Does this sound stupid?

[katieandalex]

Ok, my FH and I just moved to the Quad Cities in Iowa....its probably close to 1 million population between the whole Quad Cities area....we grew up about 1 hour north where the population now is about 90K. We like bigger towns and we really enjoy learning new places and experiencing new towns....now heres the question.

I work in Iowa City which is a little less than an hour west of where we live. Alex might be getting his own store in that area come next year and the plans were, we were going to move to the Iowa City area come next year. (we move a lot so we are used to it). But we both want to experience another state other than Iowa...and not just a surrounding state like Illinois, Minnesota or Missouri. We were thinking more along the lines of Colorado, Ohio or the Carolinas.

My mom always said that she wasn't going to stop any of us from moving far away because its our own choice and such...but she would like us to be close when we have children so she can be apart of their lives growing up. So would be it be insanely stupid to move out of state for like 5 years and then we are talking about TTC we move back to the midwest (we would move to like Chicago, IL or Madison, WI...it would have to be a really big town and those are the only ones that interest us in the midwest). So does that sound insanely stupid or not? We really want to experience new areas of the country and such....but I would also like my parents to be a huge part in raising out children...and if we are living 12 hours away, that will make it difficult for them....what do y'all think?

[MsJessica07]

I actually think that that's a smart plan, to experience things before you have kids and then have family close by when you do. When my cousin had kids, her brother moved to Toronto so they could be nearby, and they're talking about her mom moving there as well (easier said than done since she lives on another continent...)

I'm just always worried that FH's parents and my parents will move far apart and we'll end up living close to one set but not another...I really didn't have grandparents so I'd like my kids to have them, but it's an issue to deal with.

Hope that helped somewhat!

[katieandalex]

Haha....now the only problem will be, deciding where we should move and which would be the best choice. My FH wants to move to Denver because he pretty much has a job there...for me, I have a job anywhere basically....but I would rather move East....So far we are looking at:
Boulder, CO
Denver, CO
Toledo, OH
Raleigh, NC
Charleston, SC

[Kacie_bride]

Katie I don't think it is stupid at all! I actually would like to move away myself. While I am very proud to be a Texan, I wouldn't mind moving away from the state and experiencing something different. Besides my parents are retiring on the other side of the state so it's not like I should stay around her for them anyway. If I had any choice I would pick Montana or Wyoming. I would want to live in some little one horse town out there.

Charleston is a beautiful! I like it there. I would pick Boulder over Denver. Whatever you choose you should do it before you get to established. I fear we will be stuck in the arm pit of Texas (as I refer to Southeast Texas as) for the rest of our lives because of trouble finding jobs for both of us elsewhere. Besides that I am going to be certified to teach in Texas. I don't know how easy it is to get certifications in other states.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Katie

i don't think that;s a bad idea at all either! I wish our parents lived closer but unfortunately we have to pick who we want to be closer to. We picked DH's parents. My parents will live about ten-twelve hours away. Oh well, we;ve got to do what we've got to do and I think moving for yourselves is a great idea and moving back later is great too!! :) Happy trails Katie!!;)

[katieandalex]

Well, Alex is really ticking me off. 2 days ago he was all about moving out of state and experiencing something new and then moving back here once we decide to start having kids. Well, then I told him that I was researching some other places and such...and he pretty much freaked out. Hes like "Its stupid to move and buy a house and live there for 5 years and then just end up moving back." I'm like, so you don't want to try out new places? And he replied "I've been to other places and they suck. We might as well just stay in Iowa." Arg, I was so upset last night.....he complains about Iowa, as do I, and then when we actually talk about it, he says he doesn't want to. He said the only way he would move is if he or I had some steller job waiting for us that would make the move worthwhile. And he said "Right now we don't have the money to move." I had to make it very clear to him that I wasn't looking at moving tomorrow, I was looking at moving next year when we were already planning on moving....maybe we should just forget about moving to Iowa City and just make the move to Madison, WI and stay there after next year.....arg.