In just four short weeks, we’ll be packing up a U-Haul, and heading off to Texas!
Matt and I came to The Dalles with a short term plan: stay two years while saving up our money while we decide where we really want to live. We looked at a map, and asked ourselves, what city has great weather, a great music scene, and a university with a graduate program I want to pursue? Austin Texas answers all of our wants.
Yeah, it gets hot in Texas (we know, we know!) but 70F in February can’t be argued with. The South by Southwest festival is something Matt has been talking about, and wanting to attend for years, and Austin brags the highest concentration of musicians per capita of any city in the USA (Translation: lots of cool used gear in thrift shops–musicians gotta eat). 
And, the University of Texas at Austin offers a PhD. in Epidemiology, and looks to have an awesome School of Public Health.
It’s a big move, and while Matt’s business can go anywhere, I don’t yet have a job lined up. Or a house. But, big risks can have big payoffs, and we’ve been planning for this for a long time. We’ll drive from The Dalles, stopping in Salem and Eugene to say our farewells, and our next stop (not including what will probably be a Motel 6) will be the Redwood Forrest in Northern California, where we’ll camp for a few days. We plan to make other such stops on the journey, taking advantage of an opportunity we may not have again for a long time.
Wish us luck!
—Danielle
