As most people know, we have been wanting to move back to Portland, Oregon for a long time. We have been living far away from family for seven years and really want to be closer. Plus, we both grew up there and miss the beautiful northwest. So, we are finally moving in August! There are a variety of reasons it has happened now (Tyler is applying to PA schools in Portland and needs a few more prereq classes and it is cheaper and easier to take them in Portland, he does have an interview for a job, we can live with family until we find a place/are in a position to move, etc.). We are sad to leave Salt Lake City and our many friends here and we ended up liking Utah a lot more than we anticipated. When we moved from Virginia I made a pros and cons list about what I will miss and not miss about Virginia and I enjoy doing that for some reason. So here is my miss/won't miss list:
Will NOT miss about Utah:
The air pollution/inversions--
probably my number one con for SLC. They seriously need to do something about this.
lack of water--
I love to go swimming, but there are few fresh water options unless you want to drive quite a distance. Plus, all of the Wasatch Mountain lakes are part of the water shed, so you are not allowed to swim in them if you hike up to one.
It gets pretty hot in the summer--
also the no lakes/rivers nearby makes this much less bearable.
The billboards--
Seriously, why?
Gardening--
It is so hard to garden in Utah and not have everything shrivel up from the heat. I know a lot of people who are successful, but I really think you need a drip system. I am so excited for rich, dark earth!
Will Miss about Utah:
Our friends--
We have so many good friends here, so does Elanor. It will be hard to leave them. So, all of our friends, you should come visit us in Oregon!
My aunt, uncle and cousins who live here--
We will miss you and thanks for everything you have done for us!
Our ward (group of people we go to church with)--
We have such a wonderful ward, full of so many great people. We did not have to deal with the "Utah culture" problem. This is such an accepting, friendly, and interesting ward. I'll really miss the Young Womens group I just started serving with!
The mountains--
Yes, there are beautiful mountains in Oregon, but I will miss the closeness and the only half hour drive to get up into the mountains and on a hike.
All of the National Parks--
We were only able to go to two out of the five, but most of the parks were only within a three or four hour drive.
Our close proximity to everything--
This was something we sort of needed after living in Virginia, especially being so close to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
The snow--
I LOVE snow and love snowy winters and it hardly snowed our last winter here, which was a bit disappointing.
