I agree. This is not helicopter parenting. This is clearly abuse.

I do, too. However there have been changes to the tenure and college system that has made it possibly a very unstable job for us to move that far for. Does that make sense? I'm not sure how public schools are affected, and some of the tech schools are affected less (we were turned down for one that likely had a billion candidates), but it does worry me right now. If you search in WI news, you'll see some of what I'm talking about. That's where I'm from. :) Jobs are hard to find in dh's field, though. And I'd be really close to family which I guess is both good and bad. ;) Alas, the life of academia...

At first I thought well, maybe the mother was turning them against the father and so while the children should NOT have been taken away, maybe that should be addressed. But, really, the way the father is handling this just from my own experiences as a child and parent say there is something going on with him, too, and maybe the kids should be believed somewhat. Serious dysfunction here, but that's what counseling is for, not a freaking children's home!!

Would you mind me asking good areas of Nebraska you'd recommend? Ones that aren't too dry or flat? Dh has driven through on the way to CA and told me no way, but I told him that's certainly not the whole state. It's huge! I super puffy heart love WI, but the teaching climate there is somehow worse than here. :/ We were very disappointed that we did not make a finalist for a job application we had in there this year.

:lol: I wouldn't pass up a house because of wallpaper. But it is a pain to remove.

It's funny. It's a joke, guys, but some valid points. ;)

With kids that young, I'd pick one or two things to do a month, at most.

That is fascinating. We've seen quite a few positions overseas, but with pets, no savings, and 5 kids it just doesn't seem doable. Maybe Canada? ;) I would *love* to live overseas for awhile and give the kids that chance.

Cut off age? Whatever, adults should go, too! It makes me sad to have people delegate Trick or Treating or Halloween as a kids holiday. Let everyone have fun!

No townhouses, and I've lived in a neighborhood where our ice cream guy was shot and killed, so I think I'll pass on bad neighborhoods. ;) I hope you find something! That's an awful situation to be in. :/ Well, I'm about one class away from graduation for a BA/BS and dh has a MS, so I think that's covered! I guess I should start a separate post, but I'm going to try search again. Everything I search for Western NY comes up for places with similar names in Virginia. Anyone have an opinion on Western NY? Ny taxes look really high, but I'm in IL, so it can't be *that* much worse, right?

Phew! I'm saying it right. Doesn't look like it. :/ Well, there may be a place for us in Western NY. We'll find out about a week from today. That was late and very welcomed news.

My hometown. ;) I can't find jobs there, though. :/ Plus there's the being by my family. Both positive and negative... He would have to go back to school which we have neither the money or time (with teaching) for. I've tried to convince him. As it is he teaches more than half dual enrollment classes full of high schoolers so does double the grade reporting, evaluations, etc. anyway. Ok, so how should I say it? LOL

I went to Oregon last year and now I'm curious how badly I say Oregon... Ivy Tech? Because we've watched the state (between our families) for over a decade and the Tech colleges all require a Phd (except one close to where we live now). The only jobs we find are adjunct positions that pay pennies. We have copperheads and cottonmouths here, too, apparently. Luckily not many. But I wuv the bobcats and cougars, so not an issue. I'd move to KY in a heartbeat if there were jobs for us. That's where my family is from. :/ That's what I've heard. It's bad here, too, which is one reason we're moving. College. MS degree. He's worked for this time, but there's basically been a pay freeze so we make barely more than when he started this job in 2008 and goodness knows inflation hasn't frozen. But his job is rocky with enrollment down, layoffs, etc. When we looked at CA for teaching jobs the highest one paid $70k in Oceanside. :huh: We couldn't afford a shoebox for that. The problem is an oversaturation in academia, especially dh's field right now, so there can be hundreds of applicants for each job since only a handful open up each year. I love Chattanooga but we never heard back after applying there this year. We actually have an offer from Knoxville, but the pay is low and they won't tell us things like salary advancement so it's not looking good. I'm from a very big city and spent my summers outside of NYC. :) I could live outside a mediumish town if I had to, but I much prefer college town size and not metropolis. They claim all of those are here, too, but we never see them. A friend a few miles away killed a bunch of cottonmouths on her new land. I won't kill snakes, but I will run the other direction and never leave my house again. And yes, a dear friend is a herpetologist at a zoo, I know they're usually fine, but nope. Love Virginia. We applied for one job we found there this year. I've been to Santa Fe and Albuquerque and I just really can't do desert. I much prefer the lack of humidity, but I just could not live there. I love thunderstorms and rain and greenery.

