It's funny how life can throw you a curveball in the blink of an eye. I am a Southern girl by birth and choice. I get cold in 87 degree weather, and I never,
never thought I would live in a place as big, exciting, and "Yankee" as New York City. As the saying goes, "never say never."
Matt and I will have been married for 5 years come August 1st. We will have been together for 10 years on July 3rd. In the last 10 years we have done some adventurous things - just to name a few: studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, traveled through Europe, gone skydiving, went hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro, been swimming with sharks. Moving to NYC is our next big adventure.
We decided the first week of April that we were going to "burn our boats" and move to NYC. There was no going back, we were doing this, it was a done deal. Matt wanted to do this to help advance his career and I was on board to just have a wild, crazy adventure. We have no kids, no binds holding us down, so why not? Our parents, especially Matt's parents, were surprised but excited for us. So many thoughts, emotions, and decisions started running through our heads. We decided we wanted to live in Manhattan, if at all possible, to really experience the full New York City life.
Then came lots of stress about jobs. Matt sent massive amounts of resumes to people near and far, known and unknown to get his name out there. He decided to go to the City to work out of the Credit Suisse office for a week in late April to start meeting people in person and get his name out there more. By a stroke of luck, there was a position that they were hiring for that a recruiter told him about. He interviewed...they pursued...2 weeks later he has a job!
Meanwhile, I was finishing my National Boards work, teaching full-time, and applying for jobs. I'd heard from lots of people that it was a long, daunting process to try to find a teaching job in New York. But, undeterred I entered the circus ring. When I was able to see the positions available, there was 1, count it, 1 school hiring for elementary school teachers in all of the New York City Department of Education: PS 281
The River School. The "PS" thing trips me up still. I'm used to just names, like Morris Grove Elementary.
Anyway, after looking extensively at their website, digging around online for reviews and more information, I determined that I was interested and going to apply. The day after I submitted my application, the principal called me and wanted to talk about positions in the fall. Ecstatic to get such a quick response, I immediately responded. We talked, I grew cautiously optimistic, and began to go through the preparations for an interview. After a great talk with the principal and several other staff members, I felt like I had hit the jackpot! Just today I received an offer to come teach 1st grade and I accepted! The school seems like a great fit for me, and I am thrilled that the stars aligned perfectly to make this happen so quickly.
So...the next steps are:
Sell house
Find apartment that will accommodate Charlie (of course!)
Move!
We thought this blog would be a good way to stay in touch with our family and friends, so we hope you will visit often and tell us about your lives too!
