A major development in our family has been underway for several weeks now. Matt had applied for a job back in April. It's with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) so sometimes government jobs can take awhile. Since Matt has applied for various federal jobs over the last couple of years, we weren't quite sure what to expect. After the 2nd phone interview they called back to fly him out for an "in-person" interview the middle of July. From the title of the post I'm sure you can guess that they selected him for the job and he's accepted! We had to wait a couple more weeks for it to be approved by "Washington"/Dept of Interior (DOI), which they did, so now it is really really official.
Where is this new job? Across the country in Yreka, CA (pronounced why-reek-a). It's a small town of ~8,000 on the CA/OR border along I-5 near Mt. Shasta. The position is for a Public Relations Officer to work with local communities/stakeholders on issues with the Klamath River.
Some things were looking forward to: It's a gov't PR position in a conservation field. It's close to fly fishing, mountains, etc and in a non-humid climate that gets four seasons. It's small-town living where we've imagined we'd like to live at some point. Matt and I would still have family "close" by (4.5 hrs north to my parents/sister, 4 hrs south to Matt's uncles). The Church is relatively strong there and we'd be 45 minutes to the Medford Oregon Temple.
Some things we're not looking forward to: We'll be uprooting our little family and taking a risk that we'll like it there. We won't be a 3.5 hour drive from Grammum and Pappy anymore. We may find small-town life too stagnant after living in a vibrant metropolitan area where everything is close-by. The cost of living is a little better but we won't really know how it all balances out until we're actually living there. We'll be saying good-bye to so many wonderful friends and leaving the place we've been since we met and married five years ago.
As November looms closer I'm sure we'll be more wistful with the inevitable goodbyes. But for now we're gearing up for sell-the-house mode. Oh, and to have a baby before we move, too. Eeeks!!
6 comments:
Good luck! At least that is a pretty part of the country. I hate risks like that. We are contemplating one ourselves.
One step at a time. It will be great for you, I just know it.
So now I guess it's really official, since you've posted it on your blog! I'm just so excited for you (and for me and my kids and your kids), though it will be hard to leave Grammum and Pappy and all your wonderful friends behind. At least you have the Nook! :)
OOOHHH I have a sad feeling when I think about not being able to see you for years and years. But, as Heather says, at least we'll have the nook :)
congrats to matt on the new job. that's always exciting. and personally, i think the forest service is a WAY cooler branch of government that say, ag or even labor. but that's just me.
Congrats! Although I hate to see you go, I think you'll like Yreka.
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