The relocation list

[aliantha]

Hey, I never said a word about SF! I agree, Jenn, it's very diverse. But when lorin said Northern California, I thought she meant north of SF -- up into redwood country and closer to the Oregon border. I imagine that's no more diverse than any other rural area in the US. But I could be wrong.

Colorado Springs is politically conservative, if that matters to you. Both the Air Force Academy and the headquarters for Focus on the Family are there. The area around Denver is more liberal, and Boulder is really liberal (but nobody can afford to live there! ).

Nope, I agree with Jenn -- Denver, ABQ, and NM in general. There, that's settled.

[Cameraman Jenn]

Sorry Ali, as a resident of SF you pretty much come to think that SF is the heart of Norcal aka Northern California. The rest of it just spider webs out from here. You are right though, it pretty much turns redneck and undiversified outside of the bay area.

[balon!]

Olympia WA is pretty awesome. And Western WA in general is so close to any kind of day trip you'd want, especially with Eastern WA's gorgeous desert landscapes so nearby. Temperate Rainforest to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

[Savor Dam]

Yes, I have been nudging lorin to come to the Northwest for a long time. She even was being considered for a position with a community in this general area a couple years ago.

She has to get out of the NYC cluster**** before it eats her from the inside out!

[Cameraman Jenn]

I spent the better part of two hours today searching jobs and apartments in Portland. I seem to be leaning more and more towards getting out of SF for a bit. Department manager retail jobs seem to pay pretty decent considering the cost of living in comparison to what they pay here. With my OD management experience I can pretty much walk in to almost any other major retail chain and looks like Bed, Bath and Beyond is desperately hiring and offering wages a few bucks more than what most of the other retailers who are looking for management are offering. I am going to send them a resume tomorrow. I am also going to seriously inquire to Ashlee tomorrow about the odds of transferring. If that is an option I think I am going to start the serious search for housing and look into u-haul rentals. I know I have been torn and frustrated but the more I think about moving away for a year or so, the more I get excited about it. I have been in SF for nine years at this point so maybe that's just my marker, nine years in Eugene, nine years in SF, time to change it up.

[sgt.null]

good luck on whatever you choose jenn.

i would love to pack up and move (nm, australia, nh, vt) but we are welded to our jobs and julie's family here. just 13 short years and i can retire.

[lorin]

Yes, I have been nudging lorin to come to the Northwest for a long time. She even was being considered for a position with a community in this general area a couple years ago.

She has to get out of the NYC cluster**** before it eats her from the inside out!

I hear you, working on it. And may being eaten from the inside out will help me finally lose those last 50 lbs.

Yes, I have been nudging lorin to come to the Northwest for a long time. She even was being considered for a position with a community in this general area a couple years ago.

I considered them but they didn't consider me.

[aliantha]

Yes -- good luck, Jenn. Dunno what would be better to do first, in your case -- find the job first, or move first. Maybe moving first would be better, since you have family there (as long as they wouldn't drive you crazy -- my family of origin certainly would, if I had to live with them again...).

SD, I'm of two minds about this push to get lorin out of NYC. Maybe it's because I'm in a similar situation to hers (although my job isn't as soul-sucking -- it's just boring).

I've been whining since 1999 about how much I hate DC and want to move back to Colorado, but there's always a reason why I can't do it right now. Bottom line is that if I were really, truly burning to do it, I'd be gone. Maybe it's complacency, or maybe I'm waiting for the "perfect moment" that will never get here, or maybe it's fear that things will be worse if I move (or will be exactly the same!).* Maybe "I'm leaving for Colorado eventually" gives me an excuse not to settle in here (I've suspected this last one for quite awhile). Maybe money really *is* a factor. All I know is that I keep pushing my departure date farther out into the future. First it was gonna be when the kids finished college; then they both picked the same college in Virginia, and so I felt like I should stay 'til they graduated. Now they're both out, but Magickmaker is home and I feel like she would have better job opportunities in her field here in DC and maybe I should stay around 'til she's settled. And anyhow I've got a mountain of debt from putting them through school, which co-ink-a-dink-ally will be paid off the year before I turn 62.

See? It's always something.

Granted, lorin has different kid-centered issues than I do. But her retirement timeline is shorter than mine, too. Really, at less than five years out, she's on the downslope -- the time will whiz by for her (ONCE SHE MOVES ). I wish I were less than five years out.... (And apologies, lorin, for talking about you in the third person!)

