Because we notified the apartment complex that we'd be gone by then. So, now we have a date to work towards. That gives us like 65 days until we need to be gone, and I think it's do-able. It's exciting, we're getting closer and closer.

In addition to job interviewing on our trip, we'll also be touring apartments. We'll be renting a car in Seattle this time, so we'll be able to get around more easily. Last time we went, I didn't really see many places that really looked livable, so this time we'll be touring different areas and looking at apartments within the areas that appeal to us. Unfortunately, most of the apartments in Seattle are a couple hundred dollars more than the ones in Portland, but I'm sure we can find something in a good area for a decent price. We probably won't have time to do much apartment searching in Portland, but I'll try to have everything lined up so that we can check out a few places. Ideally we'll be able to choose an apartment that we like the most in each city so that when we get a job offer, we won't have to go back up there to find a place to live and can just mail the application form in. Our trip is less than a month away, how exciting.

Last night we spent about 2-3 hours booking our flight, hotel, and car in Seattle and Portland. We initially were only going to Seattle, but then we decided we should also go to Portland and try to get interivews there too so we could increase our chances of getting a job. This is an expensive trip and we'd rather only have to do it once and get a job on the first try.

Anyway, we're leaving Saturday, January 5 at 8:00 am and get to Seattle at 10:30. We'll spend a few days there looking for apartments and interviewing and then take the Amtrak south to Portland Tuesday evening. Then we spend Wednesday in Portland and our flight out is at 2:45. We'll get back to Dallas around 8:30 pm.

I'm excited and really happy that everything is booked. We got some pretty good deals on airfare and hotel.

I read an article about a study of the most walkable cities in the country. The study ranked the most walkable cities in the country per capita. Dallas was ranked 25 of 30 and Portland was 5 of 30. Seattle was right behind Portland at 6 of 30. I'm really excited about living in a walkable area and this study just reinforces my desire to move to Portland (or Seattle).

We've been looking at airfare rates this week and right now we're thinking of booking airfare, hotel, and rental car together, and the cheapest we've found for that with decent flight times is around $1,200. But, that doesn't consider that we might go to Portland as well, so our trip might cost a little more. We probably should book our trip sometime within the next week or so, if at all possible, but I haven't asked for the time off of work yet and I'll be out of the office next week. Maybe we should just book it anyway, I dunno, hopefully rates don't go up too precipitously and we can find a cheap deal pretty soon.