The One in Norman, Oklahoma

Gleisdreieckpark, drawing by the author, 2010

There are public swimming pools. Incredible. Kids under 12 years of age pay 75 pence. Wow. There even is a pool in every neighborhood. I google Aikido. There are five studios. Colin needs his Aikido. Ich check skate parks for our son: check. Climbing can be done in the mountains there. Yeah. That is even better than a bouldering hall. Ashtanga Yoga. There are five studios as well. Super. I go on to look up real estate. Prices for a 4-bedroom? Not too bad. I get enthusiastic. How about having your own swimming pool. That is too much to ask for.

Okay, that was all I wanted to check in Albuquerque. I move on to Santa Fee. Santa Fee would also be nice. It is even higher up in the mountains. No public swimming pools in Santa Fe. Which other city did Colin mention? Where else did he apply for a job? I continue my internet re-location search in Rochester, NY. Great houses, good schools, no museum for me to work in, no quality yoga, no bouldering hall. Hmm, maybe rather not.

I move on to Belgium. There is an option, too. At least there they have a train station and probably public health insurance. I get lost in real estate sites.

I begin to miss Switzerland, even though I am still here. But it looks like we will move. We all want to be happy and check all our boxes. Live, work, school etc. Colin and I are trying to have work and live in same place for the past 15 years.

In my head I did this moving game a zillion time. I know rent and real estate prices everywhere. I know the names of all the schools. I know if they have dog parks. I know about gluten-free cafes. I am tired. Moving in my head is exhausting.

At the dinner table Colin says we should live in the present moment.  “Oh well,” I say.

The next morning, I am back in my office. I sit in online meetings. I get a message on my phone. It is Colin. “Check out Norman, Oklahoma.” As soon as I close the zoom meeting. I check out Norman, Oklahoma. It is not a city. It is a suburb with 200.000 inhabitants. There are endless triangle shaped houses, all look the same, one after the other. No soul, but nice prices.

“No way,” I write back to Colin.

“But they have good schools,” Colin writes
“Really?”

“But the museum there has the biggest impressionist’s collection outside of Europe.” texts Colin.

“Hm…”

When I come home from work, I ask Colin. “So, what’s the deal with Norman, Oklahoma.” “Never mind, they don’t take anyone my level anyways.” I sigh. I am relieved. I close my real estate Norman Oklahoma tabs on my phone.

A few days later, Colin is attending a conference in Prague. I get a text: “What about Olomouc, Czech Republic?”