A Big Move

Having a baby a'int easy; Jessica and I have learned over these past months that having a support system for both the baby AND the parents is crucial. We were blessed with being close to Jessica's sister and her family, but we were quickly finding the cost of living in the bay area was getting to the point where we found it difficult to see how we could make ends meet, while still having a nice quality of life and providing the best possible opportunities for our little man.

And so, we decided recently to make a move to the great wet Pacific Northwest, specifically the Portland, Oregon area. We have rented a house in a nice suburb (Tigard) only 3 minutes from my cousin and her family, and 5 from my aunt and uncle. Additionally, my sister and her family are just 15 minutes (without traffic) away in North Portland. I also have quite a few other family members in Oregon, friends in Seattle, and we're still just a 1:15 hour flight from the bay area.

Schools here are wonderful, the cost of living here is wonderful (plus no sales tax!), people here are almost ridiculously friendly, lots of focus on the environment, and locavore, and the outdoors, and healthy living, neighborliness, etc. We are finding things so far to be very welcoming and positive, and are really looking forward to exploring more as the sun starts to come out (we have seen it come out, so it's a real thing here too), and to sharing with our (now slightly more distant) loved ones.

We will certainly miss the Bay Area - Jessica lived there for 12 years, and I for 20; nearly all of my adult life has been in or around San Francisco; it's a great place, and we've made some amazing friends and memories over the years. Now however, our focus is on Liam, and the best for our family for the long run, and Portland is a terrific place to do just that.

:-)