“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”-Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
I have officially submitted my notice to the monastery, informing them that I plan on leaving after saving up some funds for my inevitable self displacement. It’s time to look for warmer climates, a place to create softer wares, and a church that is less filled with attendees of the masculine (monastic or seminarian) variety.
My long list of potential new living regions included, in no particular order:
– Buffalo, NY
Pros:
– I know it – perhaps too well.
– Aaron’s there! (My brother – number three in the line of succession).
– Many friends I’ve had for years are there.
– The housing is CHEAP, especially if I find roommates with people I know.
Cons:
– Winter and snow.
– The parish is nice, but relatively empty of people my age (ahem; feminine people my age).
– The software industry is flooded with degree-clutching prospects to compete with (even though UB and Buff State are horrible places to learn how to program).
– It’s still in New York, which is horrible for my brand of politics.
– It’s Buffalo, and Buffalo is kind of crummy. Kind of? Sometimes violent, mostly dirty and miserable, and with very few redeeming factors.
– Although cheap, you get what you pay for in the housing (and caretaking).
– Far away from everyone in the family but Aaron.
– Albany, NY
Pros:
– Relatively close to home, in case I forget anything or want to visit the monastery.
– Relatively close to people I know (including some old friends).
– Good amount of job prospects.
– Great, flourishing parish with lots of old Orthodox friends.
Cons:
– Winter. And snow.
– Far from MOST people I know and love.
– The housing is a bit on the expensive side.
– Politics.
– Philadelphia, PA
Pros:
– Close to all kinds of family!
– Lots of jobs!
– Nowhere near as much snow!
– Lots of cool historic things to see and do! (Franklin Institute! Yeah!)
– Decent parish, but is within reasonable travelling distance of several other parishes as well (Manayunk to Howell: 1h24m, assuming a quiet Sunday morning).
– Pennsylvania has some of the best politics in the region! Plus, it’s swing state.
– Pennsylvania is awesome! (happy moodlet added because writer thinks of Pennsylvania memories of old with fondness!)
Cons:
– I’m… I’m having trouble thinking of any, except maybe that there are places in Philly that aren’t safe. But I could just as easily live outside the city!
– There’s a LOT of people around the area, making claustrophobia a real deal potentially. But there are parks too, I’m sure. Safe parks though? I could always take shelter in the Academy of Natural Sciences…
Some new prospects (that I’ll be adding to):
– Boston, MA
Pros:
– Boston is a wonderful historic city! Like Philadelphia in that way, but more… tealess.
– I’m sure there are plenty of jobs out there – and Aunt Barb wanted to hook me up with opportunities!
– I’m not completely familiar with the parish, but I know of it (and know of some of the people that frequent it – but mostly by virtue of knowing everyone that comes through the monastery).
– It’s an easy (but long) train ride to most known cities.
Cons:
– Still rather far away from the rest of the family.
– Weather is… variable, or so I’ve heard. It’s on the coast, a ‘dollop of hills in a spoon of marshes’ (Neal Stephenson, ‘Quicksilver’), and a bit frightening to think about in the case of a Nor’easter.
– I know next to no one there!
Also potentials for the list, but not fully fleshed out yet:
– Dallas, TX (or any major city in TX, really)
– San Francisco, CA
– Herkimer, NY (lol!)
Some things to think about. In the meantime, it’s time to a) get to work (hard!) on my new website (the one that will REALLY showcase all my talents), get some time learning MongoDB and NodeJS and ReactJS more thoroughly (enough to get cool things to happen on a website). I could probably do that by finishing the Udemy course. I should get on that!
Cheers for now.