After a few days of tough deliberation, Emily and I have decided to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico.I was offered a spot in an M.A. program, as well as a teaching assistantship, at the University of New Mexico. It's pretty exciting because this is one of the top programs in my field in the country. I wasn't even sure if I would get in, let alone get a TA'ship.
Even though this is a great program, it was not my top choice among those that I applied. I tried for a Ph.D. position at the University of Washington, but I was not accepted. Because I was competing against people who already had their M.A.s, I knew I would have a tough time getting in but decided I might as well give it a shot. The good news is, because of a web colleagues between UW and UNM, there is a good chance that this move will help me get in to that program in two years (that is, if Emily and I don't fall in love with Albuquerque in the meantime and decide to stick around for a few more years while I finish up there).
This decision wasn't very easy. Although the program is great, we were a little unsure of the location. Em and I love the idea of living in the Pacific Northwest - a major reason that UW was so appealing. I got accepted in to a program at the University of Montana in Missoula, which has tons of appeal. I still haven't heard back from Colorado State or Portland State.
After some research, we came to the conclusion that Albuquerque actually looks pretty sweet. There are several aspects of the city that match our lifestyle, and there are a lot of job opportunities for Emily. We both have also been wanting to brush up on our Spanish, and this will be a perfect opportunity. The location of the city is pretty awesome. We will be within a few hours drive from Denver, the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, Red Rocks and, our favorite, the national parks of Utah. The combonation of being so close to Utah and the caliber of the program is probably what sealed the deal. Well, that and a video that we found while reading about the city. I'll attach it to the blog in case you want to watch it. It's pretty good, and I'm hoping it will get everyone who sees it fired up to come and visit us. Enjoy.....
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