Home from San Francisco...

We are finally home from Mountain View... it was a long disappointing trip. Despite the great offer and great location, we simply can not make it work when it comes to housing out there. The "peninsula" is locked in by mountains on one side and the bay on the other so all real estate is wildly expensive. Beyond wildly really... most of the houses we looked at were built more than 40 years ago, were less than 2000 sq. ft. on very small lots and were OVER $1 million. We house hunted for 2 full days and we did not see anything we would want and or could afford. We would basically be agreeing to being house-poor... Renting seemed a good option but our agent reminded us that we'd have trouble because of Sadie, we'd lose the tax benefit of the mortgage and we'd have to worry about schools, moving, etc. a second time when we finally did find a house we liked. So with great frustration, we politely declined the job offer. It really sucks but it is what it is and we are firmly behind our decision. If we could have made it work, we would have.

So... now what? First thing was to call our real estate agent and take our house (temporarily) off the market. Since we had another offer for the house already, we really needed to take this big step to make sure we don't sell the house from under ourselves. This added stress is the last thing we need. We are comfortable here and will not put it back on the market again until after we have a final offer and destination in hand. Lance will take a couple of days to regroup and then be back on the job hunt.

With three house offers and two job offers already, we know it's just a matter of time until we find the right match. We did all this on purpose and we continue to embrace our methodology of making choices that improve our quality of life... We'll keep you posted!!

But before I got, I thought I'd post a good picture. Yesterday we found time to make it to San Francisco and see a few of the sites. We really enjoyed a trip across the Golden Gate bridge... There is a park on the Marin County side where you can climb to the top of this great hill for amazing views. Being up there in the fresh air did wonders for our mood. We had a great italian dinner in the North Beach section of town before heading back to Palo Alto for the night.