The smoke has finally cleared in the Montana air. The snow on the mountains is visible and beautiful. Even though it is only September, we had snow falling for two days, not enough to stick, but enough to assist in putting out the fires that have been polluting the normally clean air quality. It's calming and fresh and wonderful. We love this beautiful state. It's not over crowded, the people are relatively friendly, and all in all it's a great place to raise a family...
Only if you make a great deal of money and can afford it. Child care costs are around $900 for infants, rent average is closer to $1200, they are dog friendly unless you rent, and the wages cannot keep up to support a family, even with both parents working. As much as we love this beautiful state we live in one of the most expensive counties in Montana. And therefore are saying gooodbye and headed south again. Back to where it all began in Arizona.
A bittersweet move to say the least. We love our friends and have amazing employers, making saying goodbye difficult. But our families are south. For the benefit of our daughter and ourselves in the long run, Arizona is where we need to be. This seems to be a struggle for my husband to wrap his brain around. He has made a life here in the last 5 years, hates the desert heat and over population of the Phoenix area, and really hates the heat, lol. I'm reminding him it's not permanent, we can come back when we can afford the lifestyle we want to live out here. But living paycheck to two weeks before paycheck when you have a 3 month old is not ideal. We make too much (before taxes) to qualify for any type of assistance. Ryleigh gets to come to work with me until she is 6 months old. Which is wonderful, except for the fact that she will be 6 months after Thanksgiving. Not only can I not swing the money to put her in care, I can't afford to stay home either... Hense another reason for the move. My parents wil take her during the day, I can go back to school, and we can pay off the debt I have accumulated over the last few years. I can see where he doesn't want to start over at a new company, however, it is what's best for our family at the moment.
Shooting for the first week of December, we will be packing up our vehicles and moving south with a kitty and baby in tow. It's already September... I'm getting nervous.
