I'm about to share ideas that have weighed heavy on my mind lately. I'm not trying to be talked out of these. Would it be SUCH a terrible idea to move away? Is that the WORST thing I could possibly do? Ya, I might hate it? So then I move back. Ya I might lose all my money? So then I make more later. I've spent my whole life doing exactly what I'm supposed to do, in the exact order I'm supposed to do it. Played it safe, over cautious. Shouldn't I be allowed to make my own mistakes? IF they are even mistakes? Most people told me it was an irresponsible move when I talked about Australia...but you know what? That was the best decision I ever made. Those five months were hugely formative to the person I am now. I think the very WORST case scenario would be that I quit teaching for 2-3 years...and then continue to teach for the next...oh 33 years after that? But then I'll have had these experiences and memories in my pocket for those next 33yrs, as opposed to growing up and dying in this place. WORST case scenario I run out of money and have to crash with friends for a little while. Though I don't think I'm naive enough to let that happen. I'm pretty strict and frugal with money.
Plan A~ Most Logical
*Resign in June 2012
*Can legally sell house without owing government any money.
*One year to save money to leave with.
*One year to landscape and perfect the house for selling. Get it on the market.
*One year for roomates to save and make other arrangements.
*Time/money to get certified in several other subjects/grade levels to broaden my resume.
*Travel this summer, Hawaii? Guatemala? Greece? Italy? Africa?
*Travel for my 30th birthday. Hawaii? Australia? New Zealand?
*1.5years to pay off most of my car. (I hate debt of any kind)
*Move to L.A. until spring, for a year, or two years, or a few years?
*Find a room to rent in Hermosa Beach.
*Fulfill my dream of living by the beach, not just visiting.
*Try for a teaching job but willing to take anything available.
*Move to Austin after that because I can see myself settling down there.
*If I don't get out now, a lot can happen in a year and I might be forced to stay here for some reason.
*Stuck here one more year dreaming of other places.
*Don't ever buy a house again unless I'm married.
*Negate the previous bullet if killer lake house in Austin became available :)
Plan B~ Freedom
*Resign THIS June.
*Free my spirit.
*Forced to trust God with the money I wouldn't have.
*Pay the government the money back that they gave me for buying a house.
*Have no idea how long the house will take on the market.
*Stressful. Rushed.
*Roomates wouldn't have much time for alternate arrangements depending on when house sells.
*Wouldn't have to coach for another year.
*Move to Hermosa Beach.
*Move to Austin if L.A. doesn't work out.
*Hopefully forget about Nick with all the newness.
*Take whatever jobs I can get until a teaching position opens up.
*Limited money for this summer, maybe only one trip. Guatemala?
*Limited money for my 30th birthday. Might have to spend money/time off coming home for the holidays.
*A whole new life right away. New job, new place, new friends, new church, NEW TOWN.
Plan C~ Austin
*Could spend June and July renting a room in L.A., OR spend summer traveling. Hawaii? Guatemala? Greece? Italy? Africa?
*Then move straight to Austin in August.
*Would be an easy move, still in Texas, driveable from parents, Texas State Certified already.
*Attempt to find teaching job, but willing to sub or work elsewhere.
*This year or next. Travel situations apply to each. Money situations apply to each.
*Probably need to rent Texas storage unit for stuff during summer in L.A.
*A few possible awesome roomate options available in Austin.
*Live near a new group of singles before I'm (gasp) the wretched 3-0.
I need this. You can try and talk me out of it. But I feel like I need to do this. I've been reading in my Bible Study about how Abram was called out of his hometown. I have to wonder, did he hear an audible voice...or was it more of a gut feeling like I have? This nagging thought always, ALWAYS at the front of my mind. Jane had a good point during our phone conversation the other day. She said, "There's got to be a reason you just won't let this go. Ya know? Like you just WON'T let this idea go." She's right. I've been talking about living in L.A. since 2006. It's now 2011. FIVE whole years of my life have gone by. Australia, teaching career, and heart break. Those are my major life high lights since 2006. What could happen in the NEXT five years if I get out of my comfort zone?
9 comments:
Things not considered in your post:
-Rent your house out. There's nothing that says you must sell it. Give your roommates the option of paying your mortgage for you. They can choose to split it, or bring in a third. Or, they can find other housing and you can rent the whole place to some family. Don't want to be a remote landlord? Hire a property management firm to do it for you. They'll even take care of doing the necessary background checks on potential renters. The house doesn't have to be an albatross.
