Hello From Charlotte!

Hi friends, remember me? After a whirlwind month, we're settled in Charlotte and enjoying our new jobs and exploring our new city.

Fifteen months after moving to Raleigh on a steamy May morning...

....we waved goodbye on a steamy August morning from our big yellow Penske truck.

Well, John waved goodbye because there is no way I could move that thing two feet, and he's an incredible moving truck driver.  I mean it's really a resume-level skill.

After this move, John and I have decide that the ability to afford to hire movers is one of the clearest signs of achieving the American Dream.

We enjoyed a last meal at one of our favorite restaurants, the State Farmer's Market Restaurant, to thank our friends, Bo and Julie, and brother, Jacob, for helping us move (notice all the ginormous water cups).

Is there anything better during a Southern Summer than a veggie plate?  I already miss their fried green tomatoes and cat head biscuits.  

Side note: we knew my Yankee father was fully converted the day he asked for "a big ol' cat head biscuit" for breakfast. Well done, Mom!

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 Unfortunately, we arrived in Charlotte to a nasty surprise. 

My beloved, less-than-a-year-old car had been vandalized!  After signing our lease in Charlotte on Friday, we left my car there while we went back to Raleigh for the rest of our stuff.

Some hoodlum took a landscaping stone and tried to break the window.  But, being an awesome Super Car, her window didn't break, so they broke the window of the 4-Runner next to me.  Sadly, being an awesome Super Car, it took $1,500 and a week to repair her damage and the 4-Runner's broken window was replaced in two hours.

There was no worse feeling than pulling up to our yet-to-be-moved-in home in Charlotte after 10 hours of moving already and find this surprise.  Thankfully, John and my parents pulled up right after me and the police, Geico, and the body shop couldn't have been nicer and more accommodating.  My girl is all fixed now and as pretty as ever.

With the help of my parents, we finished moving into the new apartment at 10:30, 14 hours after we started moving in Raleigh.  We enjoyed a cold Corona and plate of Lexington barbecue on the floor surrounded by boxes and furniture, and promptly passed out.

The damage to my car is one of the risks of living Uptown (downtown in all cities less concerned with downtown revitalization).  But we're choosing to focus on the positive ones, like John being able to walk to work, so I could drive his car while mine was being repaired, and a view like this from our porch.

Obviously, that's not our real view of the skyline, but once the trees lose their leaves, it will be pretty close.

We've already had some fun adventures in Charlotte and I have a lot more to share with you soon!

Forty-Four

Here's the follow-up to the "awesome news" teaser I left you with last week...

That's the number of jobs I have applied to in Charlotte since April.  Forty-four jobs that I met the education and experience requirements for- not the senior vice president of Bank of America or the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, even though both of those might have been easier to come by.

Of those forty-four jobs, I received rejections from seven, interviews from two, and deafening silence from thirty-five. 

And one job offer that I accepted last Friday!

I knew it was going to be a very difficult year to find a job in the public or education sectors after years of major budget cuts and the first Republican-led budget in 130 years starting in July, but it's still humbling to feel you've done everything "right" to set yourself up for a career in a field you're passionate about and get seemingly stonewalled.

New York Times articles about rising unemployment rates served as little comfort when I felt like it was my fault we were going to be eating beans and rice for the next year, instead of enjoying our first big adventure together in the big city.

I will be working at a local community college in a data and policy analyst position related to increasing the rate of student retention and success.  It's a great fit for my skills, and it gets me back in the higher education world, particularly the college access and success world, which is my true interest. I am most excited about how enthusiastic and welcoming the college is in letting me expand the position beyond a narrow "number cruncher" job description and into a broader policy and program role.  I think there is potential for great things for myself professionally and the college.

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So, as you can see now, the silence on the blog sure doesn't mean I haven't been writing this spring and summer.

The Shortest Major Life Decision Conversation Ever

*ring, ring*

Caroline: Hey John!
John: How do you feel about moving to Charlotte?
Caroline: Sounds good!
John: Great, let me call the judge back.

*click*

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the extent of the conversation that's leading us to Charlotte in a few short weeks. Now, there were more major conversations before and after that one, but they were more about logistics and less about deciding if it was the right thing for us to do individually or as a couple. There really was no doubt that we'd take this step together.

If you're wondering how such a major thing could be decided so quickly and nonchalantly, there are two important things to know:

This guy is going to be there.

And, while the story could almost end there, there is also this little Google map:

Versus this one: