bonnie, I am looking forward to having access to all the culture that LA has to offer. We live in a (bedroom community of a) college town right now, so have some of the advantages of a much larger city, and Denver is only an hour away, but La is on a different level.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Donna, and very good point about the exposure!
Angie, Santa Monica will probably be our closest beach area! And commute is absolutely number one priority. No compromises, indeed. That will be the single largest improvement in quality of life for us.
Opaline, I knew you were envying the LA weather as cool! I was just pointing out that this year hasn't been normal for them! It was gorgeous when I was there last week...although, we were really happy to arrive back in Colorado to a brisk 50°.
catherine, the family thing is complicated. It's definitely a bonus that our son will be living with us for another year while he starts college out there, but we're leaving a LOT of family behind in Colorado. We're used to seeing Kevin's parents, his brother, and my sister-in-law several times a month, and that will be a big adjustment. I'm an introvert, too, but that means that I depend on a few close friends for socializing, and I won't have that out there either.
Bijou, we found the same thing when we lived in Seattle. We knew we weren't going to be there forever, so we took full advantage while we were there. It's easy to take your hometown for granted.
Suz, you're not late, at all! So many people just responded extra quickly and graciously! YOU GET IT! I like urban neighborhoods too, and I don't think a more suburban home would be the right solution for us at all. You also get it about moving to a more expensive location. It's incredibly frustrating that, despite a generous salary, our budget won't stretch to the sort of house we really want (and we're not talking mansions here). I think I subconsciously was counting on a really wonderful new (to me) home as a sort of payoff for all the sacrifice of the first year, and realizing that will be yet another compromise is a big blow. Kevin is letting me take the lead and have absolute veto power on neighborhoods and living spaces. I felt guilty about that initially, but
It's actually pretty fair. The campus where he gets to go to work each day is its own sort of oasis, and I won't have that.
Jane, before we moved to Seattle (many years ago now), I remember feeling unsettled and ready for a big change. I was expecting a change in the next few years, too, but thought it would be moving to Denver or getting a second place in Seattle to split time. This is a lot more than I reckoned for!
(submitting this, before I accidentally delete it all...I'll be back with more!)