* Re things being worse, or not: I work for great people right now, and if I changed jobs, I might find myself working for a jerk. I'm also not sure that I want to do what I'm doing now for the next eight years, but I don't know what else I would do. I'm kind of locked into secretarial work at this point, all my other skills having atrophied from disuse in this job -- but it's not a job that plays to my strengths. Going back into broadcasting would mean retraining for sure, due to the digital revolution; for starters, I'd need to learn digital audio editing. Basically, there's a very real possibility that if I relocate, I could end up with another boring job, making less money, with a jerk for a boss -- but with better scenery. Not sure the tradeoff would be worth it. Hence, the current plan is to retire and then move.

[Savor Dam]

Understood...

One of my hot-button issues is people who know what they need to do to remediate key issues in their lives, but keep action in the "someday" file, always finding a reason why now is not the time.

However, I recognize that I need to perseverate less and facilitate more...

[Cagliostro]

Ali, digital audio editing is a snap compared to the old reel to reel editing and such that I did when I took classes and worked at the college radio station. I'm not sure if this is what you were referring to, but I've done some of it, and it is so much easier and so much more precise. You get a visual representation of the music/sound/alien language that was recorded, and with a small amount of trial and error, can get it to where even if you mess up a slight bit, it is almost inaudible to the ear. I don't know what the professionals use, but what I have had is Sound Forge and Audacity, the latter is free on the web (thanks to a fellow watchie for pointing me toward it). You can download it and tinker around with it, and say that you have experience with it. That is, if you have any interest.
I used it for editing my digitally recorded off records, and would seemlessly remove skips and put into separate tracks. And while I didn't play around with it much, you can do other little tricks like force a fade out/fade in, remove pops on the audio, and other weird little things.
The little I have used video editing software, it is pretty much just as easy. It just takes some time to tinker and make mistakes.

[aliantha]

Cag, that's exactly what I'm referring to, and I think you're right that it wouldn't take long to learn. I was a whiz with razor blade and splicing tape. Being able to *see* where to make the edit, as opposed to just listening for it, seems like it would be about a zillion times easier.

And yeah, I guess I should just download a program and play around with it. Maybe start a podcast, I dunno. It would give me something to show.

(I'm sure you can hear the enthusiasm in my voice. )

[The Leper Fairy]

I highly recommend Montana

Missoula and Bozeman are great little cities.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I do not recommend Indianapolis, at least not at this time of year. It is hot and humid, and we are currently meeting and soon breaking the record for the most consecutive days over 90 degrees. Not a good record to break.
Cost wise, Indy is the best combo of big city / little town you will find.
In general, I find Indiana to be a great place to be *from* -- an inexpensive place to live, so we can afford to go to interesting places more often.

dw

[stonemaybe]

Aliantha wrote:

I work for great people right now

'for' is important, 'with' even more so. Wish I'd realised how just how important when I switched jobs 3 years ago.

[aliantha]

Aliantha wrote:

I work for great people right now

'for' is important, 'with' even more so. Wish I'd realised how just how important when I switched jobs 3 years ago.

Very true. And "with" applies here, as well. This firm is more collegial than some, from what I hear.

[lorin]

Understood...

One of my hot-button issues is people who know what they need to do to remediate key issues in their lives, but keep action in the "someday" file, always finding a reason why now is not the time.

I understand what you are saying. Understand that I have lived my whole life acting on one whim or another. It has not always worked out well but I do not regret my decisions. I have reacted to every impulse. Some of my decisions have been great, like quitting my government job and moving to Portugal. Great times, no regrets. But I was 25, not 56. I did not have health issues that I have now. At 25 I fully expected that I would eventually be married and settled, but at 56 that is not the case. There is no one to fall back on if things don't work out when I quit my government job this time. Do I surrender 50% of my pension to act on this impulse? Do I choose to live on $24,000 a year or wait 4 years and live on $58,000?

Life was clearer when I didn't know what I didn't know.

[Cameraman Jenn]

Even though I am seriously leaning towards relocation it would still be temporary. Just for a year, maybe two at the most. There are also some automotive service writer jobs listed as well as retail management jobs so my options are much less limited than they seem to be here. It's still a big decision which I need to thoroughly explore and NOT make on a whim. I can't forget that one of the things that I disliked about Oregon was the constant rain eight months of the year then two months of constant hot hot sun. I think there are some thirty odd names for rain up there...

[sgt.null]

i am tired of the humid heat of texas. i hate it. i live in the dullest part of texas. well except houston, lol.

i miss seasons. i miss spring, the smell of mud. i miss snow. i miss mountains. i miss cold water in lakes, rivers, the ocean.

[lucimay]

i miss thunderstorms and the leaves changing colors.

[sgt.null]

i miss thunderstorms and the leaves changing colors.

where did you come from originally?