Nearly 20 years we have lived here. Married, had our daughter, really thought we would be here forever. But so many things changed our minds.
First and foremost, the earthquake. Shortly after, Rob and I sat at our dining room table and pondered what we should do. Sell? Fix it? Move out of state? Buy another Alaskan house? With all options on the table, we decided to fix it. We were too shaken to make any decisions on leaving. We would see how we felt when we moved back in. That happened last May, a year and a half after the earthquake, right as Covid threw another wrench in our security.
The house was everything we wanted, we picked all the things we loved for a home, the farm sink, the granite counter, the cherry cabinets, the lush carpet. Even the flooring, although not what we originally ordered, we saw it and were glad there was a mistake. The summer after we moved back, the deck was built and our house was perfect.
Then there was an aftershock. One 5.2 that sent Amelia running outside with bare feet in the snow. Our hearts race, we panic. It wears off in a day or two, but it takes a toll. Then another a few months later and another just recently. Just confirming everything we already knew.
Back in the lower 48 things weren't perfect there either. Covid was going through family members left and right. We were nervous and could do nothing about it. The house didn't seem all that important anymore. We missed our families. Even though we couldn't have been right with them, we felt entirely helpless. Everyone ended up fine and recovered, but then there was this nagging thought in our heads.
We are too far away.
What once felt like an oasis, now felt like a far away prison. We had to get back. Covid helped with Amelia being comfortable to leave as well, after all she hadn't been to school in a year!
Rob applied for transfers in Trenton and Chicago. We phoned our realtor (our neighbor as well) who helped us right after the earthquake and told her we wanted to get ready to sell. That was in December 2020.
We knew it would take a long time for Rob to receive and offer, maybe a year, maybe even two. We just didn't know. So the realtor gave us an estimate on what the value of the house and said to let her know when we we heard anything.
It was a Saturday in early April, our realtor called to check in on us and to let us know the market was in a bubble and if we were going to sell, we should seriously think about it.
Rob hadn't received an offer yet, we would have to find a rental here in AK if the house sold. We pondered it, but came up with a fuzzy answer to call her back Monday with a "no, we will wait". We didn't have to wait long.
Before we called her, Rob got a call from the Chicago office...a parallel position was waiting for him.
It was time to move!
Time to leave everything we have known for the past 20 years. And you know what? All of us couldn't be happier. In fact, Rob's mom and step dad had an idea of their own, to build on the farm land down the street from their home. We decided their little cottage house would be perfect when Rob retires. We can use it as our summer and vacation home in the meantime. Amelia was ecstatic, she loves that house and now will have a rental in Chicago suburbs and a country summer home!
We are tired of earthquakes, windstorms, potential forest fires. Tired of 7 months of winter, tired of being so far away, and actually tired of never going outside without looking for a bear or moose ready to pounce. We miss our families. We miss Fall and seasons, well at least the seasons Rob and I remember.
We will surely miss our friends here and the beauty of Alaska, but you know what? We can visit.
We had to get ready for showings in 3 weeks. Twenty years of stuff to sort and get rid of ... in three weeks! We did it and are still packing up for the truck to arrive in June. The house sold to one of the three offers we received the first day...over the asking price. The family will love the earthquake fortified house as we have, I am sure of it.
Will try to keep up on blogging and keep everyone updated on where we are and how the move treated us!
Until then, I think the blog name will always remain the same. Too many memories to ever change it.
Photos are not mine except the last one. I didn't ask to post, but since it is only family and friends who see these, if he asks will have to take them down. They are stunning.