Best podcast. Ever!

Oh guys... I'm so sorry. I was tearing up with you when you took that break. I wish you all the luck in the world.

I wish I could recommend a place to live. Connecticut is nice, although the rest of the country seems to think we're a bit snotty. West Hartford (06117 if you want to Google it) and Glastonbury (06033) are nice Naperville-like towns, great schools, involved communities, cul-de-sac neighborhoods, only about 2hrs from NYC. The thrift stores suck around here, but don't let that sway you.

Good luck!

I'm sorry about the lemonade, but you guys will pull through yet again because you're smart and united.

I live in France and before that I lived in Utah. Utah's good on the teckie jobs (not sure on RSS), it's not too expensive, but the local culture takes some getting used to, weather and outdoors can't be beat. France is great but very expensive.

I look forward to your updates and thanks for a great podcast.

Gosh guys, I know you two will make some great lemonade out of all this. Wish I had some great suggestion or advice, we are staying in N'ville because of a job only at this point.

Thanks for a great show, and I hope things turn around soon.

I'm so sorry you guys are going through this!

Check into Fairfax, Virginia and the surrounding areas. It's the DC metro area.

Excellent schools, lots of tech jobs. The cost of living is more than what you're looking for but I think you'll find that salaries are more also. It's an interesting and diverse area.

I'm sure you've already seen this but... http://www.findyourspot.com/

Gee Kris and Betsy, I'm sorry you're at 12 on the stressmeter, but you will pull through, and it's all great show prep.

I can't help envisioning the 10 minutes of standup this is going to provide at church when Betsy lights a candle during "joys and concerns".

Ok...so as the sister of the funniest lady alive I don't normally listen---but this was a great show. You guys will pull through--cause that's what you do :) All I got to say is Whale Tail...my neighbor has whale tail...now we have a name for it.
Vicky "The little sister"

First of all, beautiful picture of Betsy :)

Second of all, I am so proud of you guys...and believe it or not, you are actually an inspiration to me and my relationship.

You will pull through and we are all rooting for you - wherever you land, there is no doubt in my mind that it will be on your feet.

If the shows slow down, of course we will miss you - but just think about the brightside - imagine all the show prep that is going to come of this less than desirable situation.

Hugs you badasses!

Move to Canada. Free health care - a more stable economy - reasonable house prices - no guns - less crime - and not all that far of drive back to visit family. I hear that Ottawa has a high tech sector and so do the suburbs of Toronto (which is often compared to Chicago)

What about Google in Ann Arbor, MI? I thought they were looking to expand a while back...but that could have been prior to the stock market crumbling in October. I think you'd like Ann Arbor - good schools, pretty liberal community, U of M.

Is the real problem Kris's inability to hold a job? Moving isn't going to change that.

I am going to write a blog post shortly to thank everyone for the comments and the many emails. In the meantime I can say thank you for reaching out and sharing ideas for places to live, home selling tips, etc. it has been overwhelming. thank you.

@GS - thanks for taking the time to comment on the show and our current situation.

your statement in regards to "inability" is accurate in the context of if i were working in the corporate world. but i am not. when i was, i could have retired from any of those jobs if i had stuck with them.

instead, we (betsy and me) decided to take my intellectual property on the road, so to speak, and try my hand with start-up businesses. the type without 401k's, 40 hour work weeks, no cubes and ZERO guarantees that the financial burn rate wouldn't mean a pink slip tomorrow.

if you go back a couple shows, betsy and i talk about gambling with our lives . . . that is what working for a start-up is. and that is what i have been doing for the last 3 years.

it has afforded me the ability to work from home, be creative, write new software, work insanely long hours, travel the country and make hundreds of great friends.

however, those experiences don't pay the bills. contract work or full-time employment does and the start-up that i am working on with a friend is not at a point to generate money.

the short of it is, yes, compared to working in a corporate environment and collecting a paycheck from an established company i can't hold a job.

in the start-up context, the one that i currently participate in, i can hold a job until the money runs out.

to address the moving not changing anything . . . we can either move after we sell the house (because selling the house isn't an option, it is a business arrangement entered into with betsy's mom where neither of us can afford to buy the other out) or move to a 1 bedroom apartment that we can barely afford here in naperville. not hard to make that decision.

we'll land on our feet. we always do.

thanks for listening to the show!

