It seems that some/many people do not understand why in the world we would want to come back to Michigan. I guess yesterday's post made the decision seem frivolous, casual, and poorly thought-out.
In reality, it was a difficult decision to make. Dawn loves the desert and hates MI winters, but she also misses being around family. I hate the desert (at least in the summer) and am ambivalent about winter (except on the harshest days or when I slip on ice and sprain something). I like how each season makes you appreciate the other ones more.
The economy caught up to Arizona. There is no work here. A Realtor that we know said about the AZ construction industry (two years ago), "As long as the last person hasn't left Michigan and Ohio, we'll keep building here." Not so anymore.
We live near where Dawn teaches (near by desert standards, about seven miles) but that means we are about an hour from any real civilization. We live in the midst of 80,000 people but very little business and folks here just aren't friendly in the way we are used to from Midwesterners.
Even though the photography was doing poorly in MI, it's completely dead in the water here.
So, no work, irksome weather, stuck in the boonies, no friends, no family (we love that Glenn, Annette, and Jack are here, but they are very busy and are that hour away that I mentioned so we don't get to see them much). We feel like there is no good reason to stay here and at least a few reasons to go to MI.
Rather than look at the move to Arizona as a failed experiment, we choose to look at it as an adventure, and probably just one of many. We have high hopes of the economy improving and that we can once again prosper. This recession has been good for changing our mindsets about our standard of living, what one needs vs. what one wants, and how, even though we've been just scraping by for a few years now, we are still living in the lap of luxury compared to the living conditions of millions, perhaps billions, of people around the world (I think a few months would have driven the point home as well as the few years that it has been, but, just the same, it is a good lesson to learn).
We're happy to be coming back. We hope some of you are happy about it, too. See you in two months!
Even though the photography was doing poorly in MI, it's completely dead in the water here.
So, no work, irksome weather, stuck in the boonies, no friends, no family (we love that Glenn, Annette, and Jack are here, but they are very busy and are that hour away that I mentioned so we don't get to see them much). We feel like there is no good reason to stay here and at least a few reasons to go to MI.
Rather than look at the move to Arizona as a failed experiment, we choose to look at it as an adventure, and probably just one of many. We have high hopes of the economy improving and that we can once again prosper. This recession has been good for changing our mindsets about our standard of living, what one needs vs. what one wants, and how, even though we've been just scraping by for a few years now, we are still living in the lap of luxury compared to the living conditions of millions, perhaps billions, of people around the world (I think a few months would have driven the point home as well as the few years that it has been, but, just the same, it is a good lesson to learn).
We're happy to be coming back. We hope some of you are happy about it, too. See you in two months!
No comments:
Post a Comment