I am forty-one this year. I spent 15 years in Los Angeles as an HVAC technician, learning alongside my college classmates.
The HVAC work was plentiful as the company had ongoing projects, but since it wasn't my business, I didn't earn much, and I had no life with my family.

Although I worked hard for 15 years, I actually lived a life that felt monotonous and routine every day.

Then one day, my 4-year-old son looked at me when I got home and said this.

"Are you feeling bad again today?"

I had a Mexican colleague named Mike who worked hard with me in LA.
We worked together on countless rooftops and mechanical rooms,
and we talked more about raising kids than work.

One day, Mike told me he was moving to San Antonio to live with his widowed mother-in-law after her husband passed away.
At first, I felt a bit sad that a close colleague was moving out of state, and I regretted his situation.

But about three months later, one evening, he called me and said,
"Hey, living here is really nice. There's a job opening at my company, and if you come, I'll put in a good word for you."

That one sentence resonated with me.
He knew me well.
He understood how exhausted I was and how suffocating it was to live in a city like LA while trying to protect my family.

When I flew to San Antonio for a job interview, the first thing I saw was the endless blue sky and single-family homes built on land instead of apartments.

My heart started to race at the completely different scenery... I thought, isn't this the true American landscape?

After the job interview, when I got the job offer, I decided to live here.

Leaving LA for Texas... 1,383 miles that revived my life

My wife was initially against it, but she was persuaded by the discussion of a better educational environment for the kids and the possibility of owning a home beyond our means.

I started working in San Antonio alone while my wife and kids began preparing for the move from LA.

I worked for two weeks and returned to LA for a couple of days to help with the moving preparations for a total of three months.

When I had been working in San Antonio for four months, our family left LA for Texas, saying goodbye to the people around us with a heavy heart.

I remember driving the 1,383 miles, not feeling tired at all, filled with the anticipation of reaching a space where I could breathe again, driving for three days straight.

Our own space established one year after the move

While living in an apartment here, I thoroughly researched and bought a house, which became our family's sanctuary.
My wife regained her smile, and the kids had a backyard where they could run around without being inside the house.

Our home is in a new community near Loop 1604 and I-10.
It has a wide driveway, tidy streets, and a quiet neighborhood even at night. The neighbors are friendly and kind.
To think that a house like this costs $330,000, the mortgage is even lower than the rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in LA.

My income has decreased by about 10% compared to LA.
However, considering the cost of living in LA, this place is much more livable.
Car insurance, electricity bills, dining out, and kids' supplies have all gone down.

And above all,
the new workplace I started thanks to my Mexican colleague's recommendation was a humane place.
I could leave work on time, spend weekends with my family,
and the people I worked with had the breathing room to enjoy life.

The weather here is definitely hot, but with the work I do, my family can make a living, and I can't stop thinking about the customers who need to be cool in the heat and warm in the cold.

Back to a life of breathing

As I write this, my son is playing ball with the dog in the backyard,
and my wife is preparing freshly baked cookies from the oven as a snack on the table.
I am opening a can of beer in the living room that I remodeled myself.

I earn a little less money, but I smile a lot more.
My life has become simpler, but richer.

If someone reading this right now is struggling between 'family vs reality' in the overwhelming city of LA,
I want to say this boldly.

"With one good colleague and a bit of courage, life can breathe again."

I left LA and became the 'head of the family' again in San Antonio.