Looking Southward

Okay, so my career seems to have stalled here in Seattle. I've known this for over a year, but I've been hopeful that something would miraculously change. It doesn't seem that I'm going to get my miracle. I'm unhappy about this, but I can't let myself mope about it indefinitely. I need to move on with my life. Michael and I have spent the past couple evenings brainstorming about a positive new direction that might give my career the jump start it needs while at the same time being good for his academic goals.

We've decided that after he graduates this spring, I'll expand my job search. For the past two years, I've been looking (and applying) for jobs only in the Seattle area, easily commutable from North Seattle. As they come up this year, I'm going to start applying for jobs in other places in the state (anywhere that also has a decent sized city and a university as well as a community college). I'm also going to check opportunities in Oregon and California.

We went online a couple nights ago to check out housing prices in the Portland/Vancouver area (our first choice if we have to leave Seattle), and we were really pleased to discover that housing in that area would actually be in our price range as soon as we're both into career-type jobs. Within the next couple of years, we'd be able to buy a house that we'd never be able to afford in Seattle. That alone makes moving to a different city worth thinking about. We don't want to live in an apartment forever!

Vancouver has WSU Vancouver (with a great education program) for Michael, and right across the river is Portland, with Portland State, Reed, University of Portland, and Lewis and Clark. He'd have his pick of really good schools, and we wouldn't be giving up the city lifestyle we enjoy. We'd just be gaining the opportunity to explore a new city together.

Besides, I grew up in that area, and it's always going to feel just a little bit more like home than Seattle does. I'm familiar with the people and the politics, and I understand how schools work there. Seattle has been a baffling nightmare for me with regard to my career, and I think it's time to see what I can do in a more familiar setting.

So, cross your fingers that there are some opportunities in the Portland/Vancouver area this spring! I know mine are crossed tightly. If I keep telling myself I only have to spend one more year here, it seems a lot more bearable. Not that I don't like my job at Career Link--I'm going to miss my friends, colleagues, and students here a lot. It's time for a change though.