My hands have been swollen so I haven't knit much lately, but I feel the itch. I'll try to pop in. :)

I understand. I've found Duolingo (free), watching shows/movies in French (check the audio options! Lots have it!), and reading kids books in French helps. My accent sucks after years of not being used, but I can fake it through some picture books. Galore Park has excellent French resources, too, btw. I've been less than pleased with many we've tried, but that one has been a winner. I'd worry about grammar after conversation. Breaking the Barrier has an iBook interactive version now, as well. I'm not sure about experiences around you. We have nothing of the sort.

I had some really horrible CO experiences, so I'm a little biased. Plus, it's way too expensive for us. :) I'd love Spokane. I'll admit I'm one of those pathetic people who always forgets Idaho is a state.

Used to live there. :) Actually we're waiting to hear back from a job there. We just drove out to interview. But no word yet. :( We had to turn down the first because the pay was so low. And it's such a huge city and growing! Pay is low but we're waiting to hear back from one (two turned us down already). I know what you're talking about and it's very sad.

I actually think OK is beautiful. But my friend by OKC is pretty much constantly shook up by the quakes. That scares me! The tornado threat doesn't scare me so long as I have a shelter. NH sounds great, and I like snow and cold. But I'm worried about COL there. :/ I'll keep an eye on it!

For a number of reasons, we've been searching for a new teaching job for dh for a few years. Three years of grueling job searches, applications (like a 16 page monster paper for one application in specific), and travel at our expense has taken a toll. So we've decided to branch out a bit in our range of where we should or can live. Dh is now more accepting of things like winter and snow which helps out quite a bit. ;) So while I'm sitting here depressed at what may be another job search failure year, I figured I'd ask for you to spam me your favorite places. It makes it easier to watch job openings like a hawk in a few selected areas as going through the listings for every single place in dh's industry every single week all year gets old fast. My biggest criteria: Homeschooling friendly. I can probably deal with NY but no way am I dealing with ND. Not Illinois. Non-negotiable. Has to have community colleges (this pretty much rules out IN) I really don't like large cities over 150,000 or so people. But I'm ok within an hour of that. Violin lessons! A must! Kids activities like museums or co-ops or arts or something No desert. Nope. Not so flat that a landfill is a mountain. Has to be affordable. One teacher's salary, so think right above the poverty limit with no savings. CA pretty much is ruled out here, and a lot of the west and New England. There's no way we could afford even a house over $100k if that gives you a better idea. I want at least 2 acres of land. I've been trying for over a decade here, so I can't budge far on this one. I prefer rural with access to things within half an hour. Not a ridiculously high crime rate, please. Bonus points for: Less deadly wildlife. I like to go outside without worrying too much about dying. The rare rattlesnake or black bear is probably not an issue. Alligators and 800 kinds of poisonous snakes are. I like to walk barefoot and wander. I'm a southern Midwesterner, so spoiled here. Forest. Preferably a lot of deciduous trees, too. Not tropical. I hate heat (actually I get hives in the heat because of an autonomic nervous system issue), but will deal unless it's prolonged. No major crazy environmental issues like contaminated water from coal tar spills or fracking, if possible. Right now the only absolute no states dh and I have agreed on are: CA, AZ, CO, ND, SD, IL, IN, FL, TX, NJ. TIA :)

Small world! I love it there. That's where my heart is. Alas, that's not where the jobs are. :/

Just east of there, yes. :) Thank you for responding! I did hear about the college pathway. That's a great idea and will definitely be helpful for us with no extra income. :) The co-op sounds good. I'm just not willing to sign religious requirements and prefer secular science materials. That was an issue here for us. I have friends in Nashville, and family up all over near the Williamsburg, KY area, but nobody to talk to near Knoxville, so this has been frustrating.

