See the little green star on the Texas border? That is going to be our new home! Hobbs, New Mexico. I've been waiting to blog about this until plans were completely solid. So now that I know that we're actually leaving in 6 days, I can tell the story.
It all started back in August when Cody graduated from grad school and started applying for jobs. We applied ALL OVER the place. Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico, etc.. We even got quite a few interviews and SECOND interviews for jobs in places where we really wanted to live. We even looked for houses in some places. Cody would study for his CPA exam (which he's doing really well on by the way) and I would go to work, come home and help him look for more jobs to apply to. It was a little tough because we decided against applying to the "big 4" for a couple of reasons. Cody wanted to work for a "medium" sized firm where we knew he wouldn't get lost in the crowd or work ridiculous hours etc.. But this decision made it a little tougher to find a job.
So one day, I was on the internet just googling accounting firms all over the place when I came across this firm down in Texas and New Mexico called Johnson, Miller and Co. I looked at the place where it talked about jobs and it said, "call for more information." Since I was so determined to just find Cody something, I decided I would call. SO, I called the branch in New Mexico first, knowing nothing about the area. A secretary answered the phone and I asked if they are hiring any entry-level accountants this year. She said, "I'm not sure, let me ask." So then she connected me with the partner. I wasn't expecting this and I was a little embarrassed that I was doing this for my husband. Because if someone is going to be talking to the partner it should be Cody. BUT, I just told him all about Cody and how we found his website and where we were from and everything. He was a little confused about how we found his firm, but he was happy anyway. He asked me to have Cody email him his resume. So Cody did that night.
About a week later, that same nice man called Cody and asked him if Cody and I would like to come out and see the area and interview for a position. We never turn down interviews OR free trips, so we went! We spent one night, one day, and one morning there. We learned a lot about the area. The partner was nice enough to arrange for me to meet some of the other girls from church there. It was the most helpful thing he could have thought of. Those girls told me EVERYTHING. They told me what they love about the area and what they don't love. Then the firm took us out to lunch. We asked a lot of questions and really thought about if we could live there and be happy.
On October 8th (about a week and a half ago) we got an offer from them. It was a good offer. Better than anything we're going to get for an entry-level accounting position anywhere. We were really excited and relieved to have a job and we went out and celebrated a little :) ....
BUT right before we got the offer, Cody had an interview with a firm in Boise that he also really liked. They had already scheduled him for a second interview. We decided to wait and see what happened with that firm so that we could decide between the two if it came down to that. It was really hard to wait and not know if we were moving or not. It took until the last minute to find out that there was no offer from the Boise firm, and then we immediately called Johnson, Miller, and Co. and accepted the offer.
That was on Friday. And we are moving on Monday, in 6 days. Cody's first day is November first! While we are sad to be moving so far away from family, and we don't know a single person there, we are still really excited and feeling blessed to have a good job at a time when so many people don't have one at all. It is going to be an adventure for sure! Some people are pitying us a little because we have to move to New Mexico, but this is our choice, and what do they know?? They've never lived there and neither have we. We might love it and stay there forever! We can make a home anywhere, and We'll have each other and that's all that really matters. But really, I will probably end up loving it there. We always find things we love about the different places we live. It's also exciting this time because we KNOW we will be there for a long time and it feels good to know that we won't have to move again in a year. And we get to buy a house! and everyone is already saying they are going to come visit us there. Anyway, we're really excited.
A little about Hobbs....
As you can see, it's right on the Texas border. About 8 minutes actually. The closest big cities are Lubbock and Midland Texas. When you come visit us, you can fly into either :) There are currently about 38,000 people in Hobbs. For you Idahoans, we decided it's about the size of Twin Falls. Not too big, not too small. They have everything we need right there in Hobbs. It snows every once in a while, but not really. Summers are mid 90s, winters are in the 60s. It's very flat there. People say it's a lot like Texas if you know what that's like. Hobbs' thing is oil and natural gas. A lot of people that live there have jobs that have something to do with the oil field. As far as schools go there is one gigantic high school, 3 middle schools and 12 elementary schools. Yes, I can teach there! There is a Junior college there and a 4-year that also offers some masters degrees.
.
