Where?

Every three years Matt and I have a discussion about where we want to move next. The conversation lasts a long time - like 6-12 months.

The other day we made our wish lists:

Clarissa's List of Dreamy Places to Move
1. Fort Carson, Colorado
 2. Alaska
 3. Hawaii
 4. Fort Lewis, WA
Matt's List of Places that Clarissa is willing to move with him.
1. Fort Carson, Colorado
 2. Hawaii
 3. Fort Lewis, Washington
Matt also wants to go to Fort Rucker, Alabama but I nixed it. He nixed my Fort Belvoir, VA vote.

So, the other day Matt had 7.5 minutes to talk to his Branch Manager about what would be available to him next summer when we move from here. Here is the branch manager's list:
Fort Carson
Hawaii
Fort Lewis
Alaska
Fort Bliss, TX - also known as Juarez, MEXICO Fort Riley, KS - as in Toto, middle of nowhere
Fort Drum, NY - not in any of the cool places in NY but very close to Canada.
Fort Hood, TX - smack in the middle of Texas.
Fort Bragg, NC - South of the Mason Dixon, heart of NASCAR, camo as a fashion statement, and hunting.
And this is the part where I cry.
We have been so blessed to be stationed in really fabulous places: Lewis, Hawaii, Virginia and Germany were all our first choice we when were assigned there. The only place that we didn't dream about living was Campbell, but as it turns out we met our BFFs there, it was a great place to have the babies, and it ended up being a good duty station. I guess I just didn't imagine that NONE of the places on our list would be an option. So the processes of choosing the best of the worse begins. Bliss is an immediate "hell no". It is literally on the border of Mexico and while the city of El Paso boasts great quality of life....the other half of the city is Juarez and people get abducted by drug cartels and beheaded. No silver lining there! We don't even get to ask for our next assignment until Spring of 2012, so we have time to decide where we want to go. But I did find myself getting a little excited about the possibility of moving to Fort Bragg, NC. There are trees, four seasons, and most importantly the beach is about 2.5 hours away! Other bonus features are that it is a mere 5+ hours from my pals in Northern VA and a long road trip to many other places that we have yet to explore in the southeastern part of the country. A lot of my friends also really like Fort Hood, Tx. I haven't fully embraced Texas yet, but I'm telling you this, if we move to Texas I am buying cowboy boots and I'm wearing them with a sundress and a denim jacket!
Wherever we end up, I'm confident it will be another adventure that we'll look back on fondly.

Comments

mrscotis said…
We are excited to see where God is going to take you next as well as being excited to see where OUR next big vacation will be. :)
p.s. thought you were gonna try and stay in Europe for one more year??
Rachael said…
Wow! I can hardly believe your time there is winding down! Like your sister, I thought you guys were extending your stay there? I know you will find fun, adventure and camaraderie wherever you are, but I am certainly voting for NC!
darea26 said…
FORT DRUM IS CALLING YOUR NAME! Okay, maybe that is me calling your name... Come on up to the "North Country"! Wouldn't that be awesome for me;)

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