We’re MOVING! And You’ll Never Guess Where

We. Are. MOVING!!!!

And you will never guess where- We are moving to California! Northern California and Silicon Valley/The Bay Area to be exact.

We have honestly never had California on our radar, but the perfect opportunity opened up, and it was just something we couldn’t pass up. We’ve been toying with the idea of moving in the next few years, and everything just happened much more quickly than we ever thought it would. We never thought our potential move would be this far away from our friends and family (we currently live in Knoxville, TN!), but I’m really excited to grow as a couple and as individuals when we are this far out on our own.

As I am writing this, I haven’t announced on Instagram to get any questions, but I wanted to answer some of the questions we are getting the most from friends and family when we share this news and the ones I think are going to be top of mind for you all 🙂

We also talked all about this on today’s Nice to Have a Friend episode if you want to listen to this instead of read – or both!

Why are we moving to California?

Well, this might just be the most exciting part of the news- Preston got a job at Apple! I am so happy and proud of him for getting his position there. He is going to be a software engineer on the Pre-silicon Metal frameworks team- If you don’t know exactly that means, do not worry, because I do not either. I am just so excited to support him and get us settled in this new place.

If you’re thinking, wasn’t the plan for Preston to finish his PhD first? Well, yes. But he got to this point when he was finished with his Masters and about to plunge headfirst into his thesis, and things just weren’t feeling right. His biggest interests aren’t really that explored at UTK, and he was starting to get a little nervous about having three degrees from the same school. He spent a week applying to jobs, and he started hearing back from a ton of the places he put in for.

He actually got an offer from another company in Silicon Valley, but the offer and experience just left us feeling a little off. When he kept getting through to the next and next round of the Apple interview process, we honestly could not believe it. I wish I could have shared live when he got the offer, because we were (and have been on) could nine since we heard the news.

Where are we going to live?

We will be living somewhere in the Santa Clara Valley, just south of San Francisco. I say somewhere because we will actually be living in housing that Apple will provide for the first 30 days or so. During that time, we will be searching high and low in a couple of different cities for the perfect apartment for us.

Nevertheless, we should be around 45 minutes-1 hour from San Francisco (without traffic) if that helps put it into perspective. Some of the “big” travel destinations that we will be within day tripping of are,

• Lake Tahoe
• Yosemite
• Napa Valley
• Big Sur/Monterey
• Many more!!!!

What about your job? What kind of job am I going to get in California?

So, when you’re reading this, it’s actually my last week of my job! I put in my notice from my job a few weeks ago, and my last day is Sept. 10. This was my first job out of college, and I’m very thankful for the professional and live lessons it taught me.

All that said, I am looking forward to having some time off to refocus and get us settled in California. Just thinking about the move and getting things ready to sell our house while working my job even harder than normal to get things to a good place before I leave has been tough to say the least. If you’ve noticed my presence much less both here and on Instagram, that is definitely why. I am looking forward to a few weeks off to get caught up on a lot of blog posts that I am behind on.

Then what? Well, I am *kind of* trying to get a job at Apple. Preston’s hiring manager is trying to see if there’s an open position that might be a good fit for me. In the meantime, I am going to be treating this blog, my freelance work, podcasting and homemaking as a full time job, and I couldn’t be more excited.

What are we doing with our house?

Well, we actually sold our house! It’s still unofficial, but we are in the process of closing on it and everything. We will be starting almost completely over in California. It will be overwhelming, but I am really excited for a fresh start.

Because of the cost of living difference in California, we definitely won’t be able to own a home for many, many years there! We also have no idea how long our time in California will be, so we’ll be renting for now. It won’t be fun to go from owning to renting, but it’s just the only feasible option.

When do we move?

Preston starts his job on the first Monday of October, so we are moving around the last few weeks of September which is quickly approaching. We don’t know our official moving date yet, but I am hoping we find out in the next day or two.

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That is all I have for today, but I am so excited to share more as we get closer to the move and start getting settled into this completely new chapter of our lives.

If you have any questions, make sure to be following along with me on my Instagram. I will make sure to share a more live look into our move over there and answer questions as they come along through my DM box!

Thank you all so much for sticking around these past few weeks while things have been quieter around here. I am so thankful for this space!