Moving

I don't know where I want to live when I leave Saratoga in September. I keep telling myself, and other people, this is a good thing because then I can apply to jobs everywhere and won't get my heart set on one place. But, I obviously am jonesin to go to some cities more than others.

Here's what I am considering:

Chicago
I think that Chicago is my number one. I have wanted to live here since I was about 16. It's a second tier city for my desired career path. (There is only one first tier city and that is NY, so I don't think second tier is that bad. These tiers aren't coming from some official source... besides the official source that is my head). I have some friends there. Some considering heading there around the same time I am. There are roomie ads galore on craigslist. I have one job lead. The woofs: winter.

New York
Woof. I don't want to go to New York. There I said it. I love New York. I love a lot of people there. I have some friends moving there soon, too, and some roommate talks have been had. I don't want to live there though. And when I say New York, I don't want to live in Brooklyn either. I have an informational interview at a large publishing house there soon and am very excited about this opportunity. If I were to get a job at this place, I would definitely move to NY, but informational interviews aren't interviews for actual jobs that are open, so I really don't know if this will lead to anything.

DC
I haven't been to DC since I was 17 and my dad, stepgrandfather, and I took my stepgrandparents Japanese "exchange" student there (they didn't actually have a kid to exchange with Japan; world trade these days is really f'd up, and Americans are greedy bastards). I guess the woof is that I don't really think I liked DC too much, but I also don't think I explored much beyond monuments and a California Pizza Kitchen (we let our guest choose the restaurant). The draw for DC is that I have two close friends there and it seems like a place I should go given my interest in politics and happy hour. (Yes, happy hour. I have been told people go out for happy hour and don't go out much at night in DC. I, however, like going out at night, too, so this could be problematic.) There are also more men than women in DC. I hear, anyway. After all girls high school, Skidmore, and Saratoga Springs, this is desirable. We'll C about DC. I think I should maybe give it a visit.

PACNW
When I first gave notice at my job, I wanted to leave right away and drive West. I think this was due to the fact that I was sick of winter in upstate NY and had been listening to the Jeff Lewis song Seattle that day and was inspired to get into my car and drive out to Seattle because he told me the record stores have good prices. I also considered Portland because I would have had a place to live there for as long as I needed. (I have a really cool stepaunt. I could have been her exchange student, minus the student, because my stepfamily seems to like that kind of thing.) I think at this point I have ruled out that region because I actually think I like snow better than tons of rain and because I have heard that the job market sucks.

Philly
I recently added Philly to my list mainly because a lot of great people are moving there and there seem to be some jobs in my field. I even made one contact there at a publishing networking event last week. I don't really have anything negative to say about Philly because I have never been there. One of my best friends is from there and I like her a lot. I also like Will Smith. And history. I have never had a Philly Cheesesteak, so maybe I should try one first and then decide. The woof: Ally says Philly has the ugliest people.

Oh decisions, decisions, decisions. I am deciding to move to bed.