Life in Utah

Tomorrow will mark two weeks of living in Utah so far. I have to say this place has so far greatly exceeded my expectations. Though the weather hasn’t been incredibly conducive of skiing with little snow in the past month and temperatures well into the sixties the past few days, I have managed to eek out four days on the slopes between “Snowbird”:http://www.snowbird.com, “Alta”:http://www.alta.com, and “The Canyons”:http://www.thecanyons.com. With four ski resorts within a 30 minute drive, I find myself getting spoiled and picky about the days I choose to ski even though I have a season pass to Alta and Snowbird now. Some storms are predicted for this weekend, so hopefully the conditions will improve soon.

So far the gamble of moving to a new place with only the things I could carry in my car, 1,500 miles away from home, has paid off. For those of you who didn’t know, I monitored the rooms for rent postings on “Craigslist”:http://www.craigslist.org for a while before calling up a poster who is now my roommate. The house I’m living in sits atop a mountain at 6,500 ft, about 2,000 ft off the valley floor with a stunning view of “Mt. Timpanogos”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbachus/377794978/, “Utah Valley”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbachus/377794978/, and “Utah Lake”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbachus/377795025/. Since it is on top of a mountain, it is somewhat isolated, but it’s just about a ten minute drive to the valley where everything is extremely convenient.

The layout of the cities and the transportation systems serving them have made getting to know the area much easier. All streets in the county are set up on a grid system so finding where an address refers to is extremely simple. For example, 35 E 11400 S would be just east of State St. (the divider between E and W) on 11400 S (or 114th South). Interchanges between the interstate and major arterials are controlled by “Single Point Urban Interchanges (SPUIs)”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Point_Urban_Interchange which are incredibly effective in pushing traffic through intersections. The traffic alleviation methods used apparently work, since at rush hour the worst traffic I’ve been in has been a decrease in speed to 40mph for two miles on the interstate.

The biggest challenge so far has been meeting people. I came here not knowing a single person in the area and haven’t improved much on that over the past two weeks. Now that I’m more or less settled in, I’m going to have to make a conscious effort to meet people. I’m planning on going to a networking event for fellow geeks tomorrow night, and I’m reaching out to old acquaintances and people with similar interests, so we’ll see how it goes.

The Journey to Utah

Last Wednesday I set out on a long drive from Waco, TX to Salt Lake City, UT. After having lunch with my parents and saying my goodbyes to everyone, I set out with my car full of all possessions I would be taking and headed west. The drive was pretty long and boring, especially through Texas, but I just put my iPod on shuffle and drove. I only made it to Amarillo by the end of the first day, after about 7 hours on the road. I stayed at a La Quinta on the west side of town and got up early the next day to make it the rest of the 13 hours remaining in my trip. New Mexico, along I-40, was pretty nice with plenty of red rock formations to keep the view interesting and then the descent into Albuquerque was pretty. The western edge of New Mexico, near Arizona, was pretty desolate and ugly, but once I got to Cortez, Colorado the scenery improved. Finally there were mountains on the horizon and trees in the landscape. From there, I made my way to Monticello, Utah which was absolutely beautiful and then up to Moab, Utah which was even more breathtaking. Moab is located between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park with some of the most amazing rock formations in the country. Past Moab and onto I-70 the landscape changed once again into shrub desert which wasn’t very appealing. Night fell when I arrived in Price, Utah and then I had to navigate a winding mountain pass with 18-wheelers speeding by as fast as they could go. Finally I made it to Spanish Fork, then headed up to Lehi where I got a little lost until I found the way up the mountain and to my new home.

Don’t forget to breathe…

Friday was my last day working at UT and I’ve started making preparations for the big move. I have finally found a place to live; I’ll be renting a room in a house in Draper, Utah. The guy that owns the house, my future roommate, seems pretty cool and we’re both looking forward to taking advantage of all the outdoor activities the area has to offer. The house has an amazing view of Utah Lake and the mountains, and sits on the top of a mountain in between the Salt Lake City area and Provo/Orem area. Though not exactly the most convenient location for skiing, it is still within an hour of 9 resorts, and about 30 minutes away from 4.

