07 May 2012

dreaming. pnw style.

to write this post, i have to go back. way back to march 2009 when T and i took a trip to seattle. there wasn't a particular reason why we chose seattle for vacation. our trip was in april so we weren't exactly going for the sun. (we're kinda like that, though. we've yet to go on a "tropical" vacation. we are city-walking, shopping, people-watching, find-the-local-secrets vacation kinda people. but i should say, in a surprising twist, it was freaking hot and i got a sunburn on that trip. not the norm, i know, but a pleasant surprise.)

so, anyway, we loved seattle. and about half way through the trip, we had a conversation about moving to the pacific northwest. and that day, it was like my life opened up. like i knew there was something missing before then i just didn't know what it was. it's really hard to explain. i've tried. but i'll try again. i guess, at that point in my life i'd earned both a bachelors and masters degree in social welfare, i'd met, fallen in love with, and married my best friend, and we were trying to start a family. i was pretty much where anyone would want to be in life. i mean, i was where wanted to be in my life. but yet there was always some draw in me to be somewhere else. the idea of something else, something more sat inside me.

i had always wanted to visit seattle. something about the city, i don't know. i'd never been and didn't know anyone who lived there. i just felt that the area would suit me somehow. and i wasn't wrong. flying in, as the earth began to cover in more and more green, i immediately fell in love. seriously, i remember the way i felt so clearly. so, long story short, it turned into a dream vacation that in turn helped me dream for a new, very different, future.

so that was three year ago. we still want to move and i've spent countless hours doing internet research on different areas to possibly live in. the more we talked about it, the more we considered expanding our potential locations outside of seattle, but still in the pnw. i have a cousin that lives in portland so i started to talk to her about how she likes the city. the more i learned about portland, the more it seemed to be a good fit for us. it's a smaller city, similar to milwaukee, which i love. microbreweries abounding? yes, please. and still absolutely green and beautiful.

we knew we had to visit, of course, and check it out, at the very least. it took a bit but we finally got a trip planned for march of this year. i've got a ton of pictures and experiences that i want to share from our trip, but that's for later this week. first, i wanted to share a little background for our trip out there and why it was so an important.

we've still a lot of planning, saving, and more planning to do before we can move. and i'm not so naive to think that it will be easy to just up and leave. we have incredible friends here and good, stable jobs. we don't live anywhere near my family so i'll be used to that part, but still, we also won't be able to plan a weekend to visit them at the last minute. and as for T's family, they've always lived close and have been able to see ruby almost weekly since she's been born. so i know it will be hard for them to be away from her and us.

but with all of that said, all i can think of is a quote that i've seen -

i'd rather have a life of "oh, wells" than a life of "what ifs"

and i think that pretty much sums it up. maybe we will hate it one day when we move. maybe we will cry every day because we miss our families, our friends, and the sun. but at least then we will know and won't have to wonder what might have been.

1 comment:

  1. That is SO exciting!!

    I can't wait to hear how the trip to Portland was. I have never been to the PNW, but I know it is one place I'd love to see!

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