Gwnewch y pethau bychain

Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes…

While we’ve not made a secret of them, neither had either kitanzi and I made any general announcement of our upcoming plans. Part of this was due to a great number of open questions that made it difficult to make concrete plans, but as we approach the launching of the expidition, things are starting to fall into place. So here, in convenient FAQ form, is an announcement.

In January, we are moving to Seattle.

Wait…what?

Washington state, that is. Space needle…Eddie Vedder…[end gratuitous Todd Snider shoutout]

Why?

Well, that’s a complicated question with a complicated answer. The truth is…Atlanta isn’t the place I’d have chosen to live if I’d made an actual choice. I just sort of ended up here. I moved to Georgia originally to be closer to a_blue_moon_cat, who I was dating at the time. That relationship ended over ten years ago. As early as then I was evaluating whether I wanted to stay in Georgia for the long term. Then [personal profile] kitanzi moved down and we both had good jobs and it settled into a stasis.

But the truth is, I don’t really like Georgia. I like a lot of the people here, but the actual place I don’t like very much at all. So, in recent years, I started to think hard about where I’d rather be. Larissa only moved to Atlanta to move in with me, so she has no deep ties to the place, either. I had a list of cities that, based on my research, talking to people who lived there and my own travels, I felt would suit me better than here. And finally, after much deliberation and a lot of thought, we’ve decided where it is we want to live, and we’re going to make that happen.

This is all so sudden…

It probably seems so, if you’re learning about this from this post. But this is actually a decision several years in the making, and many months in the planning to actually go.

So, why Seattle?

It meets all my criteria for a place I’d want to live. It has a better climate to my tastes. (No, really.) It as an active filk and fannish community. The culture there is much more agreeable to us. And, as a bonus, it puts us substantially closer to a great many people we’d like to be substantially closer to. (It also puts us farther away from some people we’d rather not be farther away from, but that would be true of anywhere we moved, or even if we stood still. The algebra of our interpersonal relationships defies simple equations.)

Seattle was always in the top four or five places on our list. It moved to the top for a variety of reasons, but the simplest answer is, having visited on many occasions now, we just like the place, and it’s the sort of place I can see myself living on purpose, rather than by accident.

Do you have jobs lined up?

Nothing firm, as yet, though there are irons being placed into fires. But we’ve been saving the last year, putting aside funds to allow us to pull ups stakes and move and weather a period of unemployment. I feel confident we’ll be able to find something on the other side. (If you’re in the area or have contacts in the area who might be looking for a good unix sysadmin with superb customer service skills, drop me a line.)

Are you insane?

Almost certainly.

But if you move, what happens to Gafilk?

Nothing happens to it. I will continue to chair the convention, and Larissa will continue to be the treasurer. I have people I trust that are here to handle such tasks that require a local person, and we have a fabulous relationship with our host hotel, so we don’t need to scout new venues. There may come a time down the road where I hand off the reins to someone prepared to oversee Gafilk’s third decade and settle into the same emeritus role that bedlamhouse currently enjoys, but that won’t be soon, and in the meantime I plan to keep putting on the same con that we’ve all enjoyed for the last 15 years for as long as everyone keeps wanting to come to it.

So what’s the plan?

The plan, currently, is that I will end my current employment at the end of the year, and we
will stay through Gafilk. Once Gafilk is wrapped up, we drive west. Most of our things are in storage, and the rest will be by the time the con happens. [personal profile] runnerwolf, who will be our housemate once we move, is coming for Thanksgiving, and will take the cat back with her. We are driving across country, likely taking the southern route and up the coast to avoid crossing the high plains and mountains in the middle of winter, and plan to arrive in Seattle just in time for Conflikt.

I don’t know what will unfold over the first few months of 2013. I know it will be an adventure, and I’m looking forward to what the future will bring.

So….that’s what’s new with us.

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97 Comments

  1. Wow! And now I have more reasons to visit Seattle. 🙂

    If you don’t yet know , this should be rectified. 🙂

    I know that you already know mdlbear, and he’s been lining up contract job resources that may help you as well.