I'm the one who commented on this seeming too contrived. I wasn't serious, of course. I'm sorry you're in this mess and I know you'll pull through.

I applaud your decision to work outside of the corporate world. I haven't made that jump, but it's something I've considered in the past.

For those who need some funny croncast, I re-listened to one of the first shows I heard back in early 2005 -- it tells the story of Betsy's trip to Alaska with her father. It should be on a "best of" list. It is also a good intro for new listeners because it discusses many of the players in your lives.

It says both Ep. 35 and show #72 -- not really sure how that works out, but you can find it at http://www.croncast.com/podcast/287/Croncast---Betsy-and-her-husband-Kris-Ep-35-betsy-croncast.php

Oh man, you guys! Just got a chance to listen to the show today, and wanted to say that I'm really sorry to hear about all this! I'd suggest coming to Rockford where I am, but I don't think it's really where you'd want to be.

I'll echo what everyone else has already said, which is that you two will pull though because you have each other. In the meantime, we'll all be thinking about you and waiting to hear some good news.

Sorry to hear that y'all are experiencing such a snowball effect. Since I've been here for 8 years after moving out from Washington DC, I'll throw out Cincinnati as an option, but with reservations. I think it would meet your school and cost of living requirements, esp. some of the 'burbs like Wyoming and Mariemont, but the tech jobs will be harder to come by, unless you want to (sort of) relive your JCAHO days and work for a one of the hospitals or go all-out corporate and work for P&G.

I'll second the DC area for tech jobs, but the cost of living, esp housing, is a b****.

Keep us in the loop, but don't feel obligated to keep up the podcast schedule as y'all work through this. Good luck!

Did Murphy move into or out of your spare bedroom? Everyone must be scared out of their minds. The time to focus on each other is now. It's a shame that it takes something like this to realize what's really important in life. I'm sure you will find something soon (and you will probably like it even better).

Best of luck to the Smiths.

I thought the comment about not being able to hold a job was pretty mean...I think a lot of people do things they hate just to get a paycheck and then they turn into bitter angry people. I applaud you Kris for doing what you love and Betsy for sticking by you..

Good Luck on the move/job search. Although we all know that this is a cover-up for the real reason for the move... to escape the news media and suburban mommy backlash after it comes out that the two of you were the vector for the swine flu entering the U.S. from Mexico. Just another Smith vacation gone wrong...

I love you guys- find and keep the humor and youll be alright now

I live in Betsy's beloved San Francisco. So while I agree it is the greatest place. It is crazy expensive. But also the heart of technology.

But in terms of New York...I would recommend doing what more than 500f folks who work in NYC do...live out on Long Island or NJ and then you take the train to work Kris. The kids would have virtually the same lifestyle as they now have in Naperville.

I have many family members who live in Suffolk County Long Island - Hauppage,Commack, Nesconset, Massapequa, Patchoque, and Bohemia.

They have a pretty nice, normal suburban lifestyle.

Massapequa has great public schools. Here is a link to a discussion thread started by a woman in your same spot...looking for a place to live near NYC. http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-island/65749-best-school-districts-long-island.html

Sorry that was supposed to be "50% folks", not "500f folks" LOL

Ok weird...I did type it right, but the board is displaying. that was supposed to be 50 "percent" of folks.

Board engine does like the "percentage" symbol?

hey katherine, correct it is a bug in my software . . . no one has ever left a comment with a percent symbol in it!

I have not been moved to make a comment on your shows in a while. today show was so f ing sad. I am truly sorry you both have to go through any of this. I do pray good comes your way when the dust settles. A good friendship & marriage like yours is hard to find these days.

I can't get this episode! I need to catch up on my Croncast!
:)

Could you put this episode back up now that the drama with the house sale has passed? (I assume that's why the link no longer works?)

hey lyn, good point. i hadn't realized that it wasn't working. i think i removed the file from the server . . . will add it back tonight.