The Gold Rush and our new adventures!

I should have titled this post as “the manifestation of the West” to borrow the idea of how the U.S. had expanded from the original Thirthteen Colonies to our modern day of 50 states that completed the map. 

Mr. O and I met in the East Coast, Boston to be specific, where we began our life adventures. Then life and career opportunities took us to the Midwest (my hometown), and now with two kids in tow we are making the westward expansion. This time it’s for Mr. O’s big career move to become a specialist in his field with breadth and depth. 

It’s been a well thought-out and well researched decision, even though it was harder to make and deliberate compare to the previous move from Boston to Minneapolis. 

There are always the pros and cons we need to weigh. I hesitated a bit at first because of the much higher living standards and the kiss good-bye to owning a home out there. It was also the important factor about quality school system comparable to what we have now in our town. I mean, PP goes to our neighborhood school that is five blocks from our house, and already is exposed to the STEM program. From what I read and heard, California public school system left me so uncertain and unimpressed. When it comes to education for my children, I have high standards! 

Then on the other side, I also thought about my parents’s unwavering bravery to bring us to the U.S. with nothing more than the large tin box with the inscribed IOM logo and my father’s name in blue and red. They came with nothing — no formal education, no money, and the lack of English language. If they could do it with a larger degree of risks, I think we could too. That’s the beauty of being American, we are given opportunities to start anew, to refresh, to pursue dreams, and most important of all, happiness. 

If we don’t take that leap of faith, we would never know what await us on the other side!

With both sentimental attachment to Minnesota, and the exciting adventures ahead of us, we are planning to be in the San Francisco Bay Area at the end of June. That would give us enough time to adjust and organize our new lives before Mr. O reports for duty in July. 

In the meantime, we are downsizing and minimizing our belongings. I still have three months to get them accomplished. 

California, here we come!