Back to the Beginning (How We Ended Up in Reno)

Here is the very busy man's summary to how we ended up in Reno:

1. Allen received a job off from Intuit in Reno which he decided to accept.
2. Mrs. V (my mother-in-law) decides that she will go too.
3. We decide to follow, I get a job at Intuit too.

Salient details:
Allen, Marcela and their two children lived 3 houses down from us in Florida. Marcela is my wife's sister. Mrs. V also lived in Tampa, she was about 1 mi. away inside of the same community.


The Extenuating Circumstances
The loong story has many more twists and turns. Hmm... here are the ones I recall.

1. Lu and I had no idea that this was coming -- we didn't know Allen was interviewing.

2. Lu and I had started a home remodel project to add a room to the house in Florida to make it possible for my parents to come and stay for longer periods of time. Thankfully, the work that had been done was extremely minor but we were about 2 days away from having the driveway torn up.

3. While I really enjoyed my job in Florida, it was an easy decision to leave once they committed -- the only question was Reno, Boston or northern NJ. I have little interest in living away from extended family.

4. I interviewed both in Reno and the northeast -- specifically in Boston and had a very interesting job offer there. I also had an interesting job offer in Reno (not Intuit) that I liked very much. The final influence came from Lu in the selection of Intuit in Reno. Final influence is very mild; it was an extremely tense and difficult decision making process that had us both on edge.


The Aftermath
1. We all now live in Reno within the same community.

2. I really, really like our new house. It has the yard I've always wanted, and it
has the space to have guests come and stay for extended periods :)

3. The families are still very close and it is one of the best things to be able to walk over and see everyone, esp. my niece and nephew.

4. It was a good decision and I have no regrets. Things didn't really happen in the order I would have preferred, but you have to realize what you have sometimes. That said, I still hope/plan to return to the northeast at some point. Not committed, but hopeful.