Two year anniversary (Pittsburgh, Houston: car insurance, houses, transfer)

[okaydorothy]

Well we are officially living here 2 years now. Can you believe it? The first year was a little slow, but boy did the last year fly by. I still cannot believe some days that we actually picked up, sold everything on Long Island and moved here without jobs. But we did it. And we do not regret one thing.
The kids are just thriving here. One is heading into high school and doing all honors classes. He qualified for states in wrestling and even though he didn't place, it was a wonderful experience. He is a Us Navy Sea Cadet and loves it. He also plays football. The other son is heading into 10th and doing ok in school. His football team won states last year and boy was that a huge celebration. He plays rugby and is also a sea cadet and just thrives in that atmosphere. Both will head somewhere in the service when they graduate (so far, that is their route).
I am working downtown and while I love my job and the people I work with, I dislike the head office (detroit) and their office politics. I am working on a paralegal cert, but then will finish my batchelors and hopefully realize my dream of law school. When I went back to school a few years ago, I wanted to do law but thought it was out of reach and would take too long. Well the too long thing still applies, but heck, I am going to go for it. Why not?
My husband took a while to settle down and now he is great. His job has him traveling to youngstown daily, its a grind but its ok. The job is not stressful, the drive is good as there is no traffic. Maybe one day he will be transferred to Houston which would be fantastic.
The dog settled down eventually. We are all really enjoying life here, exploring new places and just living a good happy life. Just seeing the experiences that the kids have had and as a result we have enjoyed with them is wonderful. Most of them they would never ever have received living on Long Island.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

Well we are officially living here 2 years now. Can you believe it?

I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday you were house hunting.

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

When I went back to school a few years ago, I wanted to do law but thought it was out of reach and would take too long. Well the too long thing still applies, but heck, I am going to go for it. Why not?

Back in my late 20s, one of my bosses started her masters in education when she was your age. Everyone was saying stuff about how old she'd be when she was done. She said she'd still be the same age if she didn't do it. She went on to get her Ph.D. and subsequently opened her own school.

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

We are all really enjoying life here, exploring new places and just living a good happy life. Just seeing the experiences that the kids have had and as a result we have enjoyed with them is wonderful. Most of them they would never ever have received living on Long Island.

That's fantastic. I always envisioned Long Island as the good life. It's surprising there are more opportunities and experiences here. Maybe it's my wishing we lived near a beach. I envision we'd have all sorts of great experiences. My husband always said we'd be too busy working and running errands to enjoy the beach if we lived near it. Maybe just starting a fresh life anywhere is good for the soul.

[okaydorothy]

Long Island was nice. The beaches are wonderful and when the kids were younger we lived close enough to walk to the beach. It was great. We lived in a 3000 sq ft house, lovely level lot, safe etc. I worked at my own business from home, dh worked for the same company he is with now, and the kids went to parochial school. We had other property and had tenants in it.

However, the down side was ; property taxes of $13K, tuition of $7K, tenants that trashed the houses (once we had to put $35K in repairs), employees that stole (their answer to why was that we had it all and they had nothing), kids saw their mum totally stressed, we were running all the time and never taking down time. Public schools that are huge (our local one had police there daily), racing against the clock. Sure, we had more in our pockets, but more going out also. Car insurance was $1600 per year per car, homeowners was $2500 per year and increasing.
I just got our homeowners bill yesterday ; $757 for the year. Our neighbors all seemed very angry ; if our dog would just walk on their grass, we would get screamed at. (it really happened 3 times, by neighbors who had dogs!!).

[gg]

Congrats on your two years. That went fast! I enjoyed reading about your comparisons and what they mean to you. I think Pittsburgh is a good fit and if you want to visit your old stomping ground, it isn't that far away.

[ebyrnes]

Wow, it is so nice to hear that you and your family are thriving! I hope that you achieve your law school goal, and it will be all the sweeter for having done it as a nontraditional student - you'll have years of real life experience that will be helpful.

[bradjl2009]

Congrats on two years here in Pittsburgh! I hope your family has many more happy years here. It's great that you've stuck around since you finished the move also to keep on posting.