Gotta Get Movin' On....
For those of you who follow us closely, or even those that occasionally stalk us on Facebook, you might have caught wind of the fact that for a couple of years Courtney and I have been eagerly awaiting a good opportunity to leave the state of California for a much slower and hopefully more fulfilling life somewhere else. For the last few years we’ve researched tons of places and always settled back on the fact that we would probably end up in Texas. As it turns out, we were a little off.
Courtney and I both love the places that we work, and one of the hardest things to deal with when considering a move was going to be leaving our jobs. Court has really excelled in her position as a marketing manager for a local architecture firm, and my employment at the Outdoor Channel has allowed me to constructively channel my obsession of hunting while getting work done. We knew that we couldn’t move unless one of us had a great job lined up, preferably in the field’s we’ve come to love…which is, again, why Texas has always seemed to be a great option for us.
Well, a few weeks ago my Director came to me with an offer. A position had opened up out of state that he wanted me to consider. Before he even told me where it was he said, “It’s only 4 hours from Texas!” Turns out, its in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Now, the only time I’ve ever been through Oklahoma I’ve driven down the I-40, which takes you through endless grasslands with nothing but Oklahoma City to break up the monotony between borders. It’s a pretty state, for about 15 minutes. Then it gets old really quick. I was not very excited, but my Director told me to do some research and see what we thought. Upon looking into Tulsa I was VERY pleasantly surprised. It's not at all like the area of Oklahoma I was familiar with! It’s in the northern part of the state in what the locals call “Green Country.” It’s close to the Ozarks, filled with lakes for me to duck hunt and Courtney to water-ski. There’s green rolling hills, a big metro area (looks like an LA skyline) and some fantastic rural properties that will allow for a much slower pace of life while still being only 25 minutes from the big city. There’s 4 seasons, no smog, and a cost of living that will allow us to work to live, not live to work. I still wasn’t hooked on the idea, but I approached Courtney about it with a “say the word and we won’t even consider it” attitude. She was a little shell-shocked, but took it in stride and we began two weeks of heavy research, talks, prayer and weighing of pros and cons. At the end of the two weeks, we sat on the couch one night and said to each other “What feels right?” We both agreed…we were supposed to go. We gave each other carte blanche to call the whole thing off if anything in the process didn’t feel right, but everything started falling into place. My work was going to assist us with the move, give me a better position, and keep me as a coveted Outdoor Channel employee rather than change my employment status, and all of this they volunteered before I even told them that it was my criteria!
We first told Court’s family, which took it very well. We were able to tell her parents, grandparents and aunts/uncles all at the same time and we were blown away by the amount of support we got. Then we told my family, expecting a huge resistance, but instead got tearful support and affirmations that “this was the time to do it.” We were shocked at how supportive our families were, and it only gave us more assurance that we are making the right decision. We then told some of our closest friends, who were 100% supportive yet still, obviously sad. My next big hurtle was to tell our landlord and request out of our lease. Even he was willing to work with us. Lastly, Court's company was supportive as well, offering references and thanking her for all the work she's accomplished for them.
Every turn we’ve taken we’ve been met with great support, which is a huge sign to us that we’re on the right path. Obviously there are going to be some HUGE challenges. We have no family or friends in the area, we have no home church, we don’t even know what suburb to live in…the list goes on. We’re doing a lot of research, taking a few trips, and piecing our information together day by day. As we get closer to our move date (September 30th) we’re getting more and more excited. We’re confident we can figure things out and make a great life for ourselves out there. It’s going to be COMPLETELY different than what we’re used to, but in a way, that is SO good. We’ve wanted a change, and boy is it comin'!
So that’s the update from Parsons-land. We’re going to be starting a blog as many of our friends who’ve moved have done, and updating it regularly for all of you to follow along with. We’re also going to be having a going away party that we will send out email and Facebook invitations to.
You’ve all been such a huge part of our lives over the last several years, and while we will be far away, rest assured we’ll be stalking you on Facebook, alerting you when we’re in town, and keeping in touch in any way we can. Thank you all for your friendships, please know that we care about you deeply and that leaving our family and friends is by far the hardest part of this. Can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Nick and Courtney Parsons
PS - Below are some pictures of Tulsa. Some I took, some from online. Hopefully you'll get a little glimpse into where we'll be!
