It was over

So said the NBER today. The recession was over in June of 2009.

That was when my family was getting ready to move across the country, from the West Coast to the East. It didn't feel that way, although the market was on a rebound and GDP started to go positive.

For us, it took more than a year since then to finally have a sense that our lives are getting back on track, after we bought our house in August.

We've just moved in. Our new neighbors are getting to know us and vice versa. We're receiving welcoming notes and cookies. Our kids are already making friends with the kids in the neighborhood. There are doctors, engineers, businessmen, pilots, professors... mostly professionals. Interestingly, almost half of my neighbors are fairly new to the neighborhood. There have been a lot of turnovers. The new families will be fostering a sense of new community, I think.

But the lingering affects of the recession are visible. Home prices are still dropping... and just as we moved in to our new house, a house across the street was put on the market for sale. Its owner just had a surprise job change. Another home owner told me that he is closing down his business.

I'm still glad our moves are finally over.