The Big Plan

Two years ago, Cristina and I had a long, heartfelt chat and we came to the decision that Cristina would not be going to Southwest College, which was the primary reason we moved to Phoenix.

With Southwest College out of the picture, there is no compelling reason to stay in Arizona. Alex and Bella go to a Waldorf charter school here, which we would have to give up if we went somewhere else, and Sofia is excelling in trumpet and academics at ASA. But other than that...we're ready to go back east. With the housing market suffering, we knew we’d need to stay in Phoenix a few more years until we could sell our house for a better price. But the time our children are still children runs shorter every year, so it's time to cut our losses and sell the house, even if it means a short sale. I'm not willing to live in the desert away from where we want to be just for the sake of building some equity, which could take another decade.

Choices
Our old master plan was that after Cristina finished naturopathic school, we’d move to Chapel Hill, NC. We like that area, it’s a small college town (our favorite type of town), just a few hours drive from most of my family, plus Cristina has extended family in the Raleigh area. So the natural conclusion would be to move to Chapel Hill.


However, we already have an established network in Gainesville. That is, we know the schools, we know the Baha'i community, we have friends and family there...it would be an easier transition. It's where Cristina and I met. It's where all three of our kids were born. There's a lot of energetic significance in that little college town. Moving across the country has really opened our eyes to the value and comfort of our roots. The idea of going back, of coming home, is extremely appealing. You know the cliche "if you love something set it free?" Our years away from Gainesville have made us realize how much we love it and miss it. This is what makes Gainesville a strong contender, even though the climate of Chapel Hill and proximity to the mountains make it a tempting choice.


It's not about the money
Whether we move to Chapel Hill or Gainesville, I'll be taking a hefty paycut. Some who are aware of our plans have suggested we move to Georgia, or even Orlando, where the pay is higher than Alachua County. No thank you. If it was about the money, we'd just stay here in Phoenix. We're seeking a quality of life, a proximity to certain things, that transcends salary opportunities. We can adapt to a lower income. Plus, for the first time in over a decade, Cristina is able to work full-time, so our earning potential is greater than it was when we lived in Gainesville before. And the urologist has made sure that it can't be jeopardized again.


Of course, in coming back to Gainesville, I could apply to any middle or high school. Buchholz is the “nice” school in town. But I still have a lot of friends at GHS, and it has special meaning for me. I taught there for 7 years, and they were the best, happiest years of my teaching career. I can’t imagine moving back to Gainesville and not teaching at GHS. It just wouldn’t feel right. I could teach somewhere else initially, but I'd probably try to transfer to GHS each year.

I know I’m not that old, but I feel comfortable with the notion of buying a house in Gainesville and just settling in, not on the lookout for where we might be in a few years. Tuesday night, at the ASA open house, Cristina was briefly talking football (weird, I know) with the assistant principal (who's a big Steelers fan). Cristina told her we're all about Gator football right now. I was fascinated that she said "we" instead of "he." Another reason I look forward to living in Gainesville is obvious. Those that really know me know that I’m nuts for my alma mater.


I didn’t used to think I liked the state of Florida that much. But living somewhere for 23 years, the most formative years of your life, has a cumulative effect. I even miss the humidity.

The Plan
So that brings us to present day. Here's the plan so far. I’ll teach here at South Mountain High School for the rest of this school year. We are tentatively planning to move back to Gainesville summer of 2010. That gives us about 9 months to pay off more debt and get the house ready to sell. I've already talked to a realtor about helping us with a short sale, a negotiation with the lender to accept less money than what is owed.

With a summer 2010 move, Sofia would be about to start high school, Alex would be ready for 4th grade, and Isabella would be ready for a 2nd year of Kindergarten (it's a Waldorf thing...but really, who wouldn't want two years of Kindergarten? They say the best years of your education are Kindergarten and grad school). Alex and Isabella would hopefully go to Expressions Learning Arts Academy, where Sofia went for Kindergarten and 1st grade. It’s a good school.


Assuming I get hired some time in the spring, we would plan to drive the moving truck to Florida around the end of June. Maybe I can even squeak in another summer school stint for some extra cash. We're toying with the idea of flying the three kids to North Carolina for a couple of weeks before we arrive in Gainesville, just to make the truck loading and driving easier.

I anticipate spending a few weeks in July living with my mother-in-law, with our stuff in storage, while we look for something to rent. If we do a short sale on our house, we probably won't be in a position to buy for a little while, but it's hard to say. The economy is kind of crazy right now, in case you haven't noticed.

Pitfalls
Two things could cause us to be in Phoenix one more year. The first would be if I can't get a job. Even if our house sells, we're not moving if I don't have a job. It's not like 2004 when we moved to Phoenix without a job. The economy was better and a leap of faith wasn't as risky. No way I'd do that now.

The other pitfall would be if our house doesn't sell. But now that I've looked into short sales, I feel confident we can sell it.

Looking forward
I’ll miss living just 5 minutes from a major airport, that’s for sure. But driving to the Orlando airport (my favorite airport in the world, by the way) is a good excuse to visit friends who live in Orlando.

I’ll miss Trader Joe’s, but it won't be long before Florida has TJ's.

I won’t miss the 115 degree summers that seem to never end. I won’t miss the blazing sun with no rain in sight for months. I crave those Florida summers where it thunderstorms every afternoon.

I love the idea of being 30-minutes from tubing down the Ichetucknee River.

I can't wait to get back to those cheap flights from Florida to Costa Rica.

I even miss Eastern Standard Time Zone. It's a challenge to stay in touch with Steve in Scotland with the time difference, but it's even worse in Arizona, where the difference is 8 hours.

I look forward to being just a day-long road trip away from my family again. After driving 7000 miles two summers in a row, driving from Gainesville to Asheville seems like a walk in the park. Living across the country can give you some perspective like that.

And I know I can speak for Cristina on this one: I miss trees. I haven’t said that too much during the past 5 years, because I knew it would only make it worse for Cristina, but I do miss trees and greenery.