Red State Ramblings

Hello, I’m Michelle. Mom to five and wife to my amazing hubby. I’m so glad that you have stumbled upon our little corner of the internet. I was invited by two sweet friends from our church in California, to join their blog and share with you about our ongoing journey of moving our family from California to Texas–moving from a blue state to a red state. They also moved, with their families, to red states. Erika and her family moved to Tennessee (http://redstateramblings.com/new-year-new-state-new-blog/) and Lindsey and her family moved to Idaho. (http://redstateramblings.com/our-story-of-finding-idaho/)

As far as my story goes, if you would have told me a few years ago that my husband and I would move our family halfway across the country I would have laughed at you. My husband and I were both born and raised in California and so were all five of our children, so why would we leave the state that had been our home for practically all of our lives? Well, our decision to move was actually not spurred by covid policies or politics, but by our sweet pandemic baby–baby number five. We were so surprised and blessed by this pregnancy, but in August of 2020 when we saw those two pink lines appear, the reality hit hard that we couldn’t give our large family the life that we wanted to give them in California. 

This was in no way an easy decision. We love so much about California–the beach, Lake Tahoe, Disneyland, Yosemite and Napa–to name only a few of our favorite spots. But more than that, we were beyond sad to leave our family, our friends, our precious church, and our children’s incredible private school. However, the reality of our family expanding coupled with the increasing liberal legislation set us on a journey to find the best place to move our family. I will always remember a dear friend, who also recently moved to Texas, telling me that while leaving was difficult now it was worth it to do the difficult thing, so that our children would have a better chance at providing for themselves and making a life for themselves. 

The top priorities for us were housing prices, work for my husband, politics, and weather. With these priorities in mind, we nailed down our search to three states:Texas, Tennessee, and South Carolina. We asked around, talked to friends, made pro/con lists, prayed a bunch and cried at the thought of all the change, but in the end we decided on Texas.I would like to say it was for some deep or meaningful reason, but at the end of the day it just checked all the boxes and most importantly, because of the industry that he is in, my husband already had a job offer there. We decided on the north Dallas area because it is a growing area full of opportunity. It is close, but not too close, to a big city. It is relatively safe and new and clean, which is definitely an upgrade from the homeless encampments that were encroaching on our California neighborhood. 

So, in February of 2020, my husband, I, and my 7 month prego belly flew to Dallas to help us make our final decision on whether we would be moving our family to Texas. We met with a wonderful real estate agent. My husband had a job interview. We drove around neighborhoods and prayed about bringing our family to this new state. We even snuck in a trip to the Magnolia Silos. We were surprised that we instantly loved the area. We are suburban people, so we love that there are beautiful suburbs everywhere. It felt safe. It felt clean. Everyone was friendly. But most importantly, It felt like a place where we could raise our large family. 

We flew home feeling excited and nervous for the new adventure ahead of us. We decided we would plan to move in the summer, which would be after our baby was born and while the kids were on summer break. We purged and packed and listed our home to sell. We had one weekend showing, 3 offers over asking, and accepted an offer that was 30K over asking. The housing market in California is absolutely insane right now.

The months leading up to the move were crazy and busy and emotional. Turns out having a baby and moving out of state simultaneously is a pretty stressful combo. We said hard goodbyes to friends and family. We soaked up special time with people that we loved and planned fun trips and parties to enjoy those last few months. We struggled with leaving our deep roots in California, while simultaneously feeling relieved that we had a plan in place that could greatly bless and benefit our family. 

In August of 2021 we officially moved to Texas and we haven’t looked back. Texas is in no way perfect, and we have already encountered many frustrations (like the huge bugs and the insanely high property tax). There have definitely been hard days and difficult decisions since being here, but at the end of the day we are so thankful for the Lord’s protection and provision. We know that we are where we are supposed to be and we are so thankful that the Lord gave us the courage and strength to go on this great adventure. 

Stay tuned to hear more about the ins and outs of our move, the RV trip we took to move our family out to Texas, and buying our Texas home. It has been a wild ride, to say the least.