Omaha

I have been putting off this post for a while, because I haven't wanted to face the reality, but here it is. We have moved to Omaha.

Fabio called me back in June and told me with excitement that he had an interview with the IRS. I was ecstatic!

"Wow, honey! The IRS. Your dream job!"

"I know!" he said. "But there's a catch. The job is in Omaha."

My heart dropped. "You applied for a job in Omaha?! Why would you do something like that?"

I won't go into the details of the rest of the conversation, but I will give you some background on why we are not as crazy as we sound.

Yes, Fabio had a new, but flourishing practice in Seattle. We recently set up offices in Gig Harbor and Seattle. He just received new letterhead, business cards and envelopes. However, owning his own practice is not what Fabio has always wanted. After applying for job after job after job in Seattle and not having a bite, he felt it necessary to make a job for himself. Just like everything else he does, the solo practice he created to give himself experience was successful. However, he was constantly worried about the kind of liability he had. There were weeks where he didn't get one promising phone call from a prospective client. We spent many weekends and weeknights at the office trying to stay on top of the work. For the most part, he really enjoyed his flexible schedule and the challenges that come with owning your own business, but again, it was something he created out of necessity. If necessary, he would have continued growing the practice and I'm sure he would have enjoyed many aspects of it.

In March, Fabio became a U.S. citizen. His citizenship made it possible for him apply for a myriad of federal jobs. Being a tax lawyer, this meant he could apply for jobs with the IRS. Apparently, he applied for federal jobs all over the country. I say "apparently" because I didn't find this out until after he got an interview in Omaha! He wasn't being sneaky. I knew he was applying for federal jobs. I just assumed they were in Seattle. However,there just aren't many government jobs advertised externally in Seattle. Two months after he started flooding the government with his resume, he got a call from Chicago and Omaha to interview to be an appeals officer for the IRS. The Omaha office offered him a job a few weeks after his interview.

Most young tax lawyers (especially lawyers who have an LLM in tax) will tell you that working for the IRS would be a dream. Perks of this job include amazing benefits for the whole family for basically peanuts, great pension, predictable and steady income with consistent raises and promotions, 40 hour work weeks, every federal holiday off and he never has to work weekends. Oh, and best of all...we only have to pay 10% of our income every month for 10 years, and then his student loans (all six figures) will be forgiven. Man, public service rocks.

We flew to Omaha last at the end of June so Fabio could meet with his future boss and co-workers and to look for an apartment. We left Omaha feeling that moving there was the right decision for us. Fabio's boss and co-workers were amazing. They were friendly, welcoming and personable. Fabio left feeling peaceful and feeling that he could be challenged, learn from these people and enjoy their company. We found a PERFECT apartment near a park and stream and walking path. It's in a lovely neighborhood with malls, grocery stores, restaurants and gyms just a few minutes walk away. Fabio will have a minimal commute of 7 miles, and we will have a lot of space in our 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment!

I was offered a job today (yes, the day after we pulled into town...more on that later), and so I also have a purpose here. YAY! It's hot, it's humid, but we're happy about this phase in life and know we'll have lots of adventures ahead. I'm very proud of Fabio and am excited to support him in something he has always wanted to do.

Keep checking back for more posts on our trip out here and my new job!