I got the initial contact and information from the relocation people today, which surprised me because they originally said that wouldn't come until the background check was done (not that I'm worried that the speeding ticket I had three years ago would disqualify me). There are really two things that stress me out.
The first is the cats. While it's awesome that the company will pick up the cost of their flights, I'm not even remotely comfortable with them having to endure eight hours of travel time with layovers and two planes and baggage handlers. I particularly worry about what that would do to Cosmo and Gideon. Call that silly, but you know, they're like my kids.
Stephanie suggested to me we drive it. As she points out, we don't have to go through Iowa (as she did to Colorado), and there's a great deal of country to see on the way. She thinks it would be neat for me and Diana to see states we might never see otherwise. She has a good point about that. If we did that, I think we'd let them ship the cars and get an SUV or minivan or something to rent on our dime. If I'm reading things right, the company will still get the hotels.
It looks like a three day drive if we're being reasonable. One day to Minneapolis, then to Billings, Montana (passing through Fargo!), and finally to Seattle. I tell myself that wouldn't be horrible, but I do wonder how boring day 2 might be. That's 12 hours a day for three days. If we switch it up, how bad could it be?
The other thing that stresses me is finding a place to land. I feel like I've got some solid ground work laid-out about the areas that would be ideal, and I've been surfing for specific properties, but I just want to see some in real life and reach a decision. The idea of trying to start work while looking some more doesn't sit well with me at all, even though Diana will have the time to lay some of that ground work. That, and temporary housing is just, well, temporary. A part of me wants to go out ahead of time and get looking.