I'm back after a short slumber.

[jenznat0r]

Couldn't really sleep tonight, as a lot is on my mind. I won't get too personal with the internet, but I figured I got some great advice I actually took last time I was on here. Figured I'd asked for it again.

Since I posted my "Possibly moving to Colorado and have LOTS of questions" thread, I had a long chat with my wife whether or not we should move back to Colorado. The general consensus was no, and that we were going to try and fight to stay here.

The gun laws are great here compared to Colorado, but I don't think I need to preach that argument.

I made the heavy decision to try and switch academic programs from majoring in history at a private religious university, to moving my family 75 miles south to a state-run university where they had a great Paralegal Studies program. The university I was at had a policy where if you are past a certain amount of credits, you can't change your major. Hence the switch. The decision was not easy for myself and my family, and I had to take a step backwards going from a Bachelor's to an AA. However, the distance was short enough that the move would be in-state and that it might be a fresh start for us.

I wish I could say things are going great for me, but academically nothing has really changed. I'm having the same problems here as I did at my last school. I don't want to get too candid, but I've suspected over the years I possibly might have a learning disability and that some of my issues stem from this. I finally humbled myself to get tested. I did just that a couple days ago here in Idaho, but the evaluator who did it won't have the final results for about 3 weeks.

My poor success in school has just made me want to consider folding the cards and just find a good entry-level career I can build into, or a great trade I can apprentice in. I tried my hand at networking out here in the gunsmithing industry in Idaho, but with little success. Most people out here don't want to take on someone and take the time to train them. I'm passionate about firearms, and would love somehow to get my foot in the door in the industry. But it's looking like it might not happen here.

All this has compounded the fact that I've somewhat put my immediate family on an emotional rollercoaster. My wife loves me and openly says she supports me, but I think that support is waning as of late. I know my wife wants stability, and we are lacking that right now. She brought up the idea again of moving back to Colorado today so we can be closer to her family and not be totally isolated in this state, but to do that would mean taking several steps back in the progress we've made as a family independently. Here in Idaho we have our own place, we have health insurance, we make our own decisions and family isn't nearby to tell us what do do. However, I know my wife is suffering inside because she severely misses her family and childhood friends back in Colorado. I've seen her cry at night alone because she isn't happy here. We moved away in 2017, and we've tried to make it work out in Idaho with mixed success. My 2 young children are too young to really have it impact them. To move back would mean living with family temporarily again, losing our health insurance, and no actual prospect of jobs waiting for us. Just a general hope of living in a more populated state that there are going to be a lot more opportunities. My wife has her CNA license that was transferred from Colorado (she just renewed it), so she has some opportunity to work as well if need be.

I guess I'm at a crossroads again and just would love some input. If you were me, regardless of laws and firearms ownership, would you uproot your family again in the interest of making your wife happy and maybe gaining some family support at the cost of perhaps logistically starting all over, or would you fight it out and stay in Idaho?

Input appreciated.

[Great-Kazoo]

crunch the numbers, what's more affordable?

Then crunch the emotional toll numbers. what's more important?


if she want's to return to CO, is there any of her family that will put you up or help until you get settled?

[BushMasterBoy]

Take a piece of paper. Draw a vertical line down the middle. At the top put Pros & Cons. Fill in the list. Then decide.

[davsel]

Your wife will move back to Colorado - with or without you.
Your choice.

[ChickNorris]

Your wife will move back to Colorado - with or without you.
Your choice.

A hard truth.

[jenznat0r]

crunch the numbers, what's more affordable?

Then crunch the emotional toll numbers. what's more important?


if she want's to return to CO, is there any of her family that will put you up or help until you get settled?

The cold, hard fact is that we'd be going from a massive basement apartment in someone's house with all utilities included for 850....to living with her grandparents in Aurora either in their RV temporarily or in two empty rooms in an already "doubled-up" house. My mother and father-in-law live in the basement, and the house is tiny as-is. That or we'd stay with my brother-in-law in Deer Trail. It's a rough prospect indeed. Not much cushion in this "fall back" plan. We have some savings, but not a ton.

However, I get from the other posts my wife has pretty much already made up her mind. It's just how in the heck it's all going to come down.

Even back on the somewhat-related topic of firearms, I'm going to have to take all my magazines to a gunsmith and have them pinned so they'd be compliant in your state. That, or shuffle around what I have and scramble to find compliant mags. Everything I have is 15+. Everything I bought was out here in Idaho and well...I didn't think I'd ever leave here. I love Idaho, but not enough to risk my family's future.

Even if we move, it's not going to happen until May. So I guess I have some time to plan.

[jenznat0r]

A hard truth.

It is. I love it out here, but my wife doesn't.

[Martinjmpr]

However, I get from the other posts my wife has pretty much already made up her mind. It's just how in the heck it's all going to come down.

Maybe sit down and crunch numbers with the wife so she understands just how deep of a financial hole you're going to be in if you move here.

Don't get me wrong, I love it here on the Front Range but I have a good paying job and own a house. The prospect of having to pay $1600 - $2500 monthly to rent a place with 2 bedrooms would be enough to make me seriously reconsider unless I already had a good paying job lined up. Rent is HIGH in the Metro area and it's only going up.

Maybe take a look at Colorado Springs or Pueblo, they have a somewhat lower cost of living, but still likely to be much higher than where you are now.

Even back on the somewhat-related topic of firearms, I'm going to have to take all my magazines to a gunsmith and have them pinned so they'd be compliant in your state. That, or shuffle around what I have and scramble to find compliant mags. Everything I have is 15+. Everything I bought was out here in Idaho and well...I didn't think I'd ever leave here. I love Idaho, but not enough to risk my family's future.

Oh, Geez don't waste your time and money doing that. CO law (CRS 18-12-302) specifically says that as long as you owned the magazine on 7/1/13 and maintained "continuous possession" of it you can keep your high capacity mags (CRS 18-12-302) (2) (a) .

[Gman]

If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. The wife could probably get some help with the kids from family if you live closer.

I wouldn't worry about what your major is in. Just get it done. As I got older I understood what a game having a degree is. Employers for the most part really don't care what your degree is in, just that you have one. I run across people all the time in the tech industry that have degrees that have nothing to do with tech. Employers primarily want to know that you stuck to it and completed it.

[davsel]

Agree - don't be concerned with your major. Aside from engineering, the majority of people I work with in the tech industry do not have degrees that match their job. Project Management is an easy cert to get along with a degree of your choice, and is in high demand.

If you're still young enough, consider enlisting - set you and your family up for life if you so choose.