Can you believe we may choose to move to this ridiculously hot state?
Mark is in the process of applying to graduate schools. He has taken the GRE, he has updated his resume, and he has begun looking at programs to apply to. Upon his return from Afghanistan next summer he will begin work on his PhD in public policy.
The applications are due in the next two months. He'll find out where he was accepted sometime in the spring. And....he'll have to make his choice before his return to the US next summer.
Thus, the lengthy explanation, for our last minute trip to visit the University of Texas.
First, let me make it clear that neither of us are big fans of living in the South.
We don't like the heat. We don't like bugs. And we definitely do not like spiders or snakes.
**Do not click on these links if you have arachnophobia or ophidiophobia.
But...the policy program at UT seems to be a good fit. AND the faculty and staff have been so incredibly helpful and welcoming. So we both felt a quick trip to rule-out or keep UT in the running was warranted.
I was looking for reasons to not like place...
There are no trees:
It's too hot:
We would miss the lake!
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| Lake Travis. Austin, TX |
We have hobbies. We have things we like to do in the North. We couldn't possibly find similar things to do down there in the deep south.
Like watch football games:
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| Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium @ UT |
Go out in the city:
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| 6th street |
Sigh.
We loved our two days down there.
Perhaps if we had visited in July we might have hated it?
At the airport Mark promised me a speed boat if we moved to Austin....
I then walked into the gift shop and picked up some swag.
**We have not made a decision to choose UT. We just decided that we could not rule Texas out. We learned that if we did choose to move there....we would love it. We have several other great options on our list. Places (northern) we would love to live as well (e.g., Boston, Princeton, Ann Arbor, and South Bend).
Austin is awesome! And it's really not "big Texas" like... say, Dallas is. (Yikes. Because I agree with you, "big TX" isn't my speed either.) Austin is such a hip, fun city that happens to be in TX. ;) Glad you guys enjoyed your getaway! Good luck choosing!
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