This week I’ll be tying up any loose ends here in Austin and packing up to move next weekend. It’s going to a long drive up, about 24 hours, and hopefully I can fit everything in my car and not have to deal with towing a trailer. I should arrive just in time for the Sundance festival in Park City, so the area should be bustling with activities. I’ve also had some time to check out some new music this weekend and have been surprised how many concerts will be happening in the Salt Lake area over the next few months, so that should be fun.

I’ll keep you updated with my new, hopefully more interesting life over the next few months.

One More Week…

This week will be my last working at UT, so I’m liquidating some of my investments in preparation for the big move. I have really enjoyed my time here in Austin and have no regrets about coming here. Back in high school when I got accepted to Carnegie Mellon, I was unsure whether I would regret not going to one of the best “tech” schools in the country, but there’s no way I would have been able to accomplish what I have in Austin there in Pittsburgh. Except for the first year I was able to pay for college entirely myself without the use of debt, thanks to my employer’s generosity. I have met many incredible and amazing people professionally, academically, and personally, and hope these relationships continue in the future. My coworkers even planned a night out for my last day of work Friday, so we should have a pretty good going away party.

I’m starting to realize how unsure of what I want in life and how ambiguous my plans are for my immediate future. Only one thing is for sure right now — *life is about to get much more interesting*. Right now I’m going to plan for moving to Utah where I know I’ll enjoy the outdoor culture, the opportunity to try many different things, and to discover what truly makes me happy. My interview with meebo for last week was delayed but will take place this Wednesday. I really think it’s a great opportunity, but I don’t feel like the San Francisco Bay area is where I want to be at this point in my life. However, I have never even visited anywhere in California, so I’m definitely going to give it a chance and we’ll see if a visit is in order after this next interview. What it’s ultimately going to come down to is how well I mesh with the team and enjoy the work.

So right now I’m looking for a place to live. I’m looking to rent a room with some roommates ideally in the Park City, Midway, or Heber areas. There have been some good leads on Craigslist, but I haven’t called any yet, so this week I’ll need to call around and see what’s available. I want to be close to the ski resorts, and season passes in Park City are much more reasonable than the resorts in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. I also found “a place with great deals on ski equipment”:http://www.skitrucks.com in Salt Lake City that I’ll have to check out to get my first set of skis, boots, and poles on the cheap. This week I need to pack and decide what exactly I’m going to take with me. Since I don’t know where I’ll be staying permanently, I’m going to pack fairly lightly so I can remain mobile until I know exactly where I’m going to settle.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday break and new year’s celebration. I spent most of the time with my family in Waco and with friends in Austin. Among the highlights were seeing my family, ice skating at Whole Foods, seeing The Pursuit of Happyness, and buying a new car.

Who knows what 2007 will hold for me, but it will certainly be a change. A new car, a new lifestyle, and a new setting. My last day at work is January 12th and then I pack up and move to Utah. Life will be very spontaneous and risky for a while, moving to a new place, finding somewhere to live, and finally finding somewhere to work. Any stability or long term plans have been thrown out the window and I look forward to living for the moment.

Utah or California?

I thought that I had everything planned out before, but this job opportunity at meebo has made me have to re-evaluate everything and decide where I want to take my life in the next few years. I’ve been asked for a face-to-face interview (via web conference at this point) with meebo the first week in January, and of course I don’t want to stress over it too much until I know that I’m actually getting an offer, but I’ve started evaluating the options anyway.

