Last week I moved my family from Seattle to Austin, Texas. Why? In short, we were sick of the crappy weather. Today, as I sat on the porch of our rental house (we still have to sell our old place) enjoying the perfect weather, I knew we had made the right decision.
This 2,500 mile odyssey actually started around January 2006. After enduring 6 weeks of almost constant rain we decided that we couldn’t take it any more.
Our initial destination was Phoenix, but after we visited in April and the temperature reached 100° we decided it might be a little too hot in the summer.
Plus, it felt strange to have absolutely no water in sight, having been surrounded by it for so long.
Further research based on weather, quality of life and affordability soon led us to Austin. Then it was just up to me to find a job.
After completing many online resumes and cover letters I was hired by Ciber, Inc. as an interactive consultant.
My first gig is a long-term engagement with AMD working in their web analytics team, which supports the larger web group.
Although I was extremely sad to leave Seattle Children’s Hospital and the wonderful folks I worked with, I am excited to be working within a large web team on a highly trafficked web site.
It’s also quite a novelty to have the opportunity to focus on a particular area rather than being a jack-of-all-trades as I was as the Web Services Manager at Children’s.
Hopefully, I’ll have some interesting learnings and experiences to share about what it takes to successfully manage a web site within a large organization. Stay tuned…
Oh c’mon the weather isn’t that bad! We’ll miss you down in Austin but I’m sure I’ll run into you at SXSW next year. Good luck with the new job!
Six weeks of rain? After more than 570 days with less than 50mm of rain in a single day (ie a fairly major drought), most of us over here would kill for that sort of fall. Good luck in the new location though. 🙂
*Tom* — are you kidding?! I won’t deny that Seattle has wonderful summers, but for the other 9 months it’s pretty lousy. And don’t get me started on the winters.
*John* — thanks for the kind words!
I think you are more affected by the weather when you have small kids (I have two).
If you can’t get out to the park for a few hours, things can get a little crazy. Much as I’d like to, I can’t go off and catch a matinée or spend the afternoon in a bar if the weather’s bad at the weekend.
Congrats Christian!
Christian, congrats!
..and welcome to Austin! I was born and raised here, and I absolutely love it. The weather here is a bit drier, but it’s absolutely burning hot in the summer months.
I think moving from Seattle, Austin has a lot of the same quirky qualities. Our motto is Keep Austin Weird. Anyway, hit me up if you need someone to hang out with, or go to 6th st with.
*Christopher* — thanks for the welcome (love your site, by the way). Apart from an occasional killer commute, I’m enjoying Austin a great deal.
I’d be happy to join you for a drink or two. Once we’re more settled in I’ll drop you a line. Thanks again!
Your blog has always served as an inspiration to me. I just hope you have time to keep doing it.
Good luck, and best wishes.
I love rain and overcast/cloudy weather. I’m an indoor type of person. Good luck to your new place.
Thanks for the kind words! It’s certainly a struggle these days to find time to write on my blog.
But that’s the beauty of RSS, right — you always know when someone has posted something new without having to check their site.
Does anyone actually come to my site to see if I have made a new post? Surely not.
Hope you will feel better in the new location! Good luck