The Next Chapter

[xjchad]

Hey Guys!
I'm sorry I haven't replied or been on the board much.  Life has been crazy as you can all attest to.  I've been extra busy at work as well as a lot of other stuff going on.

I wanted to give an update.
I've grown up in southern California as has my wonderful wife.  We've been blessed with 6 amazing children.  We are a single income family and my wife has the tougher job of being home all day homeschooling the kids and everything else.
I've been at my current job for 6 years as an engineer with a company that manufactures auto suspension components.  The company is amazing and I can't imagine finding someplace with a better atmosphere, leadership, and coworkers.  The company is growing, and looks to have a bright future and that includes me having a possibility of growing with it.
The problem for us is that I'm the sole breadwinner since my wife is crazy busy with the kids and homeschooling, etc.
Cost of housing, living, etc. are becoming very discouraging for us.  We live in an apartment with a small patio as the only area for the kids to be outside.  The neighborhood is not good either.  We want nothing more than to own a home (it doesn't need to be big, just with a decent yard for the kids to run and play).  My boss keeps saying that the opportunities with this company will pay off big, but that doesn't help us now and our current income is barely getting us by.
Please don't take this as complaining, I try really hard to just be thankful for what we do have, and I consider myself a very blessed man.

Well after a few years of us looking at options as well as trying to find a job in other states, this pandemic and everything else going on in the country has pushed us harder than ever to consider our options and find a way to get out of CA.  I don't know what the future holds, but with all that is going on I've become more certain that if things get worse, CA is the last place I want to raise my family.  My wife and I started looking again and talking seriously with my brother/sister in law.  They are of the same mind and he was able to get approval from his company to go full remote, allowing him to move where ever he'd like.  We wanted to try to stay on the western half of the US to be within driving distance of our families that are here and considered many options.  We've been praying like crazy for direction and opportunities.

My company currently has two employees (our marketing guys) that live and work out of Coeur d'Alene, ID.  So I did my research and put together a proposal for my boss to request to transfer up there with them.  I was not hopeful that this would be considered, much less approved, so my back up plan is in the works as well.  I've updated my resume and I'm working on getting it out there to see what other jobs might be available. 

I made my pitch a couple of weeks ago and yesterday he finally gave me approval to make the move!!

I still can't believe he approved it!  We're so excited!  I'm not sure of the timeline yet, but I'm going to try to get at least one more shark before we move.  I'll probably start selling/trading my saltwater gear for freshwater, haha!

[Latimeria]

Holy cow Chad!  I remember when you were going through this a few years ago.  Well, congrats and good luck with everything! Keep us posted here even if you are not in the area anymore.  Definitely get a few more shark trips in before you go and congrats again!

[sasquatch]

Hey man, good luck. Lots of room for the kids in Idaho.

[Fish Jerk]

Best wishes with the move and think of us and all the sharks that will be missing you as you catch bluegills. 

[BenCantrell]

Keep some of the heavy gear for those monster sized white sturgeon! Best of luck with the move!

[vdisney]

Wow.........I remember the first time we met in Valencia.  You were commuting from Lancaster to Carp.  Seems like a life time ago, gonna miss you brother.  I pray all goes well for you and yours, good luck my friend

[xjchad]

Holy cow Chad!  I remember when you were going through this a few years ago.  Well, congrats and good luck with everything! Keep us posted here even if you are not in the area anymore.  Definitely get a few more shark trips in before you go and congrats again!

Thanks Tom! I'll be sure to post my fish reports here once I get set up and start fishing up there.  I'll still be focusing on toothy critter, pike and musky are my next targets! 

Hey man, good luck. Lots of room for the kids in Idaho.

Thanks Steve!  I'm most excited about the opportunities for the kids!

Best wishes with the move and think of us and all the sharks that will be missing you as you catch bluegills. 

Thanks Ron!  MONSTER bluegills! LOL!

Keep some of the heavy gear for those monster sized white sturgeon! Best of luck with the move!

Thanks Ben!  Might have to hit you up for tips on getting my species list going!

Wow.........I remember the first time we met in Valencia.  You were commuting from Lancaster to Carp.  Seems like a life time ago, gonna miss you brother.  I pray all goes well for you and yours, good luck my friend

Thank you Verne!  Gonna miss you too!  Thanks for all you've helped me out with over the years!


I'm gonna miss all you guys, but I'll keep up on this board and maybe get to time my vacation out here with Bat Fight some years!

[Tim524]

 Congrats and good luck Never say what if, just go with your gut and it will work out for the best

[1morecast]

Wishing you the best with the location. Keep those cool reel repair post coming!