Update on Finding a New Place to Live

On our plane ride out to Hawaii, Jess and I put pen to paper and prioritized what it is we hope to find in a new place to live and raise our family.  We ranked them in order of importance and hope to stick to our guns.

1.  People - we want warm and welcoming people
2. Weather - want sun!!, but still want some changing seasons, not wild about a lot of snow or cold
3.  Outdoor Oriented - want lots of beautiful nature to enjoy, biking, jogging, rafting, etc.
4.  Strong Walk Score - want kids to bike or walk to school, walk to local coffee shop or grocery
5.  Affordable - don't want to need a killer job just to be able to afford a nice, simple place
6.  A place where the people "Work to Live", not "live to work" (laid back but not too much)
7.  In the Action - we want to feel like where we are is a destination, and not dead in the summer or winter
8.  Green/Progressive - want a focus on environment, also the people are open minded and accepting of others
9.  University Nearby - good for cultural options, plays, and keg parties!! ha ha
10.  Near a Major Airport - so we can travel easily and have friends and family visit often
11.  Water Water Somewhere -lakes or rivers are good, (decided we don't have to be near the ocean, like we originally thought)
12.  Job Opportunities - last but not least, we do need some money to live, ha ha

Our top choices at this point in the journey are:

Bend, Oregon,
Boulder/Louisville, Colorado,
Austin, Texas
Asheville, North Carlina

We have already lived in:

Bend, OR
Portland, OR
Pacific City, OR
Seattle, WA
Pacific Beach, WA

Had brief stays in Charleston, Chapel Hill, Carey, Oklahoma City, Flagstaff, Albuquerque , Salt Lake City, and Boise.

Such a difficult decision that at times it feels overwhelming but most of the time we just feel very fortunate to be able to visit and choose for ourselves.

A Thought

While watching some surfers do their thing, I realized surfing has some strong parallels to life.  Sitting in the water going up and down watching/waiting for the right wave can be fun.  Very fun!  But you do need to take a chance and pick a wave to really enjoy (life).  You may have more fun riding a number of smaller waves, rather than waiting for that one really big wave to come in.  I plan to catch as many waves as I can and take my family with.