Where we will be in 5 years has been a topic of conversation in our household as of late. We’re both 30 years old and have already reviewed our 30 things to do before 30 lists to see we haven’t crossed out as many things as we had thought. That said, there are certainly unexpected triumphs both of us could have never anticipated years ago. So here we are with our current topic- where will we be in 5 years?

Where are we going to be living?

Last winter as we went out to explore some local wineries and breweries in Western New York, we talked about the possibilities of opening a small boutique winery/brewery back in our hometown. That plan seemed to take more of a pipe dream reality as we started to budget for that project. We might also enjoy wine more as a hobby rather than a lifestyle. That hasn’t ended the idea of moving back up to Western New York though. The economy and job opportunities are nowhere near what they are down here, but there might always be a pull to go up and make something of ourselves in the area we spent the first 18 years of our lives.

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Main Street, Medina

However, Alexandria is our home right now, but thinking about buying a house seems like no easy task with real estate prices. This is definitely a draw to moving to a less expensive area, since the cost of a house isn’t the only thing that will fall on the cheaper side. Imagining a $100,000 home in our hometown being equivalent to a $2 million dollar home in our current area is tough to not consider. Even beyond these two locations, is there somewhere else that might present all the opportunities we’re looking for?

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Professional Life:

Being successful in our careers is very important to us, however what we want these careers to be is a big question. Al has a drive to teach and write, but does teaching need to be limited to the current education system? Writing allows for a greater range of careers, but the time in which to write is an issue if she is balancing another career.  I like the idea of public affairs or working with communities, but what does that even mean? Career opportunities might be endless in this field, especially around Washington, DC, but picking a cause to do this for can be complicated. Our current area is definitely a large draw professionally, since there seems to be a little bit of everything as  there are hundreds of other opportunities.

With all of the opportunities in the Washington, DC area is there something we can start in our hometown to create a similar situation that we could find down here?

Personal Life:

We have talked about the progression of our relationship over the course of the next few years, and also the idea that we would eventually like additions to our family. It’s hard to imagine moving away from this area and all the friends we’ve made, but the idea of raising children so far away from our family definitely impacts our train of thought.

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Scott holding his nephew, Jack

All of this being said, we love the area we live in. Even if it meant moving a little further outside of Alexandria to have the property we desire, it might be an easy decision to know we won’t be going far.

 

We’ve all had these conversations, some of you might be having the same ones we are right now. What other topics should be considered when making decisions like this?