As One Chapter Ends, Another Begins.

Taxes are done, and what a relief to finally put everything involving our house, behind us. What an experience to go through, but hey that's the hand we were dealt and we played it. I wish things would have worked out differently with our first house, but unfortunately we were put in a bad spot when the market crashed. We probably could have played it a little differently, but we were feeling a little trapped its been 3 years since we decided to sell the house and it's still worth $60,000 less then we paid for it. We would have been in our 40s by the time our investment broke even.  

A while back I had a friend who was always down and out, complaining about how life dealt him a shitty hand. I used to tell him that "If you are unhappy where you are in life , but do nothing to change it, you have no one to blame but yourself. " Well, I don't like to be a hypocrite so I had to follow my own advice and try to sell the house. 3 years later here we are ready to put the past behind us (as far as the house is concerned).

So, as of this tax season we don't owe any property taxes, we don't owe our lender for a massive upside down mortgage. We are officially debt free (for the most part, ;-D). Our credit is going to need a little TLC, but luckily there is some compassion out there for people that where put in our position and although it won't be easy I would rather build from this point rather then throwing my money into an upside down mortgage for the next 5-10 years, I know a lot of people would have handled the situation differently, and I don't think they would be wrong. We just did what we had to. There will be a time for us to own our own home again, but for now we are content renting, where we can move around freely and if something breaks in the rental we are not responsible. We have a lower monthly payment which gives us breathing room to save up for future endeavors

we certainly have a long way to go in life, many things we want to accomplish,  and having $100,000 in lost equity to make up is something that will no longer be holding us back. Was it the right move? Did we make a mistake? Did we open up doors to new possibilities? You can drive yourself crazy worrying about this stuff, but we did the best we could with what we had and at the end of the day we did what we believed in and that's all that matters. 

One Year Since Moving To California!!!

Its been a year since Colleen and I picked up our lives from New Jersey and moved to California. I should have been updating this blog over the past year but I haven't, things have been crazy yes, and a lot has happened, and sure I've prob got a lot to say... but lets just call this one for laziness.

Last I left you here we moved out to California looking for something more. Unemployed heads held high we began our fight to remain self sustaining here. After working at a temporary job for about 2 weeks or so at a sign shop, I finally got in at a place I had been talking to from Jersey. Although every place has its ups and downs I was able to get a decent job to pay the bills and make a little more then I was making in Jersey. The biggest thing for me was learning. I had been stuck doing the same stuff at my old job and just needed a challenge. (For those who don't know, I work in the graphics field as a production designer.) I have learned so much in the past year that I can't even put it into words. So many good talented people that I work with have taught me way more then I ever learned at school. Just the education alone was worth it.

Side rant. I can't tell you how many times at my previous employer I was made to feel that I was lucky to be working. That there was nothing special about my work that separated me from others. It was important for me to be able to move on to another company on my own merits and prove to myself that even in a shitty economy I could find work in a state that isn't know for having a surplus budget. I have a job not because I'm lucky but because I'm skilled at what I do.  One of the things that enticed me about Southern California was that I saw a lot of competition in my field and I knew that I would have a good shot here.







Anyway, I got a job and its paying bills. When we first moved here we moved to a city called La Habra. Not because there was something there that drew us in or because of it's excellent location, but more because it was difficult to find a place from the other side of the country that I knew would be in a decent neighborhood and would be affordable for two people with no job. Long story short we outgrew La Habra and before long we where looking to move out of our tiny little 500 sq ft apartment and find something a little more permanent. Not to mention that we only have 1 car now because I had to sell mine to help with moving expenses and blah, blah, blah. We finally settled on Long Beach, CA. Now don't get me wrong like any city there are some bad parts just like good parts The area we settled in is literally across the street form the beach and is a wonderful area that is within waling distance from anything you could need. It is easy to get a haircut or buy groceries without ever getting into a car. We can ride bikes on the beach or take a boat trip to Catalina. We can see the legendary Queen Mary ship from our sidewalk. Needless to say we really like this area, it's got a lot to offer and there are a lot of people our age in the area.

