dreaming of sipping herbal tea on a rocking chair watching the children play in the front yard. The weather never get's too hot, the beach is a 45 minute drive, and I'm looking forward to living in a new culture and southern hospitality. Life moves just a little bit slower, and the idea of this homey place has me wishing I could visit and see if it truly lives up to all I hope it will be. Unfortunately it's the last of the three were looking at mostly because Jesse isn't really excited about the humidity (which I love and miss the most about New Hampshire!).

This house is actually for sale and in our price range! Too bad it'll be sold long before we're there...

Salem, Eugene, and McMinnville, Oregon are all a little bit away from each other but all have one thing in common: their south of Portland, they're closer to the ocean, and smaller. Each of these cities have these adorable little towns on the west that for some reason remind me Stars Hallow from Gilmore Girls. They're all located about an hour from the ocean and the cities are a perfect enough size which allow you to go out and have fun but then quickly allow you to go back to the small and quietness of your home town. And if for some reason we really want to go to a big city, Portland is about an hour away (excluding Eguene which is more like an hour and a half). They also have national forests within a 30 minute drive and they're about 5 hours away from the gorgeous Redwoods in California. San Fransico is an 8 hour drive, Seattle is 4 hours, and Salt Lake City is 12 hours. I love the fact that we can go to all these different places within a days drive. One thing I have a hard time with living in Salt Lake is feeling like there aren't many places to travel to. Sure there is Moab and Las Vegas, but they're not places I necessarily have a strong desire to go to frequently (in fact, once or twice in a life time is good for me). Oregon is a great option for us because it's green like New Hampshire without the price tag.

I mean, how could you not want to live near this beautiful thing!?

Olympia, Washington is currently our number one choice. It's within an hours drive to Seattle and Tacoma, and the ocean. The towns surrounding it are these darling little places with populations of like a 1,000. The homes are gorgeous and it so green and lush. Olympia is in my opinion, the perfect sized city, and all the towns around it require a 15-20 minute commute. It is my favorite location because it feels the most secluded without necessarily needing to be. It is definitely the greenest place I could ever live in the United States. It rains a lot and it almost never snows, which I love. The summer highs are low 70s and the winters are usually the low 50s. I hate hot summers and I hate cold winters, but I love having cool springs and falls so this is the perfect place to get all of that. It is a bit pricer but not quite to the New England level. We're hoping that it wont really be a problem because by then Jesse should have the work experience and the desired educational level and that should qualify for him to make some more $$$.

I just want to build a house right here.




And before anyone asks--no I have never been to any of these places. We plan to visit Oregon and Washington sometime before Jesse recieves his masters.

As for the rest of our five year plan? It includes a couple more kids, buying a house, and having as much fun as humanly possible.

As always,


Is there a place you've always dreamed of living?
What's your 5 year plan?



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