The internal referral J got for his Google application did the trick-- he received an email from a REAL PERSON on Friday. He's gotten past the computers and has been asked to give his top three choices of location. Google has offices in lots of awesome cities, but we narrowed it down to six, then to three:
1. Seattle, WA
2. Mountain View, CA (main headquarters)
3. Boulder, CO
We picked based on how likely J was to get a job at that particular location, whether we liked the area and all sorts of numbers (crime, cost of living, housing prices, weather). Mountain View was a shoe-in since it's the main headquarters. Some stats say it's more expensive than NYC, though, and that's scary. We went ahead and stuck it there in the middle. J left it up to me to pick the top location, and Seattle is big, similar to Portland, and I think I'd have the best chance at meeting people and finding things to do, also: jobs.
To chose between Seattle and Boulder (I've never been to either) I used Meetup.com to search for my interests. I searched crafts, sewing, bicycles, feminism, ASL, libraries and made a judgment based on how much came up for each. Starting out, though, I knew Seattle would have more. Boulder is only a little bigger than where we live now. J is familiar with Boulder, though, and says I'd really like it. Let's just say, though, I have never been skiing, and I've never had the urge. I feel I'd be a waste of space in Boulder. I like a bike-able city, though.
When we move, I will definitely use meetup to find some starter groups. I'll admit, I'm already tired just thinking of how hard it will be to find new friends.
It's been a good Spring Break, though tomorrow's my last day of it. J made a goal of finishing two applications per day, and so far he's doing it. This is an extremely exciting time.
That's a good idea for thinking about places to move--I'd never have thought of this. I have a year of no-teaching fellowship coming up soon, and we've been trying to think of where to go (I want my J to pick, since when I get a job he won't have much say over where we go). I'll definitely keep this in mind.
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