Our big decision

I am finally posting the continuation post of our Oregon trip. Niel was offered a job interview with Hope Orthopaedics in Salem, Oregon. They offered to fly both Niel and I to the area for three days and pay for all expenses including hotel, rental car, and meals. Even though the interview was only a week before our scheduled move-in date in Vegas, we decided we didn't want to pass up a potentially great opportunity. The idea of moving back to the Northwest was very appealing to both of us...especially to me since my parents are five hours from Salem as opposed to 16 hours from Vegas.

While in Oregon, we stayed at a gorgeous hotel downtown Salem called the Grand Phoenix. Wednesday night, we walked around downtown Salem and went to the Salem shopping center. Thursday morning, we went to breakfast with the CEO of Hope Orthopaedics. Niel spent the remainder of the day touring the facilities, meeting the doctors, and observing a surgery. That night we went to dinner with four of the doctors at Bentley's Grill.

Friday morning, we had a scheduled tour with a realtor. We loved the style of homes and the neighborhoods. She showed us some neighborhoods that were backed by forests of huge evergreen trees and next to beautiful golf courses. Everything there was so green and pretty.

Following our tour of Salem, we went to Portland and walked down 23rd street. The street had tons of quaint boutiques, restaurants, and specialty shops. We took our friend Annie's advice and stopped at Moonstruck Chocolate cafe. They had unique and delicious chocolates which we thoroughly enjoyed. After meandering around 23rd street we caught our plane back to California.

The next several days following our trip were a little stressful. We had five days until we were supposed to be moving to Las Vegas and yet we weren't sure whether or not Niel was still going to take the Vegas job. We also didn't know if Hope Orthopaedics was going to extend a job offer for sure. The whole time we were both leaning towards the Vegas job but there were so many great things we loved about the the thought of moving to Oregon and back to the northwest. The things we liked about Salem: milder climate, hour from the beach, hour from a ski resort, nice parks, new practice, closer to my family in WA, and a nice place to raise a family.

Wednesday morning (the day before our scheduled move to Vegas), we received an email from the CEO offering Niel a job with Hope Orthopaedics. Hope Orthopaedics didn't know yet which doctor Niel was going to be working with and in what specialty. They also wouldn't be able to start him until December 1st. While speaking with some of the other PAs, it seemed that they work A LOT.

We had a really hard time coming to a decision. Both of us went back and forth on our decision since both locations had pros and cons. As far as location, climate, and a place to raise a family, we would have preferred Salem. The two locations as far as lifestyle and climate were completely opposite and our lives would be very different based on the job we decided to take. It is crazy when you can see yourself being happy in two completely different areas. Wednesday morning, we finally came to the decision that Las Vegas was where we were supposed to go. Overall the job opportunity in Vegas seemed like a better fit. Here are a few of the reasons why we decided to go with the Vegas job:

• Dr. Tingey and Niel get along really well. This was one of the most influential factors in making our decision. Everyone at the practice said he is the nicest guy to work with.
• Niel will be trained in a broad spectrum of orthopaedic surgery rather than one specialty.
• He will be working in sports medicine
• Desert Orthopaedic Center is the biggest and most reputable orthopaedic group in Las Vegas
• Homes are very cheap in Vegas

{This list is mostly for myself. I will refer to it when it is 115 degrees in July next summer to remind myself why we chose to move to Vegas}

With that, we finished packing our apartment and loaded up the U-haul.