Once we moved to Long Beach all of our efforts moved to finding Colleen some work. Now up until now we had been able to get by on just my salary alone but in this day and age if you want a little comfort you need to have that second income. so After 3,000 miles and 12 months We are both now working and a mere week away from having an income comparable to what we had in Jersey and bills that are close to half of what they where (at least rent compared to our mortgage). It seems we are nearing a position that we can really start to enjoy life a bit and some of the many things sunny southern California has to offer.





Now before I let this blog lay, I know that It may not be clear why I left. Why I just uprooted myself. This is a tough question. There are so many reasons for both Colleen and I. Only speaking for myself, What I can say is that it was a combination of things. Perhaps feeling a little alone, losing friends close to me, not being satisfied professionally, loosing in the housing market, but perhaps most of all I needed to show myself... show myself that I had the guts to go out and start over in a new place without the comfort of my friends and family being so close, which is what I've grown so used to being able to lean on. Show myself that I could start over and be happy doing what I loved to do.

I leave you with some pics of where I live.

This is across the street from our place:

This is a shot from the Queen Mary of our City:

This is a shot of the Ink n Iron Festival that takes place in Long Beach from the Queen Mary:

We Made It!

Sorry we haven't put up a blog in the last two days. We arrived on Thursday night and started moving in right away! We didn't want to spent another night in a hotel or sleep on the air mattress. We wanted our own bed!

So lets rewind a little and go back to Thursday morning. We got up early with the intention of stopping at the Grand Canyon. I took a quick shower but didn't dry my hair...big mistake! We stayed the night in Flagstaff, AZ...did you know it was 20 degrees in Flagstaff on Thursday? We were freezing and not as prepared as we should have been for that cold, considering we came from Jersey. We stopped to get gas and I pulled to close to the pump. Long story short we took the car off the trailer and the trailer off the truck and moved everything manually just like our first night. We lost an hour and half so no Grand Canyon but I got a nice head cold from being outside with wet hair! Ironically the only person to help us was a man who use to live in New York!

So I drove through Arizona and crossed the state line into California! I can't speak for Lenny but I know for myself it was a very overwhelming moment. All those long hours and bumps in the road paid off! We were in our new home state. 3 time zones and 2800 miles from all of our friends and family. From that point on I think we were like kids in a candy store, just in awe that we really did this. We continued  on Route 40 to a state line checkpoint, the only one we encountered. We stopped in Needles, CA to switch drivers and gas up. What a change in the weather I think it was 56 degrees in Needles. The longest stretch of road with no exits or rest stops was from Needles to Barstow. Mostly because you pass through the Mojave National Preserve and then there is the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. We started to see palm trees and before we knew it we were on Route 15 and 2 hours from "home".

Ok so I know I said the longest stretch was from Needles to Barstow, well the closer we got to the apartment the longer it seemed to take. But we made it. Signed our lease and started unpacking the truck so we could get to the bed and then we called a night. Oh and by the way Rob thanks for all your boaters knots, Lenny was not a fan but I didn't have a problem. We'll be sure to hold on the that rope for you when you and the family come to visit.

We woke up Friday morning and looked out our bedroom window and saw palm trees and mountians! It is beautiful. It is cool at night and warm during the day. It was 78 degrees yesterday which is cold for Californians. It was weird for us to being wearing tee shirts and shorts and almost everyone else is wearing sweatpants and hoodies and Uggs. We worked hard all day and unpack the truck by 1 and brought it back. We thought we got rid of a lot of stuff before we left, we were a little off on that part. So our apartment is filled to the brim with boxes and now its time to organize and find homes for everything. We do have a storage unit that is decivingly big. Good news! Penske is going to pay for a new front bumper!

We still have so much to do. We will probably have a few more blogs over the next week or so as we explore our new home. After that Lenny will take over the reigns and i will start my own separate blog that I will update weekly. I hope you have all enjoyed our journey thus far. It has really be amazing to have you all share in the journey with us. All your feed back and warm wishes have been wonderful. Although you are all so far away, it gives us peace to know that so many of you care and are generally interested. Thank you again for all your good vibes and love. While at moments it has been hard to be so far away, we can be at ease knowing that we can all still interact via social networks and emails. Oh and if any of you have an Xbox 360 look for us online, LennyBreaks and ColleenBreaks. If you have it with Kinect, bonus video chat!

