[Naturella]

@crazy4cats , thank you! And you know, my husband was born in NYC, but raised in Lacey, by Olympia, WA, so he has a soft spot for that state and now I do too – because of him, because of Gray’s Anatomy, and because of its innovation level, some liberties that are unavailable in other states, and I hear there is a lot of undeveloped, relatively cheap land outside of Seattle that is up for grabs! 😉 So we would definitely consider that – the main thing though is to find:
a. really good ceramics residencies and graduate ceramics programs for the husband to attend;
b. a university staff/administration type of job for myself (should be relatively easy – whatever school hubs decides to go to, I will apply for a job at, and at nearby universities too);
c. good “living conditions” – lots of inexpensive land, so we can build a mostly eco-friendly house and a ceramics studio, and have us a nice garden and grow some fruits and veggies, and have some chickens, dogs, and kiddos, all while not being totally in the wilderness.
So yeah… We will see which state will give us the most on the list… Compromise will be required I’m sure… But hope Washington wins! If not, Maine is apparently also an option (yay for lobster! lol) as it has a good ceramics program somewhere in there. 🙂

@Dori , true – I would still probably keep track of the temperatures too, as theBCnut suggested. And wow, this is so cool, that you have moved a lot! Where did you live before the ol’ GA? And I actually do not mind the warmth… Maybe not the scalding, humid heat of GA that makes you feel that you enter a sauna when you step outside, but I am not a huge fan of the cold, and I know that in all the places we could go, it will be way colder than in GA, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to TRY to make for the greater good of everyone, lol.