Des Moines job - a new update

dss62467

dss62467

Cathlete
After the company in Iowa decided they wanted to go a different route with the position I was going to fly out to interview for, I got them to see it in a different way and they asked me again to fly out. So I flew out Sunday afternoon and got back last night.

They are going to offer me the job. I feel like I'm going to puke. I don't know if that's from my nerves or because I caught a cold and took some Tylenol Cold this morning.

I don't know if I'm excited or if I want to cry. I honestly didn't think I'd have this decision to make. They haven't come in with their complete offer, so I'm not sure what we're going to decide. It really is a generous offer they're making so far.

I'm so freaked out. OH! And I got lost in the Iowa countryside yesterday driving from the town where the company is back to the airport. I went about an hour out of my way! Talk about freaking out. I didn't think I was going to make my flight! But check this out...I stopped in a McDonalds (I know...I know...but I needed a quick lunch), and they had a player piano right in the middle of it! I called my husband while I was eating and he thought I was calling from an elevator. A piano in McDonalds. Go figure!
 
If it's good for your career and family, go for it! The upper midwest is a wonderful place to raise children- and everyone I know that lives in Des Moines that isn't from there absolutely loves it. Good luck with your decision!

Susan MC
aka
 
That's so exciting! I can understand how it might also make you feel sick to your stomach - it's a huge change. The midwest really is great. It may be flat, and full of corn :p, but things are just more laid-back here. It's very family friendly.
 
I say go for it too if it is right for your family. Good luck with what you decide. Glad you found your way back to the airport in time for your flight. I will be worried about that when I go on the Cathe trip(Not the best in the world with directions).

I have never heard of a player piano in a McDonalds before. How interesting.
 
It wasn't HORRIBLY flat. Not hilly like central New York, but not flat like Florida - which is where my father wants me to move. I really like the fact that the property taxes are much lower and the gas prices were about 30 cents cheaper too!

Where abouts do you live? If we go for it, we will probably settle in Altoona.
 
We live in Central Illinois (Peoria area). I've driven through Des Moines a couple times - and yes I think it is less flat there than it is in Illinois. At least living near the Illinois River, we have some hilly terrain, but driving up north toward Chicago is the most boring drive ever because it's nothing but totally flat corn fields. ;) Well, sometimes you see soybean fields too.

Altoona always makes me thing of Steve Urkel's Aunt Una from Altoona (I can't believe I used to watch that show!). ;)

Gas and property taxes may be cheaper here, but we still complain about both. :D
 
Do they have lots of Tornados there? I live in Florida. After last year, I'm very sensitive to weather issues.
 
I asked the realtor about that and she says that they don't really. She's never had one since she's lived there, but they do have a Tornado Shelter in the building where I'd be working.
 
Iowa is in the tornado belt, but at the norther end of it.
Yes, we get tornados every summer, but nothing like Kansas or Texas.

I love living in Iowa, and Altoona is a great town. A friend of mine lived there and loved it.
 
I don't think many people leave Iowa. I live in Central FLorida which is a conglomeration of people from every state you can think of and I've only met one person who moved here from there. Must be a great place where people want to stay!

Little too cold for my tastes but Florida is a little to hot and windy for some people!
 
OMG I lived in Altoona when I was a kid! That brings so many memories back to me. If you go will you take a few pics for me? I wish you well in your decision making. Des Moines is not my fav place but hey I am not the on emoving! Do whats right and best for your family and try not to stress to much. Congrats on the job offer!

Terri
 
Good luck with your decision making concerning your job offer. My Mom lives in Des Moines and has lived there for about 15 years. She really likes it up there. She came from a really small town (Pittsfield, Illinois)so this was a nice change..Not too big nor too small. I go up there once or twice a year to visit and I actually enjoy my time in Des Moines. Good Luck to you!!
 
good luck.. go with your gut feel. The older I get the more intune I am with my gut and find it's right on about 90% of the time. Good luck
 
Donna! Talk about Culture Shock! I hope you're prepared for it.

Marla
What gives with the pinao in a Mcdonalds? Must be a pretty fancy Micky Dee's!

Marla
 
Donna, I think you are wise to feel freaked out about all of this - moving for a new job to a new place is a HUGE change and one that should not be taken lightly. My husband accepted a new job almost a year ago (I can't believe how fast the time has passed!) and we moved from Maryland to Michigan. It has been an incredibly difficult transition, much more so than I thought and I have moved around a lot. The thing that has made it so much more difficult for us was our kids were old enough to know that they were leaving behind their old home/friends/life. If I recall correctly, you have a daughter, right? Moving can be a great learning experience for kids, but it is also much more traumatic for them than we adults assume. The kid who has had the hardest time with our move is my 4 year old (she was just 3 when we left). Just yesterday she picked up a "wishing flower" (that would be a dandelion gone to seed) and as she blew on it she said "I wish we could go back to Annapolis". That just about broke my heart.

All that being said, I don't regret the decision we made. My husband's former job caused him to travel a lot, and the company was unstable. We had to weigh many factors in our decision and in the end we made what I know was the right choice, even though I still miss everything and everyone and I am still very lonely and unsettled here.

Do you have any family near to you right now? What about in Iowa? That is something else you will want to consider, because if you are used to having extended family around you right now, that will be difficult to leave behind. We were on our own out there, so it wasn't as though we were leaving Grandman and Grandpa behind. In fact, now that we live here we are much closer to family, and that was one of the many factors in our decision to move.

Good luck to you in this very difficult decision. Take you time in giving a response to the company. I would suggest maybe taking your family out for a visit to Iowa, checking out the area and houses before making a decision.
Tracy
 
We have considered all of this. If the opportunities for both my husband and me were better here, then we might be more inclined to stay. To me, the idea of keeping yourself back from reaching your potential so that you can spend an afternoon with your siblings every couple of months is not logical. If my husband also gets a decent job out there, we will be able to fly home a couple times a year.

My daughter will be 5 next month. Yes, she has some cousins here that she's rather close with. My husband's nephew is her age and they go to preschool together, so they see each other a couple times a week. But she'll be "graduating" next month and they will be going to different elementary schools anyway. She will be joining a whole new bunch of kids that she's never met before in the fall, since none of her preschool class will be enrolled at the same school she is. She has no children in our neighborhood that she plays with, since the next door neighbors are not nice people and we haven't spoken with them since 2001.

My father lives only 3 miles from us, and he and his wife are probably the relatives we see most often. They have bought a house in Florida and will be living there every winter. My sister's family is 3 hours away, and my daughter is quite close with her youngest son. That's the thing that bothers me the most. But still, they only see each other 2-3 times a year.

We are definitely not taking the decision lightly, but we are not going to let our lives go by because we're afraid of a little risk. We've already decided that we can come back in a few years if we want to. By then I'll have increased my marketable skills to include some pretty valuable programming knowledge and my husband will probably have broken in to the freelance designer arena, which can pretty much be done from anywhere.

But, if we come back to New York - it will more likely be Central New York, near the Finger Lakes. It's pretty there.
 
Donna,

It's easy for me to say but a little risk usually doesn't hurt us. It's riskier not to venture outside our comfort zones once in awhile. Marketability is very important in the business world. Whatever you decide will be the right thing :)
 
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