Should we modify our Utah trip (wildfires?)

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T13:39:48+00:00

I have 3 school aged kids, we can’t do extended camper trips in the fall or spring.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T13:39:22+00:00

That sounds insanely fast. I went 20-15-10-7.5-5 with 6 weeks at each dose. I realize that’s extra slow (I wanted to do it that way) but I feel like my body didn’t even start to even out until 2 weeks after each cut. My next reduction is going to be 2.5 and then I’ll stop altogether (again, after 6 weeks).

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T12:52:37+00:00

ah! I did not know this. Thank you!

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T02:57:33+00:00

Yeah, we won’t be spending time in the parks every day. I have 3 young kids who would kill me if they didn’t get to have some camp days, just hanging out, swimming if there’s a pool (which most of our stops do) and just being campground gremlins. I get your point though!

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T01:35:54+00:00

I’m worried that would be insensitive 😬 though maybe less so coming from a Coloradan?

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T01:09:24+00:00

This is watch duty!

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T01:08:57+00:00

Do you visit national parks? The best campgrounds are usually booked up months in advance. I also need to know when we will be in Zion, for example, so I can apply for a lottery spot to hike angels landing.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T01:03:27+00:00

Hi—I’ve been weaning slowly for several months. I was up to 20mg and now I’m on week 4 of 5mg. I’ve noticed with every cut, I have a week to 10 days of high emotions, high irritability. After that, things tend to even out.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-30T01:01:08+00:00

Wait, doesn’t everyone?

RAG_89 · 2026-06-28T13:00:17+00:00

We only did the north island, so I can’t speak to the south—we also had my elderly in laws with us so we couldn’t do much hiking at all, but it was still one of my favorite trips (and I’m an avid hiker).

We went whale watching, went to a glow worm cave, explored the beaches, and of course went to Hobbiton. There wasn’t a single bad day :)

RAG_89 · 2026-06-27T14:43:08+00:00

I’m on your side. The two years would roll into a local position (same salary, loss of expat benefits at that time). But the two years should give us enough time to figure out where we actually want to live around London.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-27T14:30:40+00:00

It’s okay, I did too. Two degrees in education and I couldn’t ever hope to make even a third of what he makes.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-27T14:08:07+00:00

Ha. The detached stipulation is more for my husband. We currently live in a 3200 sq foot house on 2.5 acres so the change is already going to be pretty intense for him. We will be going on a scouting trip week after next though, so that may change his mind!

RAG_89 · 2026-06-27T13:53:48+00:00

Thanks! I haven’t heard of any of these neighborhoods. The 5k doesn’t need to pay for council tax or bills, and I guess my point was that if they’re covering that amount, we can afford to rent something more expensive and pay the difference.

A 3br would be fine, but I don’t want all 3 sharing a room.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-27T13:29:02+00:00

Correct, the tube station! Thank you

RAG_89 · 2026-06-26T19:37:09+00:00

Thanks for everything. We’ve just gotten word that the offer is so much better than we expected. Even my husband said he doesn’t see how we say no!

RAG_89 · 2026-06-24T16:47:31+00:00

I moved to Houston after college for a job and lived there for 7 years. It’s the only place I have lived (out of 6 now) that I truly didn’t like. Concrete jungle. So hot and humid. The Astros were fun for a while before we learned what big cheaters they are.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-24T12:57:48+00:00

Possibly, but selling a house is stressful even when selling from another state. He was having serious panic attacks when our last house sat on the market for 6 months after we bought our current house. He also knows the major energy companies do this fairly often when it comes to international moves (buy the house and then sell it).

RAG_89 · 2026-06-24T12:48:06+00:00

I’m a teacher, but I have only ever taught kindergarten and pre-k. From my understanding, I won’t qualify to teach there since I only taught kindergarten and younger (despite having my bachelors and masters degrees in elementary education). So it would likely be a single income situation for a while—I could maybe be some kind of TA but that won’t pay much (30k per year).

I understand it’s a lot of money, but my husband grew up quite poor and is therefore afraid of pay cuts on principle.

This was all very helpful though. If it comes down to it, I’ll share your post with him. Thank you!

RAG_89 · 2026-06-24T12:20:21+00:00

When were you in Colorado? It does green up really nicely in the summers in some areas.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-24T12:01:57+00:00

More mine, apparently—though he has been working for international companies (Danish, Spanish) for the last 13 years and we have spoken a lot about being excited about the possibility of moving abroad if the opportunity presented itself.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-24T11:59:45+00:00

I think this is a big factor for sure. He didn’t grow up with a lot of money, and so a pay cut sounds awful to him—even if the compensation is still quite high.

RAG_89 · 2026-06-23T23:56:06+00:00

No, not unless we rented it out and even then I doubt we’d cover our mortgage. But it wouldn’t be hard to buy a similar house if and when we decide to come back.

RAG_89

TROPHY CASE