Tuesday, March 25, 2008

One foot in Cleveland...

and one foot in Rochester, MN.  That's what it feels like anyway.  My friend, whose family is a few years ahead of us in medical training, told me this would happen after match day.  I didn't know how true it would be!!!  The past 5 days have been a whirlwind of phone calls, emails, and internet research on everything from mortgage lenders, real estate agents, housing, neighborhoods, wards, elementary schools, preschools, etc.  You get the general idea.  I'm happy to say that we've made significant progress.  I've got Noah registered for preschool and we have an appointment with our real estate agent in Rochester in 2 weeks!  2 weeks from today I will be driving (with 2 screaming kids I'm sure) to the place we will soon call home.  I can't wait.  

I know there are many of you out there who can't understand why we would be excited to move to a smallish (approx 100,000 people) town in freezing cold Minnesota.  Other than the obvious (great medical training) here are a few of those reasons: clean, safe neighborhoods, lots of young families, affordable homes, great schools, great wards, lots of LDS residents.  And one thing that has me especially excited (you clevelanders will appreciate this)...EVERYTHING IS CLOSE!  No more 20-30 minute drives to Target, the grocery store, the library, church.  Everything is 10 minutes away or less.  For someone with 2 kids who HATE the car this might be paradise : )  

Everyone we've talked to loves it there.  I'm starting to think that Rochester might be the exact opposite of Cleveland (see above mentioned reasons).  Someone told us the other day, "The longer you're here the more you love it."  Paul and I had to laugh - definitely the opposite of Cleveland.  

9 comments:

Melissa said...

I feel the same way. I anxious to get out there. But then I remind myself that it is 20 degrees there right now and then I feel better about staying put in Tucson for a bit longer.

Since you are a blogger, you would probably LOVE this LDS Resident wife website that I'm a contributor to. Most of the authors are Mayo wives and your future friends! It has hilarious stories and support you need after your husband has been gone for 100 hours that week. If you want to check it out, let me know so I can submit your email address (it just went private)

Lexie said...

Hooray! I'm so glad you got preschool all set up for Noah and I'm so jealous that everything will be so close. Good luck with the house hunt, keep us posted!

Tiffany said...

That does sound perfect for you guys! I can't wait to hear how your trip goes in a couple weeks and what you guys think about it there! How exciting!

ashley said...

AMEN to EVERYTHING you just said!! GOOD LUCK on your house hunting be sure to post some pics!

Anonymous said...

How exciting for you! You are way ahead of the game. Next time we move I'm going to definitely call about neighborhood wards, schools, etc. We got lucky with our neighborhood, but our ward is mostly older couples, and all the young couples are a couple blocks away! Oh well! I lived in a 100,000 population city/town for 12years growing up and I loved it!

I'm also starting to wonder who those people are who "love Cleveland". I have yet to meet one! Seems like most people want to get outta dodge.

gregandlaura said...

Hey! I feel the same way! NOw that we know where we are going to be living I just want to get there already!! :) So- I was going to tell you about this awesome lds webisite for resident wifes, but it looks like someone already showed you. DO you know Melissa Fowler too?? She introduced me to it.

Sarah said...

I'm sold! :) Rochester sounds perfect! I'm so excited for you guys. I'm so glad you've got Noah all signed up for preschool and I am so excited you guys are going to look for a house!!! Aaaa! That's so exciting! I can't wait to hear about everything and for you guys to get all settled into your new home. It sounds like the most amazing place, and let's be honest, you can so deal with the cold when it sounds like it's the only bad thing about the place! ;) Good luck with the house hunting!

Tracey said...

It sounds like you are so ready for everything! It's really hard not to check out mentally once you start the moving stuff! I love it here so much I have been dragging my feet on the moving stuff because I don't want to go leave yet, but that definitely was not the case with Cleveland. As much as we "loved" it there I can still remember all the downsides with too much clarity! You will love having everything close. I can get to Target and Costco, or three different groceries in less than 5 minutes. There is a an entire shopping strip with Ross, Michaels, Mervyns, Sears, etc. etc. etc. about 4 minutes away and I always forget it is there because I am just not used to it!!! I still plan big Costco trips when really I could run there because we ran out of milk, it's too weird. I am SOOOOO excited for you! Oh, that reminds me, some girls in my ward planned this big trip to the Nordstrom Rack, they picked a day, made plans to meet up to carpool and such. I was nervous to try to do it and then get back for school for Hayden. Ummm, yeah, it took us exactly 17 minutes to get there... that was the big trip. I suppose considering the mall is 6 minutes away that is a far drive but I couldn't stop laughing. People in San Diego are too spoiled! I wish I could stay one of them!

Jade and Todd said...

Hey you guys! Im not sure how we found you guys, but we did, and we're so glad! It's so fun reading what your up to, and all the things your family is doing! We also have a blog, it's at www.thebischofffamily.blogspot.com! We'd love to hear from you guys!