Anywhere but here

Looks like the move we've been teasing everyone with for, I-don't-know-how-long, is finally coming to fruition. Still, I'm not exactly sure when it's going to happen (all I know is hubby said he wants outta here before next winter) or exactly where (current candidates are Phoenix, San Francisco, or Orange County, CA). It's all going to depend on which job/project hubby gets moved to.

Two are a definitive Phoenix. While I'm fully aware Phoenix is hotter than hell in the summer months, it's not "here" and it doesn't snow in Phoenix. At least it doesn't normally snow in Phoenix. Plus Phoenix meets some very stringent requirements of ours: it's warmer, it doesn't snow, they have Trader Joe's, In-N-Out Burger and Del Taco, they have palm trees, they have lots of homes with stucco and red tiled roofs (and not in a cheesy way).

One is a "we can live anywhere." Our initial thought was to rent in San Francisco for a year or two, then head south. Now I'm thinking we'd just visit San Francisco a little more often (thanks to the new deals between LAX and SFO on Frontier) and maybe rent on the Balboa Peninsula area of Newport Beach for a while. Possibly buy a townhome. I think the smaller quarters would be worth it to be within walking distance of the ocean. Plus there's this really charming elementary school (I kid you not, the architecture is from the 40s or 50s) I'd love for Mr. E to attend.

So what's wrong with "here" per se? Note: "here" = southern 'burbs of Denver. Well, it snows here. And while I don't hate snow, I've more than had my fill of it after this past winter and having my Christmas nearly ruined due to the mass quantities of it (see posting from Dec. '06). It's very dry here. I feel like a freaking alligator most days. Jobs are not as plentiful as they once were - plus all the good companies have been acquired and local operations shut down, leaving the crappy ones and the smaller ones who don't like to pay well or treat their employees well. I also like to garden, and I'd have a longer growing season in a more temperate climate. That right there, as well as potential close proximity to the ocean, would make me VERY happy.

Time will tell. We're in limbo at the moment, just waiting for decisions to be made. A position I don't much like being in. On the bright side, a change is in the air. Where we'll end up is anybody's guess, just so long as it's anywhere but here.