6. multiple job offers

Now that we had a 3-5 year plan, and a visualization of the general area we wanted to live in, it was time to get serious.

Right about that exact time (November/December 2016), there was a job opening for a governement job in my field in rural Wyoming. The work sounded pretty good, so I got my CV up to snuff and threw my hat in the ring! I was a little concerned about possible culture shock (town of 18,000?), particularly given the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear the word "Wyoming" is the horrific killing of Matthew Shephard and the ongoing issue of hate crimes and LGBTQ discrimination in rural America. (Not to mention anti-Muslim discrimination!) But then I would remind myself  that Yellowstone and Grand Teton are in Wyoming, and that we had enjoyed our drive through the state last summer. Besides, maybe bringing our "blue" votes to a rural state would be helpful, and perhaps the exposure to new ideas would broaden our own horizons as well! (see: urban/rural political divide) If I got an interview, we'd have a chance to test out whether the city would be a good fit for us, right?

The gederal fovernment moves agonizingly slowly, so as I waited to hear back about that position I continued to look for other opportunities. (I'm the breadwinner in the family, so it was up to me to find a good job in a good city.)  Within a few weeks I had ruled out a large number of possibilities, but also applied to two really promising places: a job in Spokane, WA, and a job in Great Falls, MT.

Then in February (2017) the pace suddenly picked up for all three of the positions I had applied to. In a relatively short time frame I found out I did not get the job in WY, I was offered the position in Spokane, and I was offered an in-person interview in Great Falls. It took some finagling, but I was able to negotiate enough time to make a decision about Spokane in order to interview in Great Falls. (Spokane wanted an answer almost immediately, and did not even want the delay of me scheduling an in-person visit, with all costs paid by yours truly. It would have been a leap of faith!)  In some ways, I was only planning on the Great Falls interview as a formality and out of respect/politeness (because I was pretty set on the Spokane job, based on both my phone interviews), but I was really trying to keep an open mind.

And it's a good thing I did, because both Mike and I were blown away by Great Falls!

The people were amazing, the scenery was breathtaking, the town was just the right size, and the job description turned out to be even better than expected! Not only that, but the salary offer was great, the benefits were wonderful, and they offered to pay all our relocation expenses. When we sat down to do a side-by-side comparison of Greats Falls vs. Spokane on all the variables we cared about, it was a complete 180 from what we had expected going into the interview weekend, and Great Falls won by a landslide.

All of the sudden, in March of 2017, the 3-5 year plan had apparently morphed into the 3-5 month plan! We were going to be moving to Great Falls!!