Finding Our Nest

     This past weekend, Mesia and I flew out to Cleveland, Ohio to look for homes, see my school and see her new office. The trip could be summed up by one famous quote from "The Wizard of Oz," "We're not in Kansas anymore."
     First of all, the Cleveland airport is a rinky-dink place, which gives you the impression you are flying between decades of the '60's thru the '80's, rather than flying to new destinations. The colors, the condition, the shops, all made you feel like you should've packed bell-bottoms and tie-dyes. Needless to say, it was an interesting welcome.
    Secondly, the weather was freezing! Cleveland sits right on the shore of Lake Eerie, as a result, the city receives lake-effect wind and snow. From what we learned, it is not uncommon for kids to have 7-9 snow days in a school a year. While out looking at homes, some areas still had 2 feet of snow on the walks left over from snow storms from a few weeks ago. Our hotel was in downtown Cleveland and simply walking from the cab to the front door was enough to give you an ear ache! The temperature without the windchill hovered around 30 degrees our first day there and the wind of the lake was brutal.

     Next, was the homes. We started looking at homes on Friday. We looked at 9 and in all honesty, they all looked the same. Cleveland, Ohio is very much like Sugarhouse or the Avenues in Salt Lake. The homes are small and quaint, usually with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. The basements are small and "cellar-like," reminding of you of a John Wayne Gacey documentary. The homes in Sandy, West Jordan and Draper would be absolute dream homes to the people in Cleveland, it was quite a difference. We did end up settling on a home in a coveted area called "Bay Village." The area is very close to the lake and evidently, quite desirable. The homes are the small tiny homes like in every other area, but the property taxes average $4,000, which makes for a quite impressive school district. If we capture the home, which we are in the middle of negotiations right now, Alex will be attending Bay Middle School. The school has recently been entirely remodeled with many new programs added, all thanks to the wealthy residents of Bay Village.

      On Saturday, we attended my school's open house for admitted students. Apparently, that school recently ran into some money as well. The court rooms were all extremely nice, the library is one of the top 25 in the nation, and they are currently adding another court room costing $1 million, which will be finished in Fall of 2011. The open house was fun and interesting. Mesia and I both learned what to expect during my first year (1L). We talked to many 1L, 2L and 3L who all gave great advice about what life will be like and how unpleasant I will be during my 1L year. We got some great information about the career placement program. And the law review is quite prestigious, with one of their students just being cited by the Ohio Supreme Court in a recent opinion. Not to mention their Moot Court team just took 8th in the nation. Overall, I left quite satisfied with the strength of the program as well as their interpersonal interest they take in their students. As horrifying as the first year may be, I really can't wait to start!
     We came home to Utah Sunday evening. One quick look around and it was definitely night and day from Ohio. In all honesty, it's not a place we would choose ourselves had we not lived through the spiritual and revelatory experience that we have. For that reason, we are quite excited and intrigued to see what God has in store for us in Cleveland.