Neither of us are great bloggers but a lot of people have been asking us about our upcoming adventures, so here we are to resurrect the blog and answer some questions! These are the ones we get consistently.
What new adventures?
Patrick and I are moving to Boston to work for Google as software engineers!
Why are you going to work for Google?
Honest to goodness, the opportunity just fell in our lap and we felt like it was where the Lord was leading us. The work seems interesting, the pay seems excellent (especially in comparison to graduate school!), it seems that Google cares for its employees, I didn't hate Boston when I lived there for a couple months, and our families don't hate the idea of us moving there. Our church also has a church plant up there and there is much work to be done for the sake of the Gospel in the northeast. Oh, and after all the hassle of the Ph.D., I decided I didn't want to be a professor. At least at the moment. So it just seems like all the pieces fell into place.
Why are you moving so far away?
We know, we didn't want to move that far either. But Boston's only a two hour, $75 dollar flight from Charlotte. And again, it just seemed like this opportunity was the right fit.
When are you moving?
The movers come July 29. Our flight to Boston is August 3.
Do you need help moving?
Nope! Google is taking good care of us and hiring movers that will pack and load everything, then unload it all on the other side. They're also shipping our car. And I'm going to hire someone to clean the house because I hate move-out cleaning and don't want to spend my final few hours in a place I love doing something I hate.
When are you coming back?
I have no idea. To visit, it will take a little bit of time to build up vacation days. Permanently, unless the Lord calls us to stay up there, we'd like to stay at least 4 years because part of our payment is in stock that vests over four years, then ideally we'd like to make it back closer to family.
Where exactly will you be living?
Google has graciously provided us corporate housing until mid-October. So for those ten weeks or so we'll be living in the Financial District in downtown Boston in a furnished apartment. After that we'll be looking for a permanent place to stay.
What kind of place are you looking for?
Well, primarily we're trying to find a place where our three closest communities will overlap the best--our neighborhood, our coworkers, and our church. We'd like something with 3+ beds, 2+ baths, a garage, and either a basement or a garage spot for a second car (so Patrick can have some space to work with his tools). It'd be nice if it were a less than 30 minute commute on public transit to the Kendall/MIT stop where Google is. A yard would also be nice. We're aware that finding all these things in a city might be tricky or impossible. However we're also confident that God will provide the right place for us.
Are you going to go to Redemption Hill Church?
(Redemption Hill Church is in the same network as our church here.) We're not sure because of the housing situation. The Boston metro area is large and depending on where we lived it could be a really long commute to Redemption Hill. It's hard to love and serve a community you don't live in--in college, both of us separately tried to be a part of churches 30-45 minutes away, and it's taxing. So we'll find some quality churches and settle down somewhere within reasonable distance to one of them.
When can we hang out?
We're going to plan a couple going away parties here in Clemson, so if you live in this area hopefully you can make it to one of those. If you live in Fort Mill or Columbia, we hope we can fit all of you in during the next few weeks! Also you are welcome to plan a trip to Boston to come visit us.