Many people have asked me why I would want to move to Utah, and I though I have numerous logical reasons, every time I visited I just felt like I belonged there. No I’m not Mormon nor do I have family in Utah right now, but the area is tremendously beautiful with an unbeatable quality of life in my opinion. My main criterion for choosing a place to live is the quality of recreational opportunities, namely skiing and other winter sports. No, I’m not a talented skier, but I can say that skiing is probably the activity that makes me the most happy. So, that leaves mostly cities in the Western US. Most people would logically choose Denver, but every time I have visited I have not been impressed. The city is incredibly flat, there are very few trees, the city is enormous, so traffic is bad and the neighborhoods are very densely packed. It’s also more expensive, about 25% more than Austin. Denver is also an hour and a half away from even the closest ski resorts, making it difficult to ski without staying at a hotel in the mountains, negating any advantage of living near the slopes. Boise was another opportunity, but it is also very dry there with limited skiing very close by. Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, etc, are all way too expensive. Salt Lake City is right in a valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains with 8 ski resorts within an hour drive. Four resorts are just 10 miles from Salt Lake City’s suburbs. The cost of living is within 3% of Austin’s, there are a fair amount of trees, traffic isn’t as much of a problem, neighborhoods are pleasantly spacious, and the people seem more welcoming (Coloradoans seem to hate Texans and Californians and growth in general; in fact Denver was chosen to host the 1972 Olympics and rejected it). A light rail system makes downtown easily accessible, with several concert venues hosting touring acts. No there isn’t a huge bar or club scene, but I hate clubbing anyway. Job opportunities could be better, but there is a thriving software and technology industry mostly centered in the Provo/Orem area around BYU.

Now with the opportunity at meebo, I’ve had to contemplate possibly moving to the San Francisco Bay area. If there’s any city in the US that’s the polar opposite of Salt Lake City, it is probably San Francisco. Housing costs are the highest in the nation, taxes are astronomical, the population is extremely dense, traffic is horrendous, and the area is anti-growth with negative population growth. Skiing is three to four hours away in Lake Tahoe, and from what I have read, there are a good amount of recreational opportunities in the area. The only reason I would move here would be for a job, however. Job growth, with so many established technology companies and start-ups, would be the best of anywhere in the world. The cost of living in the San Jose area is about 110% what it is in Austin, however, and the housing bubble is beginning to pop there. The only way I could justify living there would be buying a house and then being able to sell it to take advantage of lower housing prices in other areas. At this point, there’s the risk of having to sell your home for less than you paid, not even covering the loan. I believe I would really enjoy my job, but I would likely be working at least 60 hours a week, so I’m not sure how much time I would have for other enjoyable things.

So I’m faced with the dilemma of moving somewhere for my career or for my life. I don’t doubt that I could find a job in Utah that I would love, but it wouldn’t be likely to hold the same prestige or salary as in California. I’m fairly certain that I would be happier in Utah, but I’ve never even been to California so I don’t know how accurate that is. Any thoughts?

I hate(d) school

Yes, now it is past tense! I finished my last exam last night, so school is pretty much all over. I still have a lousy Texas Government correspondence course to finish, but that should be quick and easy. Unfortunately, since my professor started taking forever to grade the assignments, delaying how quickly I could submit them, the grade won’t be in time to graduate officially this semester. That’s somewhat disappointing, but it is just a technicality, and considering the only class lacking is Texas Government and the fact that I’ll be leaving Texas shortly, I don’t think it will be too much of a problem.

So today I made it “official” by changing my status on Facebook from Undergrad to Alumnus. That felt good. I still haven’t received a single final grade for any of my classes, but hopefully those will come soon. I’m not too sure what most of the grades will come out to be, but I should be fine.

Maybe a change of plans…

There are only three companies that I said I would be willing to move to California to work for: meebo, Facebook, and Google. I have been lurking around the job sections of all three websites over the past few months and noticed meebo was hiring for a system administrator. As fate would have it, a friend got an email solicitation for resumes on his Stanford Alumni email list and forwarded it on suggesting that I apply. Since I haven’t started the job search full force yet, I quickly updated my resume, wrote up a cover letter, and submitted them this afternoon. This evening I got notice that they would like to give me a phone interview, so that will be happening Monday. I’m looking forward to it and hopefully my experience being a server administrator for free for so many years will pay off. I know I would really enjoy the startup environment and I think meebo, even though it is already a killer service, has a great deal of potential.

