Provo and the Blue House

Blue House

As you may or may not know the Nitsy crew is seriously contemplating a move to Provo once Nick graduates this spring. The reasons for the move are many, but I would say the main four are

1. Money - The cost of living is MUCH LOWER in Utah than here in California. I will be able to keep my current job (and current salary) making a home purchase possible (see my current pick above). If we continued on in California (with or without a move to LA) we would not be able to buy for a few more years at least. Our total house payment will be lower than our current rent by a few hundred dollars at least. We'll actually be saving money.
2. Family - In Provo we would be close to Karl and Allie and their Caucasian female baby. Allie has offered to help us with wonder-twin care (an offer that I'm sure she'll withdraw soon after the first time she tends them - especially when she'll have her own newborn...). Regardless, I want Judah and Asher to grow up with their cousins. Boopie and the Professor live a short drive up the freeway in SLC. We'll be within a reasonable distance of Zach, Danielle and Ethan too (in Rexburg). Plus we're halving the distance to Malia and Caitlin. Not bad. I'm sure we'll miss Gma and Gpa Hite and Gma Neal, but they will visit. Plus, we'll hopefully have a guest room for the many many visitors we'll host.
3. Lifestyle - We want to have a healthy and happy life. Where we're at now it's hard to do that. Going up and down the stairs keeps me from taking the kids outside much. We don't have a yard for the to play in, or a park nearby. We don't have a lot of friends, so we don't do a lot of funtivities. Nick doesn't like to "do stuff" as much as I do, so it will be fun to tag along with other friends on fun outings while Nick sits in a corner by himself (his version of a good time). Plus Allie has agreed to help me with my diet and exercise goals.
4. Opportunity - There is plenty of opportunity for Nick up in Utah. Maybe he'll land a job with the Church's film studio, or a teaching gig at BYU or UVU, or maybe something up at Sundance. There's also a pretty active indie film scene up in Utah. Plus there is always contract work for productions that shoot up there, both made for TV stuff like High School Musical, and feature films like 127 Hours.