Thursday, September 3, 2009

Thinking out loud about L.A.

I moved to Pittsburgh for grad school and I've always felt that I stayed several years too long. After I got out of grad school I got my first job and then met Danielle and so I stayed here but always longed to move. Danielle and I discussed moving for a long time. Initially it was to a bigger city but then I decided that I wanted to move somewhere warm and sunny. I'm aware that my mood is greatly affected by the weather. And while I love skiing, I have no qualms about taking a special ski trip rather than living in a state where I can drive to ski. I love the idea of Christmas with snow but we can always fly to my brother Jason's home in Ohio to get that experience. So we kind of narrowed it down to Florida or Los Angeles. After our recent trip, Danielle fell in love and is ready for a change. I found LA to be more fast paced than Pittsburgh but not as fast paced as NYC. We love the idea of being close to the beach and being surrounded by the sun. With that said we still need to sit down and iron out some things but it sounds like we've made the decision to move. Sometimes thinking about moving makes me incredibly overwhelmed. It was one thing when it was just Danielle and I moving, but now we have a little baby to think about as well. So here are some questions and things we need to do/consider:
  • Does it make more sense to move before or after I give birth? (I'm thinking during my maternity leave may be better).
  • When should we put our house on the market?
  • I have to sit for my license exam in California. They make you take two. Yikes!
  • We both need to find a job
  • We need to find somewhere to live. It's going to be a huge adjustment going from our 4 level spacious home to a townhouse or apt.
  • Getting our cars there
  • Deciding what to keep and what to sell
  • Dealing with the guilt being dished to us about leaving.
  • Terminating with my clients in private practice and handling their reactions.

Ahhhh, there's so much to think about.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Ahhh - I won't give you any guilt - but I really liked having you nearby (even if we haven't been able to get together just yet).

Anonymous said...

Having been through 2 maternity leaves, I can say that moving is about the LAST thing I'd want to do while I'm sleep deprived, hormonal, sore, and caring for a newborn 24/7. I moved across the country when Ceara was 6 months old, and it was hard! If I had to do it over, I'd have moved before she was born so I had time to 'feather my new nest' and settle in before the big arrival.
Just my humble opinion!

anofferingoflove said...

wow, how exciting! no advice to give on the details.

does your current employment provide health insurance? is that a factor in when you'd be able to go?

Jess said...

I have no advise either. I do think moving before baby is born would probaby be easier if you do move.