    • Yup. And you appear to have thought this through, which is more than I did 🙂

      • We’ve had a lot of time to think about it, due to the constraints on finances to make it feasible. We’re really tired of thinking about it, to be honest. 🙂

        Will gratefully accept any networking opportunities that lead to income. 🙂

        • Sure thing! I have quite a few recent contacts at this point.

          There are a couple of Seattle groups on linkedin to get started with; another trick is to set the zip code in your profile *before* you move. I just sent you a connection request 🙂

    • I’ve never met , but I’ve interacted with him online, primarily on alt.polyamory, and he always struck me as a hoopy frood.

  2. …it’s the sort of place I can see myself living on purpose, rather than by accident.

    Yes. If ever I were to leave the Bay Area, Seattle is one of the few places I could easily see myself calling Home, as opposed to merely where I was living.

  3. drop a line if you need someplace to stay east-bay-ish =)

    • Will do. As of the moment, we’re not entirely sure the route we take. I have it planned pretty well up through Las Vegas, and then it will depend on weather how we proceed.

      Of course, once we’re safely settled in, popping down to CA to see you won’t be nearly as big of a production. 🙂

      • indeed, and hopefully by the time you’re settled in, i will have been employed long enough to be able to do some actual vacationing in places i don’t live =)

  4. You know, I’ll probably end up seeing you guys just as often if not more so. I really enjoy all my visits to the west coast whether that has landed me in San Jose and the Bay Area or up in Seattle. Best of luck on your new adventure! *Hugs to you and Larissa!*

  5. Good luck with the move!

  6. Woo! Welcome to Seattle, except you’re not here yet, but when you are, welcome! 😀

  7. Wow. This is a big change. I wish the two of you the best of luck and success,

    Back in 1988, I was flown out to Tacoma for an interview. (This is when companies had the money to do this.) I didn’t get the job, but I liked the Seattle/Tacoma area — it had a good feel to it.

  8. Good luck with the move.

  9. Awesome! This means I might get to see you more often as I try to make it to Seattle at least once or twice a year. (It’s also on my list of places I would like to eventually end up living.)

    Also, if you end up coming through L.A., let me know. We might be able to put you up for a night, though I’d have to clear that with my parents, but we do have two guest rooms, so it shouldn’t be a huge problem. (And even if you don’t need a place to stay, there could be lunch or dinner or something.)

    • Sure thing. The route is currently being planned, and how precisely we take it will depend in large part on the weather at the time, which isn’t something I can predict in October. 🙂

      • I don’t think there’s any route that won’t require chains if it snows, but then agan, I moved in July.

        • There is no route that won’t require mountain, or at least high-altitude, driving. Taking the southern route will require I-5 through the Siskiyous in souther Oregon. I-70 crosses Colorado. I-80 goes through Wyoming, which often snows in in winterm but allows access to I-84 to avoid the Cascades. I-90 goes through Montana and the Cascades east of Seattle, which in winter tends to require the road to be plowed, but should be open.

          You might be able to miss the Siskiyous by taking 101 in California and cutting across SR 18 and 99W or US 26 to Portland, but that’s probably going to take twice as long as I-5. If you take the southern route, check ODOT’s webcams for southern Oregon before deciding which way to go.

          • Thanks! That’s incredibly useful!

            In our case, we’re deciding between either going from Las Vegas up to Reno and across on I-80 into California, or heading from there to LA before turning north. Obviously, in either case we’ll be looking at going up I-5 through Oregon.

            We’ll see what the lay of the land is when its time. There’s nothing we can even usefully plan for at this point other than hypotheticals.

          • You are actually required to have appropriate chains on 1-5 through the siskiyous from… I think december through march, but I could be wrong. I know you need them in January as that’s when I’ve usually done that drive. (Note: you are just required to have them in the car, you are not required to have them on the vehicle.

            That said, you basically end up with on day of driving through the area that is likely to be a problem, but you may want to plan a couple extra days in case of a nasty snowstorm. And yeah, there are cameras and pretty good weather prediction a day or two out which will let you make good guesses about whether to head out or hang out in California another day or two.

