Sunday, May 22, 2011

"it rains nine months of the year in seattle."

this is what i know about seattle:

- my dad likes to threaten me that the city will erupt in volcano apocalypse any day now
- the movies "sleepless in seattle" and "10 things i hate about you" were filmed there
- nordstrom & starbucks were founded there
- it rains a lot
- half my college roommates & a lot of good friends grew up there

obviously, i have a lot to learn seeing as how i have never previously set foot in the state of washington. but let's be real, people -- i've been prepping for this move my entire life by watching "sleepless in seattle" 100+ times. [subject line quote is from that movie.]

since b started MBA school, i've been making a little list in my head about the qualities i would like the city we eventually settled in to have. here is how seattle stacks up:

MANDATORY:
- not in the midwest: check
- listed in the top 20 largest markets in the US: check
- LDS temple nearby: check
- trader joe's availability: check and check!!!

PREFERRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:
- h&m: check
- paper source: check
- ikea: check
- near family: no :(

sooo obviously my shopping habits are excited for the move. and hopefully we'll make some new friends quickly because we won't have ANY family and only very few friends in the whole state of washington when we move. plus jack's first birthday is coming up and it's just so sad that we'll be celebrating his first cupcake with, like, no one. i'll just walk around trader joe's looking for kind-faced strangers and invite them over. "hey! want to pretend to know my little boy and eat cupcakes?" a silly thing to be concerned about, i know, but you only get one FIRST first birthday, am i right?

also, i'm a little sad to not be going back to california. a tiny part of me really did hang on to the hope that we'd be back -- after all, i grew up believing southern california was the end all and be all for best places to live in the country. but thanks to some big epiphanies over the past two years, i've realized i can be happy in other places [and that cali isn't actually that great] -- and i can't wait to make seattle my home. plus flights from seattle to LAX are only $99 one way :)

5 comments:

The Hunt House said...

I grew up in Portland. Similar weather. Lots of rain. It may take you some time to get used to but you will get used to it. You adjust. Like you said you've learned to bloom where you are planted and Grad school will do that to you. It's such a learning experience to live different places and you grow so much as a person and as a couple. You will bring new perspective everywhere you go now. Plus, who knows what lies ahead? You may wind up right back down south someday! :) Life is funny huh? So excited for you!

Justin + kelly said...

Yeah! It's only like 3 hours from us!!! We can be your family!!! Oh, and not to burst your bubble, but 9 months of rain is in a good year. And let's just say we haven't had one if those in a few years. :) but when do you join is in the nw?

A and M said...

I love that you quoted Sleepless in Seattle...such a great movie!
From your previous post it definitely sounds like this was meant to be and will be a fun adventure. I'm sure you'll find some friends shopping at Trader Joe's, everyone is always so nice to me especially when my son's in tow and who can resist cupcakes.

H&G...Hi and Goodbye!

Tyler and Staci said...

Hey! So you will love Seattle. I lived there for a summer. It is so green and pretty. I lived in Federal Heights, its just like 20 miles south of Seattle. There are so many parks right on the coast, they are awesome. Also, there are great places to run. In the summer it did not rain too much. There was still plenty of time to play outside.

Chelsea said...

I am so excited for you guys! These sorts of decisions really do take tons of faith... I know, because our move to Charlotte was like that! And I am grateful every day to belong to the church because there is an instant network of people to be friends. Oh, and my parents are in Spokane right now, which is quite a drive but totally doable if we could get it to work!