Home…..
Such a simple word that holds such a huge idea/feeling. As a military family our home is not the house or even the town we live in…we make our home almost from scratch every few years. As much as I love the adventure of moving and exploring new areas every few years I am starting to feel a yearning for roots and a real “home”. We have 9 more years until Dan retires and we can establish those roots but the dreams have begun. However those dreams always have one huge question attached…”where the heck do we want to settle?!”
We were both born & raised in TX but we have no plans to settle here! We eagerly look forward to the day when we get a new assignment out of here! We loved Southern California and Chicago….but never felt like they were “home”. We have travelled to over 1/2 the states in the US and had yet to find a place we could see staying in for more than a few years. Our needs/wants list is pretty specific ;). Then we decided to do a family get-away to Seattle….
We had both wanted to visit Seattle for awhile since on paper it seemed to hit many of our must-haves, and since Dan’s twin brother (who was stationed up there) was getting ready to move to Japan we had the perfect excuse 🙂 A one week trip to visit Uncle Geoff, enjoy family time, and explore a city we might want to make our own. We found a cute apt to rent in the area we would want to live in and made a list of things to see & eat!
Within hours of arriving I had fallen into deep like! So far everything had exceeded my expectations:
Downtown area with nice skyline…check!
Museums/Sports/Theatre…..check!
Farmers market for food….check!
Lots of options for outdoor activities…..check check check!!!
Affordable housing that didn’t share a floor plan with half it’s neighborhood….check!
Emphasis on public transport/biking/green living…..check!
Near a lake or ocean…..check!
Lots of activities for kids….check!
Plenty of good school choices (public, private, Montessori)……check!
At one point about 3/4 through the trip we were finishing up a picnic at the park, with both kids playing in the grass, when Dan and I both looked around and said “this feels like home”. We did not feel like we were visiting, we felt comfortable and more like we belonged there than any place we had ever been. The people we met hanging out at the parks or restaurants were so open and friendly and the crunchy/hippy/healthy culture fits us perfectly! 🙂 Even Harper loved it and cried when we left (which she never does!).
Obviously not everything is perfect. Weather can be crappy there, but after living in many different climates around the US I think I can safely say I will be just fine! I cannot take the insane heat of the south. I HATE it!! Cooler = better to me….but the snow and long winters of Chicago were a bit too much for me. Southern California had the sun & moderate temples, but it want worth the cost of living or other factors we hated there. My favorite wardrobe season is fall (boots, sweaters, & scarves oh my!) which is perfect for about 70% of the year in Seattle :). I can handle the overcast days for gorgeous warm (not boiling!) summers and just plan a trip or two somewhere sunny during the winter each year! 🙂
There are many places around the US we still have to visit and we could find something we love more but for now my dreams of putting down roots involve an adorable craftsman not far from the zoo in Seattle :). Only 9yrs to dream and plan! Haha!
Passports & Prams 