          • Yeah. The good news is that just before we hit that stretch, we’ll be at ‘s father’s house, so if we have to spend an extra day it won’t cost us a hotel room. 🙂

  10. Safe travels, safe move, and may you both find gainful employment in short order.

  11. Best of luck to y’all. Lemme know when y’all are planning on moving and stuff and need help packing and loading a truck or a uhaul. One of my super powers is that I’m a Ninja, Gypsy Master Packer. The virgo planets also compel me to label boxes which becomes double plus good on the other side.

    I’ll certainly miss y’all here in the ATL. *Solemn nod*

    I’m happy y’all are following your bliss. Closer to time to move up there, I’ll poke some of the folks I know up that way to see if they know of anyone in need of a rock star Unix Sys Admin and an ossum nebulous concept of the researchy that Kitanzi does.

    *HUGS*

    • We certainly could use some of that as we get closer. Some of this stuff is going into storage and some of it is going to local homes, but all of it will have to be sorted and packed properly and resolved. What goes with us for the initial trip is what fits in the back of the Prius.

  12. I’d heard this was coming a month or so back; it sounds like it’s well thought out.

    Best of luck with the move!

  13. Hooray and best wishes for transitions, transformations and, uh, transit. *smiles*. May this be a new beginning in the ways you want it to be, and a continuation in the ways you want it to be.

    (And yup — thanks to assorted relatives, I’ve logged enough time in the South, mostly around Jacksonville, that I know it’s not for me long-term-wise … mostly but not strictly due to climate. I likes the occasional boiled peanut, though.)

    • Thanks!

      I’ve lived my entire life in the Southeast…20 years in North Carolina, where I was born, and 22 years in GA. Now it’s time to live somewhere because I want to and not just because its where I happen to be.

  14. Best of luck and most of all enjoy it.

    • We’re gonna try. Part of me is dreading the drive, and part of me is looking forward to it, because I’ll drive through a lot of places I’ve never been. Probably will get to spend a little time with relatives we haven’t seen in too long, either.

      • America rocks some really beautiful land. Also, long drives are great opportunities for thinking and expansion. Just be sure and stop off in hotels with pools to de-car. Will be good for Kitanzi’s back.

  15. Good luck. A big change to make and I am not sure I would have the courage to do something this big without a job to go to, I admire you for working out what you want and going for it.

    I am slightly more likely to make it to Seattle than to Atlanta so this is an improvement from my perspective.

    • Well, if it means we might see you sometimes, that’s an extra plus!

      At times, I’m not sure I have the courage either. But I’m committed to it, and we’ll make it through. (We have a lot of fallback plans mapped out if things go horribly awry.)

  16. Best o’ Luck!!

    Be sure to check out the Jimi Hendrix Experience; they had an awesome Avatar exhibit, if it is still there. As residents, you may have time to get the hang of the 3-D camera.

    Plus you’ll be right up the Coast from some awesome, working steampunkery: http://asg-qa-s7.livejournal.com/19755.html

    Holler if you’re going to have a Movie Night or “N00b Night for Gaming”--selfishly, I’d like to see y’all in those contexts while there is still time to climb out of my rut.

    As always, all best wishes from the Professora & me!

  17. Very cool! And we will see you in January!

  18. I’m so glad I’ll still get to see you at Gafilk and hopefully OVFF also!! Seattle is a wonderful place. Though I’ve only visited once, I got such a great vibe from it. Hopefully you Larissa and all of the other great folks out there will give me a reason to visit more often. *hugs*

    • We have no plans to discontinue our annual OVFF attendance, though obviously money will be a deciding factor. But since OVFF is in October, I’m pretty sure we’ll have gotten ourselves into a good state by then. 🙂

    • You’re very welcome to stay with us if/when you come up!

  19. Congratulations, good luck, and good for you! Ann Arbor is my home, but I can certainly see the appeal of Seattle, for all the reasons you mention.

    • Seattle feels like it could be home. Nowhere to date has managed that, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it fits. 🙂

  20. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest! Would enjoy putting a face to the LJ name.

    Back in the day I used to go to Seattle on a day trip-leave early, get there by lunch, stay through dinner, be home by midnight. Not as possible anymore with the growth in the last 15 years, but it’s still pretty close.

  21. I pretty much only get to see you at Gafilk, so I’m glad I’ll still be able to do that. 🙂

    Good luck with the packing and moving and such. The southwest is beautiful, and I rather envy you the drive through.

