So we have made a decision. All that is left is to tell the recruiting chair of our chosen university. For the last 2 weeks, we have been "swithering" (this is a real word- my FIL used it to describe us, and then I looked it up in the Oxford English Dictionary) back and forth between the elite, prestigious department at a university in a dumpy, somewhat-isolated college town and the small but good department at a university in a big, exciting city. We actually had 3 other options, but in the end it came down to these two. The decision ended up coming down to my job. Elite, prestigious university couldn't come up with anything for me to do. This is a serious issue because there isn't that much going on in town except for the university, so to have a real, decently-paying job, I was facing a 45 minute to 1 hour commute one way every day, at the minimum. I am not willing to do this, especially when we have other options where I wouldn't have to do that.
So we have chosen the big city! Very exciting. I am a city girl at heart. I love the shopping, culture, vibrancy, and public transportation. Really. I love public transportation. Also, my SIL lives there, and it's within a day's drive of my husband's parents, and there are direct flights back to my hometown. Yay!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Decisions, decisions
DH and I are now in the final stages of making our decision. Wow, is it ever hard. We think we have it narrowed down to two choices, maybe. We go back and forth depending on what time of day it is.
It is incredibly stressful, and we should be thankful that he has 5 good offers, but instead feel really bratty because our decision is hard, and we're spending a lot of time trying to figure out where to go. Our two main contenders are a department that is top notch and high prestige but in a college town that won't be so great for my career, but has great housing costs. The other department is also very good, but risky (and somewhat lower prestige), is in a big city with lots of options for me, but expensive housing costs (somewhat subsidized by the university). Bad public schools in both places; excellent private schools that aren't so hard to get into in the college town. College town is 1+ hours away from major airports, the closest of which doesn't have a direct flight to my hometown. My sister-in-law lives in the big city, and we have another friend who will be moving there next year as well.
We don't know. We just don't know.
It is incredibly stressful, and we should be thankful that he has 5 good offers, but instead feel really bratty because our decision is hard, and we're spending a lot of time trying to figure out where to go. Our two main contenders are a department that is top notch and high prestige but in a college town that won't be so great for my career, but has great housing costs. The other department is also very good, but risky (and somewhat lower prestige), is in a big city with lots of options for me, but expensive housing costs (somewhat subsidized by the university). Bad public schools in both places; excellent private schools that aren't so hard to get into in the college town. College town is 1+ hours away from major airports, the closest of which doesn't have a direct flight to my hometown. My sister-in-law lives in the big city, and we have another friend who will be moving there next year as well.
We don't know. We just don't know.
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