Awww Toke came back to say goodbye! Now I'm all sad too because she clearly loves you, Steph. Good kitty

You gotta stay on top of those talking sheep. Good of Toke to come back with such an important message.

But what do the talking sheep MEAN

I don't even KNOW, y'all. But I had a big-ass katana, so that was cool.

I am slightly panicked about this Idaho thing, and I'm in that state of mind where I'm working myself into more of a panic the more I think about it.

(Possible job offer for my husband in Idaho, for those of you not following Natter.)

There's a lot that's good. It's a big self-esteem boost for my husband, who's been out of work since August, to be pursued so vigorously. It's around a 15% bump in salary, relocation covered, great vacation and benefits. (Presumably it has to be, to get people to move to Idaho.)

I would probably not be able to get a job there, unless something opens up at the same place hiring him, which is somewhat of a possibility. I'd have to find long-distance work of some kind. It would get me out of this job, which is a positive.

It's far from family, again. My god, the crap I'm going to take from my mother. But it's 2 hours from a major airport hub. So it's not totally isolated.

I'm just torn. I was totally against it before he talked to them today, but there are so many positives, especially for him.

Man, that's a lot to think about, Dana. Preemptive hair pats for the costs incurred either way.

But what do the talking sheep MEAN

I'm gonna say societal pressure to conform trying to be a voice in your head telling what to do

Dana, I've never been to Idaho, but I do have a couple of thoughts:

How big is the difference in cost of living? Would the 15% increase in salary, plus or minus any changes in the cost of living, compensate for a possible decrease in your income?

Also, two hours from an airport may actually be pretty isolated. I grew up about two hours (by car) from O'Hare Airport, with a bus running regularly between the town and the airport. There were other, smaller airports with regular passenger service closer to home. Flying somewhere was a Very Big Deal, at least until I went to college. Now, I don't know how much of that feeling was distance, vs. economics, vs. family culture, vs. other factors that may not be coming to my mind right now.

The cost of living is slightly less.

The increase in his salary would definitely not allow me to live as a woman of leisure, but I have no idea how long it would take to find a long-distance writing or editing job.

It's two hours from a major airport; the town does have its own airport, thankfully. It's pretty much the same situation we had when we lived in Washington State, where you have to make a connection to go anywhere. That irritated me. We would be in the Mountain time zone, though, so the time loss flying east wouldn't be as severe.

It's two hours from a major airport;

If it's one of the two towns I suspect, there are regular air shuttles to said major airport. Are you thinking of two hours at 55 mph or two hours at the usual 85-90 mph people drive on that stretch of freeway?

Checking the mileage, it's definitely not two hours at the speed limit. A shuttle wouldn't be too bad, though.