Having two job offers in the bag by the time you get home from a third interview is a pretty fantastic feeling – especially after the nightmare of the Houston economic downturn last year.  So, it was time to debate the options and make some life-changing decisions…which has begun to feel fairly routine for the last year or so!

Despite the lure of fabulous Chicago summers and great friends, in the end, we couldn’t go with the GE job because the offer on the table was a 12 month contract-to-hire and Russell has been without medical benefits for nearly 18 months at this point. Also, there was not even a hint of remote work possibility which means we’d be tied to Chicago with no vacation or the ability to travel and the whole RV lifestyle would continue to be pointless. Plus…neither of us are sure we could survive the brutal white-knuckle-wind-winters on the Lake!

That left us with the offer from Trace 3 (since Amazon is a very slow-moving machine) and, luckily, it was an absolutely amazing one! Unlimited paid vacation whenever the project work is complete, generous compensation and benefits from Day 1 and…best of all…80% remote!! No rushing to pack up and race across the country, no 9 to 5 in an office every day, no pointless commute….Russell has definitely won the job lottery this time and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

Hope at last!

Hope at last!

We will eventually head to the California area after the holidays for a while but the rest of our year can continue as planned and we will finally have the opportunity to see New England properly before heading back to Houston in November.

Russell’s official first day is tomorrow, July 15th, and I can’t help but think back just four short months ago to March 15th – the day we finally arrived in Connecticut. We’d survived (barely) one of the worst weeks of our lives moving the RV, trailer and cars from Houston to New England and thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Life proved that, yes, they certainly could, but in the end it was all part of a systematic breakdown to allow for vast improvement in the end.

Today is our first day back in Houston for a two week visit, after which we will return to Tri-State and promptly move all the vehicles to Bar Harbor, Maine! After a couple months enjoying the eastern Vacationland paradise and ushering in the autumn color change first-hand, we will at last embrace the phrase ‘Westward Ho’ as the rest of the US will at last be at our finger tips.  🙂


This is the first part of a 4 post series:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

2 comments on “The Scenic Route Part IV – Westward Ho

  • So incredibly entertaining! Congratulations on the job Russell. Melody, i wish you nothing but the best. Hopefully on one of your trips back to the Houston area, Joe and I could have lunch with the three of you,…not wanting Hazen to feel left out!!Happy travels and waiting for the “Next Adventure “!

  • Many congratulations So happy to hear about the job. Patience pays … Yet another example. Although we would miss having you in Chicago, really excited about this new venture. All the best to both of you and of course well written. C u soon

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