Urgh... some behind-the-scenes info: Between my last post and this post, Google changed the interface to write and publish posts. As well as other tools for managing my blog. I won't know for a few blog posts if I like the changes (that you cannot see but I can), but if this post is all wonky for some reason, it might be the new interface. OK, on to business...
So what am I going to do with the results of that city analysis? Well, definitely look for jobs in one of the cities I was already really inclined to like: Cleveland. You know, when I did all my rankings, I tried to keep any favoritism out of it, by like, say, going easy on Cleveland's shitty crime rate just because it's my home town. I made sure to give Cleveland a 1. And I strove to not be too harsh on other cities, like LA, just because I didn't think it was likely I would end up there. I'll never know if a completely objective reviewer would still have come up with Cleveland as the top city, but as Cleveland was always a top contender, I won't beat myself up for (possibly!) being too nice to it in my review. And of course, not every measurement of the cities was objective anyway.
Chicago, while coming in at "only" number 4, will continue to be a city I'll do a job search in. It's always been my favorite place in the U.S. to visit, and since it finished closer to the top than the bottom of my list, I don't see a need to eliminate it from the running.
Portland winding up as number 2 didn't surprise me, but I would like to visit it one more time before I decided whether to spend time and resources looking for a job there or -- even more entangling -- pick up and move there! I've been dawdling a bit making plans for a return visit, but maybe this weekend I'll grab the calendar and look up flights.
Washington at number 3 also didn't surprise me, but also didn't really raise my enthusiasm for returning. When I lived there, I knew there were a whole lot of things I liked about the city. But I never felt like I fit in. I think what the city review did for my attitude towards DC was remind me that if life took me back there, I could find a lot of things to enjoy in the city, and ways to make it a comfortable place for me. So will I search for jobs there? Probably. Well, yes, actually, as I've already applied for a couple lol. But I think it would take a really good job to lure me back, at least for the moment.
The one city I'm not sure how to handle is Raleigh. I really felt at home when I stopped by in November. And I liked it a lot back in the day when I lived there. But it finished 9th out of 11 in my review! Even Asheville, which in many ways has less to offer because it's so small, finished ahead of Raleigh! I will think more about this, maybe peruse some job opportunities and let the job market decide for me, or see if my contacts there have anything to say in favor of the city (which I know they will lol!).
Since there was not just one city that really jumped out at me as the place to live (either during my travels or during my post-travel review), I do of course have to choose a place to live in the meantime. I've secured and will soon move into an apartment in Cleveland, where my lease is very flexible and I have only a little furniture and stuff. So moving in and out will be easy, should I choose to live somewhere else. I've always been a little cautious, even fearful, of winding up in Cleveland not because I really like it, but because inertia makes me settle down here and then never leave. I think my current living situation, which is purposely designed to be medium-term at the longest, will prevent inertia from completely controlling my decision. And knowing that Cleveland earned its spot on my list of cities I'd live in makes me comfortable knowing that, should I stay here, it's more of a choice than a default.
So what am I going to do with the results of that city analysis? Well, definitely look for jobs in one of the cities I was already really inclined to like: Cleveland. You know, when I did all my rankings, I tried to keep any favoritism out of it, by like, say, going easy on Cleveland's shitty crime rate just because it's my home town. I made sure to give Cleveland a 1. And I strove to not be too harsh on other cities, like LA, just because I didn't think it was likely I would end up there. I'll never know if a completely objective reviewer would still have come up with Cleveland as the top city, but as Cleveland was always a top contender, I won't beat myself up for (possibly!) being too nice to it in my review. And of course, not every measurement of the cities was objective anyway.
Chicago, while coming in at "only" number 4, will continue to be a city I'll do a job search in. It's always been my favorite place in the U.S. to visit, and since it finished closer to the top than the bottom of my list, I don't see a need to eliminate it from the running.
Portland winding up as number 2 didn't surprise me, but I would like to visit it one more time before I decided whether to spend time and resources looking for a job there or -- even more entangling -- pick up and move there! I've been dawdling a bit making plans for a return visit, but maybe this weekend I'll grab the calendar and look up flights.
Washington at number 3 also didn't surprise me, but also didn't really raise my enthusiasm for returning. When I lived there, I knew there were a whole lot of things I liked about the city. But I never felt like I fit in. I think what the city review did for my attitude towards DC was remind me that if life took me back there, I could find a lot of things to enjoy in the city, and ways to make it a comfortable place for me. So will I search for jobs there? Probably. Well, yes, actually, as I've already applied for a couple lol. But I think it would take a really good job to lure me back, at least for the moment.
The one city I'm not sure how to handle is Raleigh. I really felt at home when I stopped by in November. And I liked it a lot back in the day when I lived there. But it finished 9th out of 11 in my review! Even Asheville, which in many ways has less to offer because it's so small, finished ahead of Raleigh! I will think more about this, maybe peruse some job opportunities and let the job market decide for me, or see if my contacts there have anything to say in favor of the city (which I know they will lol!).
Since there was not just one city that really jumped out at me as the place to live (either during my travels or during my post-travel review), I do of course have to choose a place to live in the meantime. I've secured and will soon move into an apartment in Cleveland, where my lease is very flexible and I have only a little furniture and stuff. So moving in and out will be easy, should I choose to live somewhere else. I've always been a little cautious, even fearful, of winding up in Cleveland not because I really like it, but because inertia makes me settle down here and then never leave. I think my current living situation, which is purposely designed to be medium-term at the longest, will prevent inertia from completely controlling my decision. And knowing that Cleveland earned its spot on my list of cities I'd live in makes me comfortable knowing that, should I stay here, it's more of a choice than a default.
