So, after 3 great years living in North Carolina, we've moved to Utah and accepted a management position with a company called GroSocial. It's been a blast so far. A few changes that have happened as a result of the move:
1. We eat out a lot. The food in Utah is incredible. It was probably really good in the Carolinas (hello, barbecue?) but for some reason, the food calls to me here. Cafe Rio, Kneader's, Paradise Cafe, etc. have really good food and it's not crazy expensive. The good news - we aren't eating a bunch of food that's bad for us, even though that would be easy to do! 2. I no longer wear dress slacks and button up shirts to work. GroSocial is a tech company (Social Media Marketing) and it's a completely different style of workplace and atmosphere. Gone are the days of getting looked at if I didn't dress appropriately. I work with a bunch of dudes, who, admittedly, don't have the greatest of style at work. The good news - what is worn really has no affect on the quality of work done.
3. I've been introduced to the "hipster" movement. I had no idea it was so big out here. I'm sure it's big everywhere, but I haven't really noticed it until I got here. My eyes have been opened! Skinny jeans (on guys), Vans shoes (yup, they're back and popular again), and awesome glasses. That's the name of the game. The good news - it's so hip, Sammy got into the game as well. Studly.4. I've been waking up at 5:40am 5 days a week to go play racquetball with my dad, brother and sometimes my nephew. First things first - I never would've woken up at 5:40am to go play racquetball with my dad, uncle and grandpa when I was in 8th grade. Pretty impressive. I can only rarely beat my dad, normally only when he let's me (even though he says he doesn't). The good news - I'm down 7 pounds since I've been playing. Not bad!
5. My boys are growing up. Sam turns 5 in July and Eli turns 4 in October. Both are smart boys who are getting more and more...uh...strong willed each day. They are still so fun, but ask them to do something they don't want to do and it quickly becomes a battle. That will help them when they get older, right? The good news - they are the best of friends.
6. It's worth the extra money to have somebody come move you completely. Mag did a fantastic job of finding companies to:
1- rent us a trailer and a driver from NC to UT
2- come pack up our house
3- unload our stuff in Utah
We saved about $3,000 by doing it that way, but we weren't thrilled with the quality of the packing job. Example - the company we contracted estimated it would take 3 guys about 5 hours to pack our house. It ended up taking 4 guys 15.5 hours. Either we lied about what we had (we didn't) or they are a bunch of boneheads who can't estimate very well (that's the ticket!). Looking back, it would've been worth it to simply hire an all-in-one company to come do everything, or rent a U-Haul and pack it ourselves. The good news - we saved money and we are here.
7. Our commute to EVERYWHERE has decreased by 90% (it seems). When living in North Carolina, my commute to work was 30 minutes, our commute to church was 30 minutes, our commute to most of our friends' houses was 30-45 minutes and our commute to just about everywhere else was at least 30 minutes. Almost everything was in opposite direction.
8. I forgot how much I missed the mountains. Since we moved to Michigan and then to North Carolina, the mountains haven't really been a part of our lives. To some it may seem claustrophobic. To me, it seems protective. We currently live part way up one of the mountains and I love it. When there are mountains, there are things to do. No longer will we have the excuse of "I'm bored". Camping, fly fishing, swimming, kayaking, boating, tubing, skiing, snowboarding, 4-wheeling, hiking, paragliding, etc. There's always something to do. The good news - we haven't been here long enough to be bored yet. I'm really looking forward to doing those things.
9. We haven't lived near my family (except for my sister Lisa) in nearly 8 years. After Maggie and I married, my parents moved to Boston and then out to Utah. My other siblings were already out in Utah and Lisa lived about 45 minutes away from us for a couple years while we were in Michigan and then 8 hours away in Nashville while we lived in Charlotte. So, it's been really fun to get to know them again. My brother, Barry, and I will be spending a lot of time together. We've become close over the last few years and It's nice to live near him again. The good news - whether it's playing racquetball or working out each morning, watching baseball games (when I can) or just hanging out playing games, it's good to be near family again. 
So, in summary, here we are. We will miss you, Waxhaw house, and North/South Carolina friends. We look forward to the new experiences and new opportunities that will seek us out here.
This isn't a super opinionated post, but I imagine that will come with time. I have lots of opinions, most of which are probably wrong, but they're mine and I like them. Hopefully this can become a blog about things that are important.
Until next time,
J
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