As I mentioned in a previous post, we visited our extended families' area for the Easter holiday. We also spent a day of house shopping in the new college town (we can do both, since the new job's only 70 miles from the Unknown In-Laws' house). There's a little bit of sticker shock (it'll cost about $100k more than our current home, and the new mortgage will be at a rate that's about 1% higher than the old one to boot), but that's o.k. -- it's only money, and that's what it's for.
At least we're not paying more for nothing - although the prices are quite a bit higher than our current house, the area seems like it has a lot of advantages relative to our current lodgings. From what we've gleaned from our realtor and my colleagues-to-be, the area is extremely family oriented. Almost all the houses we looked at were in developments with loads of children around. In addition, there are lots of programs for the munchkins (summer sports leagues, library activites, etc...). And even better, all the houses we looked at are within 4 miles of the campus (versus a 50 minute commute in my present job). So I'll pick up several hours a week in commute-time savings.
The Unknown wife and I stopped by the new Unknown University while we were there to deal with some administrivial issues like employee benefits. While there, she got to meet quite a few of my new colleagues. It's still the honeymoon phase, so everyone's on their best behavior (with one exception, who's never on his good behavior, but he's a good sort, and fun to have around). She thought they seemed like a nice bunch, and was impressed that they regularly do Friday happy hour, with spouses invited. So once we find a babysitter, we'll be set.
As things unfold, I'll keep you posted. After all, what's a blog for if not to share the mundane details of our lives?