Home Stretch!

We are so close to our new abode! We finished Texas and New Mexico today. We are staying the night in Flagstaff, and it is actually really cold. I always kind of associated Arizona with being warm, but there is ice and even some snow on the ground. We are actually about 45 miles away from the Grand Canyon and we are thinking it might be worth the quick detour.
The scenery changed today. New Mexico was quite flat at first, we even saw our first tumbleweeds. There is something beautiful about the simplicity of the landscape. You could look out over the land and even the canyons and find peace with the lack of strip malls and chain restaurants. The end of daylight brought lots of beautiful canyons with sunlight pouring into all of the spaces between the rocks. It was a truly amazing sight.

The exits have become a little more spaced out and at night it is almost completely black. The stars are so much easier to see and you can see so many of them.

Fatigue has set in. We are tired more often and the aches in our backs have become greater. It will be worth it when we arrive in La Habra. I don't really enjoy driving but man will I be stoked to drive my car again.

Long Day

A lot of the houses in Arkansas had a lot of junk in their yard.
I liked to call them "Outdoor Hoarders" This was a clean one. 

The days are starting to run together at this point. We did the most driving today. We made it all the way from Conway, AR to Amarillo, TX that's 562 miles! We are starting to get a little punchy, snippy at times. We are more than half way to our final destination. I will be so happy when I can drive my car again and don't have to have all my bones jostling all over the place being in that truck.

It rained for most of the day, of course during my drive. Towards the end of the day the sun did come out and we were able to get video of the sun setting. Oklahoma was quite beautiful. During the drive there would be signs that would tell you when you were leaving and entering each Indian Nation. I would love to go back and visit when we have the time and energy to explore it.

Lots of rain

It's been a long day so this is a short one. Good night all!

BTW this is what the Car looked like after the damage from the tow.

Ouch! Poor car. 

New Time Zone!

Today started better then yesterday, we were able to leave at 9:30 instead of 10 Lol! We made it through all of Tennessee and most of Arkansas. Tennessee was pretty much the same as Virginia...lots of cow! Driving the truck and towing the car is a lot of work and it takes a toll on your body. You fell every bump and I don't think the seat was designed to be comfortable. I think if it was more comfortable we could probably drive longer than we have been. Some how I manage to be the one stuck driving up and down the steep terrain, that is very exhausting. We made it through our first time zone though so it wasn't all bad. We crossed the Mississippi River too! It was overcast most of the day so the pictures aren't too great.

Sam has been really good. He spends most of his time sleeping in the space between the seats, where we made him a makeshift bed. He only really gets anxious when we stop at gas stations but he is otherwise doing well.





There are moments in the drive where you think "I can't wait to get home!" Usually the vision in my head is the one of the house on Attison and then I realize that is not our final destination. I try to picture what our new living room will look like so it's going to take some getting use to. The drive isn't easy, but the end result will be worth it.

Nashville!

We are happy that so many of you are following along on this journey with us by reading the blog. So keep the comments coming they help keep our day interesting!

Almost Fell in Love with Virginia

Today started off earlier then yesterday which is a good thing. There was a hiccup that prevented us from leaving until 10. Last night when we pulled into the hotel, we pulled into the right parking lot instead of the left. That does not seem like a problem until we realized that parking lot was not a pull through and we could not reverse the truck and the trailer. We wound up taking the car off the trailer and turning the truck around that way. So the next morning we start to put the car on the trailer again and the front end gets stuck and it CRACKS! It's not bad but it still hurt to watch. We will post a picture tomorrow.

As we drove through Virginia we thought is was beautiful, but it seemed like we were never going to get to the end. When you are driving from New Jersey to California driving through one state for most of the day is very frustrating and leads to cranky pantsness.On the upside Lenny was able to take a lot of pictures during my shift of driving, there were lots of cows, everywhere. We trooped through it and made our stay for the night in Knoxville, TN.