-You don't have to wait until your reach yon destination to begin looking for a job. The smarter thing would be to start looking several months before you move. Look online, work with recruiters, fly out to interview (some potential employers will pay for your trip, mine does), but get a job lined up before you get there. One thing you don't want to do is get to your destination and either:
a)be unable to find a job(LA has some of the highest unemployment in the nation currently at 12.7% which is nearly 4% above the national average, or
b)the only job you can find is an unrealistic commute from your residence.
California, along with most states other than TX, has state income tax that is deducted in addition to your fed taxes. You'll probably pay between 8%-9% for the state, not including local city and/or county taxes depending on what you end up making.
The cost of living in LA vs Denton is 52% higher.
"Don't ever buy a house again unless I'm married."
I would change that to "Don't ever buy a house again unless I can pay cash for it"
You call Plan A "most logical". Huh? I see nothing logical about that plan. I think you meant "most desirable". Big difference.
What happened to the plan we discussed. Spend this summer in CA, leave your house and job in tact, then make more long term plans over next winter.
I have considered those things. But I don't want to mess with renting a house or hiring someone to do it. I want to be free of it. I don't want to spend the summer there. I've been out there like 6 times now. I want to just leave, no return ticket. I've never once done that in my life. I know it's expensive to live there. None of my friends that live there are millionaires and they pay their bills. I just want to live there for a little while, and I don't want a mortage here while I live elsewhere.
Ok then Tristan. Just be careful around the bear.
What I do when I have several options to ponder regarding a potentially life-altering decision:
Pray and pray and pray and WAIT. Pray for wisdom and clarity and discernment. The waiting is key here. Wait for God to show you what He wants for you, and know that it may not be what you want to do. When I look back at "what I wish I would have done when I was single and didn't have a house and 4 kids and a husband who likes his clothes washed" , I wish I had served God in ways that are much, much more difficult to do now that my mission field is in my house.
That being said,uber-practical Mandy would prepare to sell the house in June 2012, largely in part because it would make me physically ill to have to pay a big chunk of money back to the government. And your brother sounds like a pretty smart guy.
Clint am I supposed to know who Tristan is?
Thanks mandy. You're sweet, I just feel like I have been waiting, and waiting, forever. I feel like I'm just existing here. Like I'm sucked in a black hole, living the life of my 50yr old neighbors. I just need out.
You're "intuition", "gut" or whatever you choose to call it is yelling at you...."get out of Texas!" lol
you really want this and it's obvious that you'll regret it if you don't...so? Go ahead.
My advice: don't put time limits for places you'll live, however. You don't know what's waiting for you out in LA. You could end up wanting to live out the rest of your days there.
You say you could see yourself "settling down" in Austin...but you aren't ready to settle down quite yet, so maybe it's too hasty of a decision to say when you'll "settle down"? You might end up getting there and resent it like the house you bought.
I agree with making sure you have some sort of income before you go...but the rest and happen along the way.
If I put time limits on moving out to Hawaii, I never would be where I am now and would not have grown in the ways that I have. :)
re: Tristan
If you haven't already seen it, watch "Legends of the Fall". It's long but worth it.
Carisse, You probably don't even remember me. I'm Susan Billingsley. I met you at ACU through Ginny. Well, I can't sleep so I'm up browsing facebook and that led me to your blog and this post. I loved reading it. I know it seems stressful to have so many decisions to make and feel the weight of deciding between what is responsible and what is crazy and fun, but I just want to say- RELISH in the options. I was single for 38 years and while that felt like such a heavy weight at times, I LOVE the fact that I had those years to do whatever I felt led to. Sometimes I was led to the responsible things (owned 2 houses and put myself through grad school while single) and sometimes I was led to the fun crazy things (lived in Africa for 4 years, spent summers traveling and playing) and there were times when those 2 worlds collided and the pain of making the decision between the two felt terribly heavy. And, interestingly, one of my major decision points (going to Sudan) was made while I was studying Abraham being called away! I can't help much with what decision to make. God will bless any of them, I'm sure (which actually didn't always make things easier). But I can say, ENJOY the process and be thankful for the blessing of options! I'll have to keep looking at the blog to see what the final decision is!
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