[Izulde]

Funny how a month changes things.

Ended up with 15 or 16 different school interviews. School 15 was expecting to make a decision two weeks later after interviews of other candidates. They offered two days later. School 16 was very interested, and would have been a dream spot career-wise, but the timing was off - they wanted a second interview and that would have hosed things with School's 15 offer if they went another direction.

So School 15 offer was accepted, Board signed off on contract with no issues, and my cousin came to help me pack up and move. My old place will be on the market Wednesday officially most likely, and I'm going through the mortgage process on a house that was accepted in my new location.

Amusingly enough, said new location turned out to be precisely the type of small town I referenced in my previous rant. And in the two days I've been here, I've already experienced more kindness and caring from strangers than I did even my friends in 10 years in Vegas - let alone anyone else. The difference has been striking and in a good way.

I'm also back in my native state, which I swore I never would. But it's a different region than I've lived in previously, and it's a beautiful location. There's even a place to kayak within walking distance. And speaking of walking, I can literally walk just about everywhere in 20-30 minutes max, and a lot of the things/businesses I need are here.

My finances, once my house is sold, will be in better shape they've been at any point in my adult life. I'll be working two jobs that will net me more money than I've ever made, combined with an approximate $650-700 reduction in housing costs (far smaller mortgage and no damn HOA), and anywhere from $200-600 a month decline in Lyft fees, and I'll no longer be living paycheck to paycheck, but be able to save money and actually do things.

If there's a downside, it's that Magic places are 45 minutes-an hour away. (Hence the low end of the $200 Lyft reduction, if I Lyft somewhere to play every week). Then again, I might finally be able to get my license after failing the road test in Vegas twice, and then have money to get a car.

So I feel like this will be a good situation for me in many ways. And it hits way differently returning to the homeland after so many years away - if I'd done it earlier in life, I would have felt like a failure. Doing it now, and in the way it transpired, it was a conscious, purposeful choice and smart decision (so far). A lot of people have already commented privately that they feel like I made the right choice here and that small town life will agree with me.

Underrated aspect: I have a lot of family members within 2.5-3 hours' drive, so if something came up emergencywise, they could make the trek up a whole lot easier (the way up involves a lot of quiet traffic, two-lane roads). So there's a built-in support system within range - which for someone like me, who is painfully shy and socially awkward (in addition to severe hearing impairment), is a key deal.

There's a funny postscript involving a School 17 that I won't mention here, but those of you I'm linked up with on Facebook can ask me privately me about it.