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missroseroseWe're moving to Arizona.
I have to admit, this is a particular turn I didn't see our life taking. We've been planning to move out of Juneau pretty much since we got together five years back, so that's not a particular surprise. But our plans were always centered on the Pacific Northwest - Washington or Oregon or some such. Obviously, the job situation there (and pretty much everywhere) has been awful for some time now, so we'd pretty much decided to stick around here a while longer, and used our savings to get married and have a honeymoon (both of which were fantastic).
Then Adam, whom longtime readers may remember as my friend who came up here to work for a year, told us there were openings at the company he works for, specifically the Arizona office where he is. Very cool, although Arizona wasn't quite where we were headed, but we make a note of it anyway, thinking we'll maybe look into it when we have money to move.
And suddenly Adam's supervisor is asking for Brian's resume, and giving him a phone interview, during which Brian mentions that we can't really afford to move right now. But apparently they really want his skill set on their team, because they're sending him a job offer with a bonus attached for moving expenses, and even though he doesn't have the alphabet soup of certifications necessary he already has the knowledge so they're going to hire him at his current salary and put him through the certification process and through school to get a degree and then rehire him for half again what he makes now, all at two-thirds the current cost of living of where we're at now.
Yeah. Apparently they really, really want to hire him. Not that I'm complaining. :D The very cool thing is, if we end up not liking Arizona, there are all kinds of other places we can go - the company's a government contractor, and has branches everywhere from Washington DC to Naples, Italy. And even if he doesn't like the company, he'll have a pile of certifications, government security clearance, and all kinds of experience for his resume, which should make it easy to find another job pretty much wherever.
I'm not quite sure yet what I'll be doing while we're in AZ. I can be an admin assistant anywhere, obviously, but I've become increasingly disillusioned with that lately. We'll be about fifteen minutes away from Tombstone, which is a huge tourist attraction/Wild West reenactment spot (surprise, surprise), so I might be able to get something acting oriented. I could deal with a job where I had to wear a corset every day. Beyond that...I guess we'll see what happens.
I know we're going to miss Juneau. In a lot of ways, it's been like a nest - small, enclosed, safe, where we know pretty much everywhere to go and have friends and steady jobs. But it's also been incredibly confining, what with the high cost of living and plane tickets out being upwards of a grand for two people. Leaving the nest is a big step, but a necessary one and hopefully one that will make us happier in the long run.
...Yeah, I'm scared shitless. Wouldn't you be?
I have to admit, this is a particular turn I didn't see our life taking. We've been planning to move out of Juneau pretty much since we got together five years back, so that's not a particular surprise. But our plans were always centered on the Pacific Northwest - Washington or Oregon or some such. Obviously, the job situation there (and pretty much everywhere) has been awful for some time now, so we'd pretty much decided to stick around here a while longer, and used our savings to get married and have a honeymoon (both of which were fantastic).
Then Adam, whom longtime readers may remember as my friend who came up here to work for a year, told us there were openings at the company he works for, specifically the Arizona office where he is. Very cool, although Arizona wasn't quite where we were headed, but we make a note of it anyway, thinking we'll maybe look into it when we have money to move.
And suddenly Adam's supervisor is asking for Brian's resume, and giving him a phone interview, during which Brian mentions that we can't really afford to move right now. But apparently they really want his skill set on their team, because they're sending him a job offer with a bonus attached for moving expenses, and even though he doesn't have the alphabet soup of certifications necessary he already has the knowledge so they're going to hire him at his current salary and put him through the certification process and through school to get a degree and then rehire him for half again what he makes now, all at two-thirds the current cost of living of where we're at now.
Yeah. Apparently they really, really want to hire him. Not that I'm complaining. :D The very cool thing is, if we end up not liking Arizona, there are all kinds of other places we can go - the company's a government contractor, and has branches everywhere from Washington DC to Naples, Italy. And even if he doesn't like the company, he'll have a pile of certifications, government security clearance, and all kinds of experience for his resume, which should make it easy to find another job pretty much wherever.
I'm not quite sure yet what I'll be doing while we're in AZ. I can be an admin assistant anywhere, obviously, but I've become increasingly disillusioned with that lately. We'll be about fifteen minutes away from Tombstone, which is a huge tourist attraction/Wild West reenactment spot (surprise, surprise), so I might be able to get something acting oriented. I could deal with a job where I had to wear a corset every day. Beyond that...I guess we'll see what happens.
I know we're going to miss Juneau. In a lot of ways, it's been like a nest - small, enclosed, safe, where we know pretty much everywhere to go and have friends and steady jobs. But it's also been incredibly confining, what with the high cost of living and plane tickets out being upwards of a grand for two people. Leaving the nest is a big step, but a necessary one and hopefully one that will make us happier in the long run.
...Yeah, I'm scared shitless. Wouldn't you be?
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-19 06:09 am (UTC)Moving to Colorado wasn't nearly as scary, despite me not having a job when I left. Moving to Arizona was...easy.
But I'm really glad you guys are coming down. I knew this would be a huge opportunity for Brian, because he likes to tinker and learn as much as I do, and people like that *always* do well in this industry (hell...I've almost doubled my paycheck since I left Alaska and with one more cert, I might be tripling it). I am seriously excited. It's great having friends to go do stuff with. I missed it, and am looking forward to having you guys down here.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-19 09:53 am (UTC)I think you're right about it being a great opportunity for Brian. I think it'll be a good opportunity for me, too, if only to get my arse in gear and figure out what I'm doing and how I'm going to go about it.
Looking forward to seeing you too. :)