Moving?

We are giving some serious thought to moving. We're talking Colorado Springs. Haven't you always wanted to move to Colorado Springs? It's so many people's dream that it's kind of passe to want to move there, and yet, here we are, thinking about it anyway. We're just followers that way. ;)

There are pluses and minuses about The Springs, as we like to call it.

The pluses:

-good weather
-lots of walking/biking paths
-a general active and outdoorsy type of lifestyle is common
-I love living in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains
-a nice little downtown area
-close to good hiking
-there are gyms for Davan's gymnastics
-the skiing in Colorado is really, really good

The minuses:

-lots of conservative Christians
-further from skiing than we are now - like 3 hours or so of driving, yikes!
-sprawl, lots of sprawl
-it's pretty brown - I'd miss the lush green of here
-it's not anywhere near the beach, you might have noticed while looking at a map
-no big civil engineering firms, making the job situation a bit sketchy for Anthony

Still to discover is what is the homeschool situation? What are the laws in Colorado about homeschooling? What do the support groups look like? Are we going to be able to find secular homeschoolers to hang out with? I think the answers to these questions will be positive, but I've yet to research it.

So, why, given that the pluses and minuses are fairly even, would we want to move? The answer is people. The two most important people in my life are Anthony and Davan, of course. But, next in line are my parents and my best friend, Chris.

At this point in time, my parents live near us. They are still nearly an hour drive away because they live on the opposite side of the Portland Metro area, but they live in the vicinity and, when they are in town, we see them often, despite the distance. However, they each own a house in Colorado Springs and they mutter often about moving back there. Inertia and the fact that we - "the kids" - live here has kept them from it so far, but I think it will eventually happen no matter if we will it or not. If we go, they will, too. It's easy for them to move, job-wise, as my mom travels to her job anyway.

My best friend is dying to move back to Colorado. She's currently in Pittsburgh and not happy about it. She has been debating between Ft. Collins (where she lived for a while as an adult and still has friends) and The Springs (where her parents live). Both have pluses and minuses for her, but, she's told me that if I were to commit to moving to The Springs, that would settle the matter for her. She'd go to Ft. Collins. LOL No, of course, she'd come live in The Springs, too.

With the making of one move, it would be possible for me and all of my most important people to live within a very short distance of each other. My ideal would be that no one is more than a mile away, but, hey, I'm flexible. 15 minute drive or less would do just fine. That's pretty much anywhere in The Springs...

Also, it feels like a good time to move. To have a fresh start. Everyone has been very supportive about the whole Max thing, but putting it behind us to some extent would be nice. Various things are changing on our social lives, too. I've given up game day. The Girl Scout troop has dissolved.

Davan is willing, although she says she'll miss her friends and she isn't excited about moving gyms. Anthony likes his job and isn't excited about finding a new one. There's a lot to be done on the house to get it ready to sell.

We're thinking that, if we do move, it'll be next summer. That gives us a chance to work on the house. It lets Davan finish out the competitive season of gymnastics at her gym. We'll have some time to do some Oregon things we want to do - like backpack with Davan around Mt Hood and maybe go here, which is something we've eyed for a while.

We're thinking about it. Mulling it over.