I got to do some catching up with cousin’s wife the other day while we were at his parents’ place for a simple dinner for my late paternal grandfather’s 40th day. As it turns out, things are finally starting to work out for them. My cousin, an ex-military guy, finally landed a decent job after being unemployed for quite some time following his release from Iraq. This allowed his wife to be a stay-at-home wife and mom, and both of them to finally do some house-hunting (they have been trying to move out of the parents’ house for quite a while now).

Not that I was not paying her attention, OK? But, as she was showing me their printout cheat-sheets of the houses they checked out that day, my thoughts could not help but linger to the day Um and I can finally go house-hunting for our family!  Quite frankly, being “new” here again, I am not really sure where the best place to establish is. I just want a vibrant and intellectual environment for Captain Awesome and Little HRH (and for me and Um, too).

Santa Cruz always turns up in the first page of the results every time I search for “best places to live in California”. I have yet to invest a good amount of time looking into the other factors before putting it into consideration.

SoCal is still calling, though. Last week, I got to speak with another cousin of mine who lives 15 or so minutes from Los Angeles. It was her birthday and I called her up to greet her. During our convo, she asked when I am finally going there, assured me that her house is always open as a startup and so on. This weekend, a good friend called urging me to move to SoCal. So, I dunno. Big city, beaches, and Hollywood, baby!!! There is nothing more you can ask! It is kinda like the neighborhood Um and I had back in the P.I.

It is just hard to take huge risks when you have children. So, baby steps. How about Sacramento first? At least it is somewhat close to my parents’ and Ms B’s.