The Road Here was Paved with the Absence of State Taxes

It hasn't been all that long ago that I spent my nights plying people with hooch and pretending to be stupid so I could earn higher tips. It hasn't been that long, but it feels like forever.

On July 24th, my family and I completed the four day trek across the Southeast from Garner, North Carolina to Addison, Texas. Garner is a suburb of Raleigh, capital and home to the highest concentration of PhDs in possibly the whole world. Addison is a funky suburb of Dallas, and is home to many restaurants, banking centers, and, apparently, the most *progressives* of North Dallas. There are some other neighborhoods in the metro area with some culture and color, but I haven't found any that also offered safety and reasonable rent.

Yes, dear reader, you read correctly, I said "rent". Because we are renting here in Addison. Fourteen hundred and thirty-seven adorable feet in a hip, urban oasis called Addison Circle. We love it here; it's walkable, there is booze within spitting distance of our front door, five pools, dog parks, fountains, and a general community feel. But it isn't home. It isn't the split-level we were building into our dream home back in NC.

Speaking of the house - it's still for sale...and not going fast. So we've got a mortgage on top of our hip, urban rent.

So that leads me to this: we moved to Addison because Andy, who followed me across the country, got offered his dream job with his company. There are scads of chances for advancement in this southwest market, and he needed to jump on one of them. But remember when I told you about the deep pool of PhDs in NC (of which I am one)? In Texas, 8% of the population has a PhD, which means that the booming Big D economy is NOT built on the back of education.

So, I was lucky to get an adjunct position teaching at Brookhaven College, which is a part of the STELLAR Dallas Community College system...but that's three hours per week...not enough. Then I landed an Instructional Assistant position with DCCCD...thirteen dollars an hour, thirteen hours per week...close....still not there....so now I'm also working at the Polkadot Bakery in my building, which, though totally unrelated to anything I've ever done...is currently helping pay the bills.

Which leads me to this blog. I plan to keep this blog as a chronicle of my first months here in Texas. The temperature is hell-adjacent, the people are not as Southern as I expected, but I am finding hints of joy in bizarre places.

It is possible, even probable, that my life is going to take a screeching left turn here. You really should come along for the ride. It might be breathtaking.