What a Thanksgiving week.
If you’re an avid reader (hi, Mom!) you might have noticed that I’ve alluded a bit to an upcoming move.
Well, that move won’t be happening for a little while. It’s a good thing, though!
A few months ago, Ryan and I made the decision to move out of our little Buffalo Park-adjacent two-bedroom two-bathroom apartment.
We’ve been living here since September of 2021, and while there are a few things we would change if we had the chance, for the most part, we love this apartment.
When Ryan and I originally made the decision to move out, it was based on a few factors. While living in Flagstaff is convenient for me, since I work (both my day job and my yoga studio job) in Flagstaff, Ryan works down in Happy Jack, which is about an hour-long commute from our apartment.
We’ve also been discussing the idea of leaving Arizona. Ryan hopes to transition from boots-on-the-ground firefighting to aerial suppression via a pilot job, and the job Ryan wants doesn’t exist here on our forest. So, we’ll have to leave eventually for Ryan to pursue that dream.
Our plan had been to move down to Ryan’s fire station, where employee housing exists for employees who need it.
A few of the main reasons we’d discussed moving were cost, a lack of a binding lease commitment, and a shorter commute for Ryan.
We got everything set up for the move. We submitted our 60-day move-out notice to our leasing office, I canceled our utilities and set up mail forwarding and — while Ryan was out on a fire assignment in North Carolina — I, personally, packed up our closets, office, bathrooms and bedroom.
Ryan got back from his fire assignment last Tuesday, and we drove down to the station at Happy Jack to do a deep clean of the unit and start moving some of our stuff down.
After spending the bulk of our afternoon and evening down in the new unit, we made it back up to Flagstaff and prepared to do it all again Wednesday, Thanksgiving, Friday… until the end of the day Saturday when our lease ended.
We woke up Wednesday, and then Ryan approached me and told me (last minute, as he is) that he was reconsidering the move.
We sat down Wednesday morning and had a deep discussion about whether we were sure that a move to Happy Jack was the right move for us.
We revisited our pro/con list and then, ultimately, for several reasons, we decided to stay in Flagstaff. Nobody had reserved our unit (and the rent hadn’t gone up at all) so we were easily able to call our leasing office and sign a six-month lease extension that day without taking any kind of a financial hit.
I was able to reconnect our electric and undo the mail forwarding, and that was that.
Short of the unpacking. I’ve been slowly unpacking. It’s been awful.
Honestly, I’m thrilled with the decision.
One of the major reasons we decided not to go through with the move was safety. Ryan and I were both a little worried about my commute. As it is now, Ryan shares a commuter vehicle when he drives down to the station, so he doesn’t have to front the cost of gas. He’s also commuting during daylight to make it in for work hours. If we had moved, I’d be commuting in the dark very often due to my work hours (teaching evening classes at the yoga studio), and Lake Mary Road can get a little sketchy in the dark of winter. It usually isn’t cleared of snow and elk are a major hazard.
We decided that the savings (which wouldn’t be that much considering what we’d end up having to spend on gas for trips into town) wasn’t enough considering the safety risks, and we were both willing to spend a little more to stay safe and in a place that we really love.
Plus, while Ryan is eligible to live in employee housing, I’m not. If Ryan were to accept a new job somewhere else — either at a new station on our current forest or on a different forest — I wouldn’t be allowed to remain at the unit in Happy Jack. I didn’t like being 100 percent reliant on Ryan’s employment situation for housing.
We’re also glad we don’t have to ditch our social lives, and we can remain walking distance from our favorite bars here in Flagstaff.
So, it is what it is! Glad we’ll be staying in Flagstaff, mad I was proactive with packing.
(If you need me at all this week, I’ll be unpacking.)
