About to Embark on Another Chapter.....

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I am so glad to write this blog as I have really missed writing and keeping up with others in the Travelblog community. It has been great being back closer to family and friends but Travelblog became such a part of our lives over the last 3.5 years that I miss all of you avid followers.

Six months ago, we decided to stay in the US and make a go at this so called "Real Life". As if living in China, teaching English 16 hours a week and having numerous vacations to countries many never even dream of experiencing wasn't "Real Life". It sure was a pretty cool life but after a few years it always felt like we were missing out on life in the US. Strange to think how many times over the last 6 months, we have thought or missed our lives in China. I guess the saying "Life is always greener on the other side" really started to hit home.

Jump forward to mid January which was two weeks ago, Pete proposed to me that he would open his job search from the Portland area to areas we both agreed we could call home Chicago, San Francisco or Southern California. The proposal was if he didn't get a job offer within two weeks that I would leave my job and we would travel for 2.5 months in South America before returning for my brother's wedding in April. I was quite hesitant about the proposal but the travelbug inside of me got excited very quickly. Pete announced this far fetched proposal at a restaurant in SE Portland while we were enjoying breakfast with our amazing friends and fellow Travelbloggers, Staci and Martin, who we meet while living in Shenzhen,China in 2009. They know us quite well and understand Pete usually has the crazy ideas and I am the more grounded one in our relationship. Our wedding vows even stated that Pete always wanted to color outside of the lines, while I wanted to stay within the lines...very true to this day.

Don't get me wrong, the rush of going to a new continent, experiencing new cultures, food and sights sounded awesome. Then reality set back in, we would be back at square one when we returned from our travels trying to find careers we would be satisfied with and not living in the daylight basement. (to my Mother in law, we love you dearly but this isn't our goal in life, yet are very thankful you have allowed us to live here)

Two days after this breakfast table proposal, Pete got not one but two calls from companies to set up interviews. One was here in Portland and the other in Riverside, CA and both interviews would be schedule on Friday (as in 3 days later). There was very good karma in the air as he was offered one of the jobs on the spot over Skype and the other job was offered on Tuesday to him. We both have lived through an emotional rollercoaster as he went from not having much luck with interviews to now having the other "good" problem of having two offers.

Decisions, Decisions

After weighing our options with a Pros and Cons list for Portland and Southern California and listening to our guts they tell us something for a reason you know. We have come to the conclusion that Southern California is the best option for his career, our new start and lets be honest this rain 9 months of the year thing in Portland, just isn't for us. We will pack up our car and head to Orange County, CA next Friday, February 8th.

There were many times I truly thought this next quote was our luck or black cloud overhead "My luck is so bad, if I bought a cemetary then people would stop dying" Don't get me wrong, God has blessed us with our health and support of friends and family and without those these last 6 months would have been really depressing. It hasn't been the easiest transition back as we have struggled these past 6 months adjusting back to life in the US with interviews, careers, lack of a satisfying incomes, egos and self confidence, Pete's holding out for the "Right fit" has FINALLY Paid Off.

We are moving to Southern California and are so excited for this new chapter!

Stay tuned for our upcoming adventures as I promise it won't be so long until our next blog.

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Comments

[Courtney]

Congrats!
So exciting! SoCal sounds like an awesome place to live. Can't wait to keep reading your updates!

[Home and Away]

I thought that when you got two job offers...
you wouldn't know which to take and go to South America instead! I guess you will just have to settle down, buy a house (before the prices go up), have kids, and during your two week vacation live the falshpacker life style in some Central American eco-resort. Just kidding...great to hear from you again, and look forward to your blogs about Southern California.