As many of my friends and stalkers already know, I got a new gig, about 2,400 miles west of here, with a small software company. As such, we'll be moving to some 'burb around Seattle some time next month, likely near or around Redmond, near the mother ship. As I mentioned in my tech blog, this is probably the single best move I could make in my career right now.
And it makes a ton of sense for me personally as well. Ditto for Diana. We're ready to really start something new, with all of the other newness we've been experiencing. The list of reasons to stay in Northeast Ohio is really short. It's time, and perhaps long overdue.
The move doesn't stress me out much, and honestly my biggest concern is unloading my house as quickly as possible. In the mean time, there's some minor work to do around the house, plans to have a party for all of the folks we'll see less frequently, stuff to unload (anyone wanna buy a Jurassic Park pinball machine or a leather couch?) and stuff like that.
Diana quite correctly pointed out that this is the first time she's seen me excited about a job. I think even interviewing out there made me realize just how little there is around here that satisfies my desire to be a part of something cool, interesting and fun. ICOM was kind of that for awhile, but I think even for some of my former co-workers it just hasn't materialized. And working for a company as big as Microsoft, there are always things going on, and the long-term possibilities are virtually endless. Heck, Seattle is the number one city in the country for tech jobs, according to Forbes. Why am I not there already?
Like I said, Diana is pretty excited about it too. She likes it out there, has family and also views it as an opportunity for us to start an us life. Not that we don't like our house, but it still represents a prior part of life that is not us. Lots of good memories here, but it's time to move on.
So there's quite an adventure in our future. Being newlyweds, losing a job, gaining a job, selling houses (hopefully), moving cross-country, conceiving... this is one intense year.