Back in 2004, there was a post on my blog entitled Rocky Mountain High for the Connecticut Guy. Now, I find myself making the inverse post. Yes, we're moving back.
We're still formulating plans, so I don't have a ton to share yet, but we're leaving Colorado on Tuesday the 15th to head to Kentucky and visit Linda's family for Christmas. I'll drop Linda and Lia off there and continue on to Connecticut for an interview in Hartford on the 18th, then return to Kentucky for Christmas. At the end of December, all three of us will drive back to Connecticut together. There, we'll stay with family until I secure a job and we find a rental.
Once we've got a place to live, we'll fly back to Colorado, rent a UHaul, load up all our stuff, and make the drive all over again. Since we'll have the UHaul and a car to drive cross-country, I'm seeing if anyone is potentially interested in accompanying us on this crazy trip. We figure it'd take maybe a Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday. I've already got 2 people who are potentially interested, which is fantastic.
So yeah - I'll be back in Connecticut as of the beginning of January. And while I'd be lying if I said that there was nothing about Colorado I'll miss, I try to focus more on the things I'm looking forward to about being back in Connecticut.
Obviously the number one thing is people. I'll be able to see my family and hang out with my brothers. Lia will be able to see her grandparents. I'll be able to hang out with Rich, Mark, and Paul - the good ole geek crew. I'll be able to go out dancing again and see all my dance friends.
Linda's family is scattered all over the country: Lexington, Buffalo, Bethlehem, Delray Beach. My family is all in Connecticut. While I'm happy that we'll be near my family, it's too bad that there's no way to be nearby everyone. At least Kentucky will now be only 14 hours away by car as opposed to 22 hours.
And aside from people, there are a million little things I'll be looking forward to. Now, we can take Lia to the ocean for a day and build sand castles. The wetter snow of New England will actually allow us to build snowmen. And although the roads will be icier and the winters colder, the snow generally won't be as deep. My Jetta can handle slush and ice as long as I drive slowly. It doesn't handle 14 inches of snow very well.
Good bagels. Autumn foliage. I won't need to use hand lotion daily. I'll be able to find basic sundries at the grocery store. (The store in Buena Vista doesn't carry Woolite or Pampers Cruisers) Once I get a full-time job, I'll have health and dental insurance and I can get to a dentist. And my stuff won't explode anymore.
The only problem is that the next week or so is going to be incredibly hectic as we rush to prep for our departure on the 15th.