It has been an experience thus far. Although we aren't sight seeing it is a great experience none the less to make this drive as a family. We even got Sam to lay down on the floor of the cab for most of the drive instead of our laps. It's a new adventure for all of us. It's been great for us to be able to just drive and not have anything pressing on our mind and be able to laugh and enjoy each others company.

Every mile closer to California a little more excitement builds up and a little more stress falls away. We can't wait to start the new day! Of course we miss all of your faces like crazy but it is awesome knowing that so many of you want to read the blog and share in our journey.

Getting Ready 12/11/11

So December is here and the last blog was awhile ago but it seems like just yesterday that I posted it. Last weekend my best friend Sarah was married and we had so much fun. I know she was really stressed out that last couple of weeks. But in the end it all came out wonderful. She had me do a reading for the ceremony, which I had to try and keep my composure. I tend to be a emotional person, maybe I'm an empath, lol who knows. But my Maid of Honor speech was good and I held it together for that. I wish her so much happiness on her new chapter!

We've started packing and going through all our possessions to see what is coming with us into this new chapter and what isn't. Sometimes it's hard, even though it's only stuff. We've created our own little life together over the last 12 plus years and now we have to narrow it all down to fit in a 10 foot truck. So much has to go! I guess it's sort of like a detox of items.

Through out this whole process so far we have been each others support, staying positive even though the hardest part is yet to come. There are moments when we realize how close our move date is an we freak a little because there is still so much to do! We are still looking for a place. I think that is the hardest part so far. We live across the country from where we are moving so we cannot go see apartments to see if we like the neighborhoods. Lucky for us we have some friends and family that live out there to give us some advice.

We have been getting so much advice from everywhere. Most are excited and happy for us. Some show concern that we might fail. We've thought about that. We just want to be happy and have no regrets. We are going out there with a positive attitude and hope for the best. If we go out there and things don't work out, well at least we tried and that is not a failure. We would come back to New Jersey not with are tails tucked between our legs, but with our heads held high. We would be proud of the fact that we gave it our best. It will be how we feel in our hearts that will matter most and not the perception of this new adventure will be to others.

I think that's it for now. Lenny will be posting a new blog in a few days.

Our American Dream. The Story So Far

It all started when I was a twinkle in my father eye...
Just kidding I couldn't possibly go down that road. For the past 6 years I've been working in the trade show graphics industry. For a time things were going great. Colleen and I bought a house three years ago, because that's what you do right? You get married, you buy house, you have kids, happily ever after right? The portrait of the American dream. We bought in. It seemed like the right thing to do. Fast forward, and the economy took a dive and the housing market crashed. We worked hard to get where we are so naturally we wanted to fight to stay there. The problem is that while or income stays the same our bills keep going up. I haven't seen a raise in years, but the house is just becoming more expensive each year. Now I wouldn't mind the struggle if someone told me that in a year or two things would turn around and get a little easier. The reality is the value of the house dropped by nearly $50,000. So while everyone always says "paying rent is just losing money, a mortgage payment is saving your money as an investment" I know a bad investment when I see one and paying a large mortgage on a house that's worth $50,000 less then I'm paying is just a bad investment. It's no ones fault,  know one could have predicted what would happen, but we are faced with a choice. Keep spending every penny we have and living to work, or try and get out and make a change. Well to be honest, we're just tired of being broke. We figure that were young enough and we don't yet have kids so if were going to make a big change now would be the time to do it. So that's what were doing. There is a number of circumstances that would make us think otherwise, but we are not happy where we are and that's the bottom line. So despite popular opinion we're going to temporarily put the american dream on hold. We have always said that if you don't like something in your life then change it. Well it's time for us to practice what we preach. We've been looking for a while, and we're ready for a fresh start. Our sites are set on completely turning our lives upside down, and moving to the west coast. We have a long road ahead of us, and anything could happen, but as of right now we have nothing to lose. We'll have to take this journey one day at a time and see what happens.
-Lenny