It has been a rough few months. Things haven’t been going well here in Florida, so my husband and I have decided it’s time to relocate. He’s getting out of the military and will then be going to school. That school is in Houston. That’s where we’re heading.

I STILL haven’t found a job down here (the one I had lined up – we didn’t get the contract), and it’s been…difficult. I’m thankfully able to have some sort of an income thanks to a law making it possible for me to draw unemployment. It’s just been one setback after another down here. Today we got knocked down to one vehicle (for the time being) thanks to a woman not paying any attention while driving. And of course it’s supposedly my husband’s fault. Whatever. Long story short, we’re so done with this place.

We also haven’t had much of an opportunity to go out and MEET people down here. Back in Little Rock we have a wonderful group of friends from all backgrounds – here, not so much. We’ve made a couple, but it’s not like it was back there. We have a lot of friends in Texas, so we will have a support system there as well.

I’m staying positive, though. I’m already looking at houses and job prospects in Houston. I’m hopefully going to get back into doing research. I honestly love it and I feel like I’m contributing. Don’t get me wrong, forensics is wonderful and I felt like I was doing some good (fighting crime!), but research gives me the opportunity to learn new processes and methods, contribute to the scientific community, etc. I wholeheartedly cannot wait to return to that field. I’ve already started applying, I just hope that something will pan out from it. Maybe while I do that I can actually take some classes and start the process for applying to graduate school.

TL;DR: Living near the beach is wonderful, but the trade off hasn’t been worth it. We’re ready to move closer to our friends and have a support network!