Small update for the jetboating internet friend base.
Signed a lease on a rental house this morning. Just south of McKinley Mall. Address is officially Blasdell, but we're in Orchard Park schools. Figured the market for housing was tough, and renting for a year will give us some flexibility on timing and finding the right home. Also helps stabilize the finances so we can figure out what we can really afford in terms of housing. Speaking of which, rent for a 1,600sqft house is over DOUBLE the mortgage on our 2,400sqft house we have now. I know we bought 8yrs ago and prices have jumped a ton since then, and I also realize we have a 3.1% rate and that's not really possible anymore.....but DAMN it's expensive for housing up here.
In other finance adjacent thoughts. Shelly told her company she was moving. They denied a fully remote position, so as of some time around Memorial Day, she'll be out of work. We're thinking she'll take the summer off to be with the boys before looking for something new. Even then, depending on finances, she's likely to not return to the corporate world. She's a VP of Marketing for a small regional bank now. She can clearly return and continue that career, but I get the sense she's probably over that life. My crystal ball tells me she'll find something to do with the school system so that she's off work the same days as the boys, and her income doesn't have to drive our household budget anymore.
The new job is going OK. I started saying I was drinking from a fire hose. Drinking from a Lava Hose filled with Piranhas is a little more accurate. I've inherited a TON or problem jobs, and the leadership vacuum from the previous management leaving was pretty deep. It's a lot. CEO is pretty happy with my progress, and it's getting "smoother" as I get into it. I'm only 50 days into my tenure, so I'm trying to not be too hard on myself at this point, it's going to take a while to really come up to speed at this level.
Boys are still kind of "meh" about the whole thing. 12yr old doesn't seem to mind too much. 5yr old doesn't seem to care. My best friend (pontoon boat guy) and neighbor is going through a rough patch and somewhat self destructing. That sucks for him, and is making things awkward during my departure from the local area. We've started having "going away dinners" with her friends. We're still a few months out from moving, but her friend group is pretty big, and we all have kids. Sooner is better so we don't lose an opportunity.
Stressful times all around, but everyone seems to be keeping a positive vibe currently. I'm sure we'll have a bittersweet departure when we officially leave, but that's a problem for another day.
