We are Moving

It is now officially out in the open.

We are moving. 

It only became official when I casually mentioned it in a recent blog post. We had been avoiding telling people about it because 1) we don't know where we will be living exactly and 2) we have really grown attached to the people and the weather here in San Jose, CA. 

But it is something that we have thought long and hard about. We have been fortunate enough to afford trips to see our family every three or four months since moving to Cali, but those visits are too few and far between, not to mention expensive. So our biggest motivation in moving is to be closer to relatives. The second is the cost of living in California is outrageous. We really want to buy a house with interest rates so low. We have been saving quite a bit of money for some time, but what we have isn't enough for anything more than a town-home in San Jose. 

Honestly, I'm a little nervous about having our family grow up in Utah. Utah Mormons are weird! Haha. (but I love them!) They can be cliquey and slightly unaware and generally different than anywhere else (as a Utah Mormon, Peter signs off on this statement :) ). And they can be because there is such a high concentration of them. Utah has a unique cultural atmosphere that makes me a little anxious. But all the same, I'm excited to be a part of it. It's just always nerve-racking for me to break social barriers and become an integral member of pre-existing cliques.

Another weird thing, for me, about moving to Utah and buying a house is that we are planning to live there in the exact same location for 5+ years! I haven't lived in any place for more than 4 years since I was 15, and before that it was only 5 years in one place. Living here in San Jose has been the longest I have been in one home for the last 5 years. I have moved at least yearly since I was 19. (Yeah, I'm only 24.) But here in San Jose we are going on 21 months! By the time we move we will have lived in the same place for 2 whole years! (and one month.) 

So where will we be going?

We will go from this little star:

To somewhere here:

Peter will continue working for his small company. Peter will work with one other person who is already living in Lehi. Peter's office may be somewhere near the red star. 

All of the arrows are towns/cities we are considering living in. We want to be closer to SLC, but not too far away from work.

Beginning this winter, Utah's Frontrunner train will run from Ogden all the way down to Provo. Up until now it turned around in Salt Lake City. So obviously we have to live within a reasonable distance of a station or bus stop so that Peter can commute to work by train. A dream come true. Now all we have to do is find our dream house! 

So any ideas on considerations for house buying in Utah county or south SL County? There are a lot of really nice houses to look at, but unless we decide to build, it's still a little bit too early to actually be making firm decisions on what house to buy. Right now we're just chugging along and trying to get a feel for the market.