Of course, this completely goes against all my prior plans of moving to Utah in January. I’ll have to see how my interviews at meebo go before deciding anything, but maybe it will still be possible to realize both ambitions.

One More Exam

I had my Business Law exam today and it seemed to go pretty well; you never know with that class though. All I have left is my Management Science class exam Saturday night, then I’ll be completely done with college!

My family came to Austin Saturday and Sunday to attend my graduation ceremony Sunday morning. Luckily since I’m graduating in December the number of students was just about 170, so the ceremony was fairly short. I had my parents, my brother, two aunts, two uncles, and my grandmother come and my dad bought us all dinner at Pappadeaux Saturday night and then Berryhill for lunch Sunday. Everyone was very generous with gifts, especially my parents, who gave me a check to buy a new car with.

Now there’s only one month remaining before I move to Salt Lake City, but I still have to find a car and a place to live in the meantime. I found a good deal on a 4Runner in Salt Lake City that even when I broadened my search to the entire US still came out as the best deal, so I might fly there Monday to buy it and drive it back; of course, I would have to do some skiing on the way back. As far as the habitations go, I’m leaning toward renting out a room in someone’s house, ideally in Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, or somewhere else on Salt Lake City’s east bench. I’m keeping an eye on Craigslist for possibilities. That should allow me to keep costs low until I find a full time job and get a feel for where I’ll be working and evaluate where I might consider buying a home.

I should finally have time to get back to blogging, and I’ve decided to change the format of my entries to be much shorter so they don’t take so long to prepare. That should allow me to make more frequent postings and cover more topics.

A Month from Graduation

There are just 30 days left until I graduate from college and I really can’t wait. I’ve been suffering a bit of senioritis lately, making it hard to get motivated to complete the backlog of assignments I need to complete before the end of the semester.

A lot of people I know _don’t want_ to leave college, which I can understand for most students. I’ve been kind of masochistic in my college experience so I really didn’t enjoy it that much. Working around 35 hours a week, still taking a full load, and completing two majors in 3.5 years doesn’t leave you much free time for a social life. I have lived pretty comfortably and made plenty of money, though, and ended up paying for college and living expenses entirely myself after my first year.

People keep asking me what I plan to do after graduation. Well, I’m tired of sacrificing my happiness for money, a degree, etc, so I’m going to move to my favorite vacation spot, Utah, in mid-January to finish out the ski season as a ski bum. I may take a part time job to defray some expenses, but I’ve got some money saved up that should last me plenty of time to find a full-time job. I really don’t have time to recruit this semester, so I’m going to start applying shortly after graduation and then use Utah as my home base for interviewing since most of my desired careers are in the West and don’t recruit nationally. I’m also going to work on getting my private pilot’s license, another thing I’ve wanted to do but haven’t had the time for in Austin. Once the ski season ends, I should have a full time job and want to pursue some entrepreneurial ideas in my spare time. I’ve never really worked just 40 hours a week; in the summer when I didn’t have class, I would work 60 hours a week, so I’m going to need something to keep me busy with all that free time.

Most people I’ve talked to have been pretty supportive of me taking a few months of ‘retirement’, including my parents, but there are some that have issues with it. I think there are a lot of people that have sacrificed happiness for stability, income, etc. I don’t want to be the kind of person that realizes at age 45 that they haven’t done anything they wanted to in life. Maybe I’m blindly optimistic, but I hope that if I follow something that makes me happy, the money will come. We’ll see how it goes…

So if you want to go skiing next semester, I should have at least an open couch, and hopefully a spare bedroom to lend you. I’ll show you where the deep powder is.