We have a job offer about 40 minutes west of Knoxville, TN. I have some concerns over the area, and I was wondering if anyone who lives/lived there could help me out? My family is from just north of the border in KY, so I understand the Appalachian culture, first of all. :) The actual town we live in is negotiable provided it's less than 15 minutes or so from dh's work (PM me if you want to know exactly or just make a lucky guess). Homeschooling! I'm a little intimidated by TN requirements (I'm in IL right now!), but I think I can handle it. But I'm not finding many homeschool activities or groups outside of Knoxville proper and absolutely no secular resources in the entire area. This concerns me. Any idea if Google-fu has failed me and there really are secular resources west of town or even in Knoxville? I don't mind inclusive. I just would rather it be secular. Suzuki violin/Youth orchestra *affordable* options-especially in the 'burbs. This is non-negotiable for us moving. Those roads! I am so used to driving in the plains now that I'm a little terrified of all the steep windy roads. And there's nowhere to go for walks through town or the country or ride your bike in safety that I'm finding. When we went there that concerned me the most. We're outdoorsy and have one vehicle, so I'd really like to be able to take my kids for walks or bike rides to get out and it just doesn't look possible. Economy-not real excited about moving back to coal towns with pollution issues, but how is the economy actually doing here? State issues-how's the economy for real? How's education in the state right now (colleges)? How are taxes? This is one reason we're moving with IL's education and budget woes. Anything else I should know?

Honestly, I think it's in bad taste. But I guess that's what HOI is for. ETA: I have never ever ever seen someone file a HOI claim for an injury at another person's house so it's so far out of my understanding that I would put this in the "asking to end a friendship and never be invited to another person's house ever" category of friendship activity, but that's just my area and culture. I agree it depends on the circumstances of the fall, too. Was it the homeowner's fault? That's where I'd say it's definitely understandable. I know my deductible is high, so paying that would literally mean I couldn't feed my kids for half a year. Things like this make me not want anyone ever to step on my property.

Did anyone mention Brinner? Omelets, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, you name it. The only time we really ate meat growing up was if we ate out on rare occasions (and then it was in chili), so I'm often confused by places people put meat (gravy? spaghetti????). It just wasn't economic and my Mom didn't much like meat. So I recommend thinking of meat as an ingredient like a spice or a side instead of the main course. I'm not sure what to say about picky males who don't get filled by anything other than meat. I think that will be the final nail in the financial coffin here, too. Some ideas that my carnivore dh and ds love: Spanakopita Lasagna Brinner Pasta bakes Fish of any sort if you're just trying to cut down on beef & poultry Taquitos with beans and avocado dipping sauce Bean chimichangas Quinoa pilafs Split pea soup French onion soup Vegetable soup/Veggie Irish Stew with homemade wheat bread Baked beans with deviled eggs and honeyed carrots on the side White beans with sweet corn cake Pizza Veggie burgers Latkes (try beet ones, too!) Matzoh Ball soup I have a veggie board here: https://www.pinterest.com/mommymilkies/vegetarian-meals/

I see it the same as sending to someone of any other religion. We have one relative who would send us things like this knowing we were Jewish in times of crisis and even follow up with smug phone calls about the prayers for us and if we "received the message." It was very insulting and definitely made us distance from certain people. If someone does not know my religious leanings, I'll forgive it. If they do and knowingly go out of their way to shove it in my face, I will just cut contact until I feel things can be discussed respectfully. Luckily that has only happened to me once or twice as an adult.