Make this place your home

Hold on, to me as we go

As we roll down this unfamiliar road

And although this wave is stringing us along

Just know you're not alone

Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Title lyrics – Home, Phillip Phillips

There are places I remember

We fell in love the moment we stepped in the door.

The afternoon sunlight pouring in the windows. The gleaming hardwood floors. The cows peacefully grazing only a few feet from the backyard.

We bought our first house in August 2010 and lived on a quiet street in Nixa for nearly three beautiful years. Pat and I have so many memories and lingering good feelings from that place. Oh, the things you give up in pursuit of a dream!

We put our house on the market in the spring of 2013, because we expected it to take six months to a year to sell, like other houses in our neighborhood. It sold in just two weeks. (A big shout-out to our amazing realtor, Patty Z.) It hurt to hand over the keys, but it's a relief that we won't have to sell a home from afar, and we know we will own another beautiful home some day. At the end of the day, it's just a building made of 2x4's and drywall. We can live happily anywhere. And I'm a superstitious person, so when things happen so serendipitously, I take it as a sign that we're on the right path.
 

Since we obviously weren't ready to move to California yet, our dear friend René offered up her spare bedroom for rent. What a gift! We could not have asked for a better situation, or a better roommate. We owe you big time, René.

So we moved into what we fondly call The Hutch (on Hutchinson Avenue). I've never seen the show Three's Company, but I imagine it was something like that. We shared a lot of laughs and bonded with Cooper the cat. Pat chipped in around the house (René appreciated having a resident spider-fighter) and I cooked. René and I would spend entire evenings drinking wine, working on a 1,000-piece puzzle and watching episodes of Murder, She Wrote. Pat may or may not have been a little overwhelmed by the estrogen in the house! 


Six months later, it's time for us to move again. Decent but affordable housing in southern California is, as you can probably guess, a little harder to come by. We spent the last month scouring real estate sites and Craigslist every night. The day before Labor Day, we got home late and I realized I had missed the new listings on Craigslist for two days. It was midnight and I was tired, but I got on anyway, and I found this post: Guest House for Rent in Orange, CA.

A guest house? Really? A lot of questions came to mind. But the thought of living in an actual house, rather than returning to the apartment life, excited us. The pictures looked good and the price was even better. The next morning, we could hardly wait for a decent time to call. The owner and I really clicked. My aunt, who lives in California, offered to meet her and take a look for us that day. Everything checked out.

It's scary renting a home sight unseen. We are doing a month-to-month lease, just in case. On paper, we feel like we're getting a great deal. It's 1,200 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, and access to other amenities including a pool, guest room and home theater. Hardwood floors, all appliances provided including a washer and dryer, and utilities and Internet are paid. These things are unheard of in our price range! Fruit trees adorn the property. The house is literally a half-mile from my work. Oh, and it comes available the exact day that we arrive. Serendipity strikes again.

The moving truck arrives tomorrow and we leave in one week. California, get ready for the Jacobs!

Title lyrics – In My Life, The Beatles

Away and westward bound

We're going on an adventure, as Bilbo Baggins would say.

The world now knows the dream that Pat and I have had for two years, and for me, maybe my whole life. We are moving to California. And not just California, but southern California. L.A. The OC. Hollywood. Where the scenery is cluttered with brake lights and bumpers and a small apartment costs twice as much as our house. Yes, THAT California.

I grew up in Michigan, but I was born in California. I visited family there when I was a kid and was enchanted by it. In 8th grade, I proclaimed that I would go to Stanford University, because that was the only college I knew out west. I spent a summer there when I was 19, living with my aunt and uncle and nannying my two cousins. I have always felt the pull to go.

But it was Pat that approached the idea of moving. He was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. Never lived anywhere else, never had the joy or hardship of exploring a new area and a new culture. He loves Springfield, but he wanted to taste something else. He also wanted to live somewhere that would more likely support his hopes for a career in music composition.

So, we made a list of cities. L.A. Seattle. Austin. Nashville. Portland. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Always start with the biggest ideas and let practicality factor in later. We quickly realized that the L.A. area was the top choice for both of us. When something is right, it's right.

We started saving, researching and (if you know me at all) making spreadsheets. But also dreaming. Laying awake at night, talking in the dark. We gave it a secret name, Operation Cantaloupe.

We slowly told family and close friends. We were prepared to defend our crazy decision. Cost! Traffic! Distance! Earthquakes! But everyone was incredibly supportive. I love to tell the story of when I told my dad the news. I was armed with all of our responsible ammunition: we're saving money, we're prepared for anything. But he interrupted me right away and said with passion, "You've just got to live your dream. You'll always regret it if you don't." Now that is good parenting.

We made a visit in December 2012. We toured a dozen cities, experienced the freeways. We asked everyone we met to give us the hard truth: is this place worth it? It certainly is, they said.

Nothing worth doing is ever easy. I've repeated this to myself every day since then. We're leaving a place we love, jobs we enjoy, family and friends we will miss dearly. What felt like the exact right decision two years ago doesn't feel 100% right every day. I am here to tell you that chasing a dream is not easy. There are moments of doubt and moments of true terror. The one thing I know for certain is that we will look back on this decision and have no regrets. Here's to LIVING!

Title lyrics – Early Morning Rain, Elvis Presley