  22. Good luck! The UK felt like the sort of place I’d want to live in when I first visited it 14 years ago. I’ve lived here for 11 years now and it still feels that way. I hope Seattle works that way for you guys!

    • Thank you! It already feels like home, to the extent that I feel homesick for it even though we haven’t even moved yet. That strikes me as a good sign. 🙂

  23. I am super duper happy ecstatic for you guys 🙂
    Also, the chances are much higher that we get to see you again some time soon with you being in Seattle, cuz as it happens, we love the Pacific North West as well 😉
    Mwah!

    • While I cannot claim that was on our primary factor list, it has a prominent place under the “exceptionally cool bonus points” rider! 🙂

      And we’ll see you, in ANY event, in just a few weeks. 🙂 Mwah!

  24. How awesome! Mazal tov!

  25. My old hometown is getting increasingly full of awesome fannish people! I hope to visit soon. 🙂

  26. I will admit,

    I’m not 100% happy about this, but I also realize that you need to do what’s best for you. You and Larissa have been a mainstay of GaFiA-dom since you joined and since she came down here.

    My main concern, I guess, is not only that we’re losing a once a year host for a housefilk, but that it’s going to make GaFilk meetings very interesting.

    • Re: I will admit,

      I understand that. And yes, we’ll have to figure out the best way to handle meetings. But this is going to be the right thing for us, I think.

  27. I can certainly understand the southern route rather than crossing the high plains in January/February. My dad told tales of making the run from WV to Wyoming in blizzard weather with the road more or less being closed as they crossed. Yes, there was no way to make the drive at a different time, or he would have. We’ve heard many stories of that trip, tho’ 🙂

    That being said, if the weather this winter is like last winter? You’d likely be fine on the northern route (we had next to no snow in Iowa, hence the drought this summer). On the other hand, as much as we’d love to have you visit here, we REALLY need some snow this year.

    • I don’t think I relish the idea of making plans that depend on the weather doing one thing or another. 🙂 Better safe than sorry. 🙂

  28. That sounds marvelous. And far better planned than any of my moves. 😀 Here’s a hope that it goes smoothly and Seattle soon becomes home.

  29. You will LOOVE it! I have friends there, wonderful filking folk. I’m a bit jealous…

  30. I’m late to the party, but then, I’ve known you were planning to make the move for a long time. I’m glad you’re finally taking the plunge. I have a few non-fannish friends in that neck of the woods so let me know if you want introductions. They are largely tech-sector, and fan-friendly, so they may be able to point you in the right direction job-wise.

    I really hope this goes well on all fronts.

    *many hugs*

  31. Good luck with the move!

  32. I hope the move and the job hunting both go smoothly for you. I’d definitely choose Seattle over Georgia a s a place to live.

  33. That’s rather wow! I’ll have to come for a visit and see Dayna one last time. If you want to visit Tarrant, do let me know. 🙂

    • Sure thing. As I said in the post, we’re actually sending her off after Thanksgiving, so if you want to see her, you’ll need to come around before then. 🙂

  34. I don’t keep up with LJ very much these days so imagine my surprise when I came across this! Congrats, you guys! I am super excited for you. Why so excited? Well, this is exactly what we did earlier this year -- followed our hearts to a city that we really wanted to be in. Like you, Georgia was a place we went for an opportunity. Matt’s company offered us a chance to move and since we lived in Detroit we thought it to be a good idea. It wasn’t long before we discovered Asheville and realized that was where we really wanted to be. It took us almost 5 years of preparation to be able to make the move -- and it is exactly everything we hoped it would be!

    I think it is extremely important that people be in a place they love. It makes us more engaged in our own lives. Enjoy the journey!

  35. I just learned about this in the post about Dayna (my condolences…she was a Good Kittie). I think this is an excellent move for both of you. The Seattle fan community is amazing right now; the city itself is fantastic; the weather has less winter than I want, but if you ever miss winter drive to the top of Mt Ranier; and yes, Georgia seemed always to be “the place in which you both found yourselves” and not really the “place you chose to live”. So, good on you both, and I hope the best of adventures await you both!

  36. Oh Seattle, huh? **weg**

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