Making Changes

Here is the deal.

I hate living in California, especially SoCal.

To make it sound even more bizarre, I hate the weather here. The lack of seasons. The fact that 19.5 million people live between Santa Barbara and San Diego. It is too hot here. The freeways were designed 25 years ago for 10 million people but are clogged with 14 million cars a day now. Real estate is over inflated. There is not enough water here. The cities are poorly designed. And don't even get me started on the fact that it can be 75 degrees on Christmas day.

There is nothing pretty to look at here. Concrete everywhere. Pathetic trees propped up by sticks in newly planted pre-fab neighborhoods. I hate it.

I have hated living here for the several years now and have thought of moving elsewhere. My wife has been wanting to leave the area for the past ten years, more recently I have warmed to the idea. The Pacific Northwest is our first and only choice for relocation. We have prayed about leaving the L.A. area for years but with no clear indication that we should go. In fact when a job prospect in the PNW would come up, something would get in the way. But recently, things seem a bit more fluid. Especially since my mom's death, I have felt even less attachment to the area. For the first time in ten years, my wife and I are both in the same place at the same time about moving.

But alas, there are details. You can't move without a job. So we have decided to take a step of faith to see if we should move. Starting in January, both of us will apply to school districts in the PNW to see what happens. If one of us gets a job by June, we'll pack our bags and say adios to SoCal.

This may not be in the cards. However much I may want to move, God may have other designs. I could still be living here when I'm 62. I don't know. I just feel restless here. I've lived here all my life and in some ways have seen the world by living in the nation's most culturally diverse city. I just have a feeling that there are other places I need to see, another place I could live. And now seems as good as a time as any. Better now than before the boys get too settled in their own lives here.

So, there it is. We are taking a baby, baby step towards moving. It has only taken a decade to get us this far. In January we'll start applying to see what could happen in June. Nothing could happen, something might.

Please pray for us. That we might know what to do and when to do it or even whether or not we should do it or not. I'll keep you posted. And if you hear of any teaching jobs in the Portland-Vancouver area, just let me know.

Be well all.