Meme Monday

Mrs Chili tagged me (well, she tagged everyone) for a quick and easy picture meme. The instructions were to publish the sixth picture from the sixth folder on my computer. However, like Mrs. Chili, I cheated slightly in the name of privacy. In my case, the sixth picture was of two of Jersey's friends and I haven't asked them for permission...plus, they aren't really friends of mine and I don't have much to say about them. To put it as simply as possible, these two girls are the very antithesis of Jersey and me in behavior and personality. Instead, I chose the sixth picture from the bottom of the sixth folder:

This picture was taken by Jersey when we were in Santa Cruz, CA on Labor Day. We were visiting my sister for the weekend, and she took us down to the Boardwalk for a day of gluttonous fun.

I grew up near the beach in Southern California, but did not appreciate it near as much as I do now that I live four hours away from it. After spending my first 18 years in California, I moved to Connecticut for college, then settled down in Vegas after I graduated. My decision at the time was based largely on affordability...I was able to purchase a condo when I was only 23, and in CA I would've been sharing an apartment with roommates for the same amount of money. I've been in Vegas for over seven years now, but I still think of CA as home. I miss it terribly and love to visit whenever I can. And now that Jersey and I are planning our future, we've talked about moving to the coast...

The thing is, I am too logical and the affordability thing still gets to me. In a few years, we will be able to buy a gorgeous home here and the mortgage will be about half of what we would have to pay in CA. We want (not need, want) a home with approximately 3000 sq. ft., built within the last few years, with an office, guest room, three other bedrooms (master + two rooms for the future kids), a game room/loft, and a pool. In Vegas, that is very reasonable for our price range and we shouldn't have much trouble finding something perfect. In CA, there's just no way. We could find something okay, but not what we really want. Hell, for the difference in the mortgage payment alone, we'd be able to afford regular weekend trips to CA, and I just think that may be the way to go.

There are LOTS of other pros and cons on both sides of this debate (families,friends, jobs, Prop 8, proximity to things we like to do, etc.) and it's not something we have to solve right this second, so it's just floating around in our heads for now. Til then, I will enjoy the picture.