Please vote: Minnesota or Florida?

All right, we need your help! Should we try to move to Florida next May or should we try to stay in Rochester? You may think, "Well, May is over a year away." However, this decision has to be made by THIS fall. So it is a lot sooner than you think.

Okay, let me back up.

JB attended Match Day on Thursday for the "seniors" at Mayo Clinic. Students list their top choices, the schools rank their applicants, and then the students get a letter telling them where they are moving in two months.

JB's Match Day works a little different because he is in the military. His match occurs in December instead of March. In October he either ranks his five military choices, or he asks for a "Civilian Deferrment." If the military tells him he is going to an Air Force base, we will know where he's going around Christmas time. If the military grants him "Civilian Deferment", he will join his class in the spring match.

Right before Christmas, JB and I decided we were going to try and stay in Rochester. We hate the weather, but we love everything else about being here. Then we really started thinking about it over Christmas. I got some advice from people like my cousin Justin who spent a lot of time talking to me, and on our cruise we decided that we should do military and try to go to Northern Florida. (A cruise was probably the wrong place to think about it. Weather became an obsessing factor.)

However, this week, we started second-guessing ourself AGAIN! Do we stay in Minnesota or do we go to Florida? What to do. What to do.

So here, I share our thought pattern and ask for your help. PLEASE post a comment and give us your opinion. Obviously, it is just your opinion, but I want to get some feedback on this.

So Jb's "choice card" would either look like this:
OPTION 1
1. Civilian deferment (permission to join the civilian match in the spring)
2. Eglin Air Force Base -- Destin, Florida
3. Air Force Base in Southern Illinois
4. Air Force Base in D.C.
5. Air Force Base in California

Or his "choice card" would look like this:
OPTION 2
1. Eglin Air Force Base -- Destin, Florida (last year EVERY soldier who put Eglin first, went to Eglin.)
2. Civilian deferment (permission to join the civilian match in the spring)
3. Air Force Base in Southern Illinois
4. Air Force Base in D.C.
5. Air Force Base in California

Okay, so there is one important point to be made. Even if JB goes with OPTION 1, the military could turn him down and tell him, "Sorry, you are going to a base." However, JB spoke with the Dean of his Medical School who was in the Air Force herself, and she said that with stored embryos here, the military would likely see that as a very good reason to want to stay here and would probably grant the request.

If JB chooses OPTION 2 and Eglin doesn't want him, there is a chance that the military would still give him civilian deferment. However, this is probably very unlikely. They may instead send him to his 3rd choice, southern Illinois.

The other point is that civilian deferment doesn't guarantee JB will stay at Mayo. Mayo will rank their choices and there may not be room for JB here. We think this is fairly unlikely because he is going into family medicine which is not highly competitive. (There are a lot of spots, and Mayo likes to "keep their own.")

So, here is how we currently see it.

Reasons to try to go to Florida (in order of importance)

• Better pay (about $25,000 more per year)
• Better weather (Maybe this should be number 1)
• 9 1/2 hours from our family in Florida (instead of 30 hours). It's a day's drive vs. being undrivable but realistically, still a plane flight away.
• 3 more years toward military retirement (if JB decided to stay in the Air Force.)
• No other hospital in the world works like Mayo, and since it is very unlikely that he will be a Mayo physician for life, it would be beneficial to experience how the rest of the world actually works.

Reasons to try to stay in Minnesota (in order of importance)

• We have great friends here who are most likely staying here (Jones', Rays, Philips for a year etc.). In other words, with the possibility of having young child/ren, we have a support system here.
• John getting to continue practicing at Mayo Clinic for 3 more years (great education!)
• Our embryos will be stored here, and if we are still trying to have children, we will be at one of the best places in the world.
• We would only be in Florida for 3 years -- is that worth moving, buying/renting new place, leaving friends, etc. for just 3 years and about $75,000 extra money? In 3 years, we will HAVE to go to another base for payback, and we are definitely going to try to go to Europe.
• We own a condo here already and 3 more years will add to our equity.
• My job options (if I want to keep working) .

Okay, so that's our dilemma. Of course, in the end, we know that the Lord is in COMPLETE control. We could put Option 1 and end up going to Eglin. We could put Option 2 and end up staying in Rochester. Or, we could end up going to Illinois, D.C. or California. However, we feel pretty confident that whichever option we choose, we have a high chance of getting our #1 choice in that option.

So, comment away. And don't write: Well, it's really up to you guys or just give it to the Lord. Those are OBVIOUS truths. But I truly want to hear from some other people. Shoot us straight!