My current lease runs out in late July. I’ve already been sent a renewal notice. My rent won’t be going up more than a few dollars, and the rental office is offering other incentives (like a local gym membership) if people stay. I like my apartment, and I like where I live. When I first moved, I though it was a shame that I might only stay a year. It felt like the sort of place where I could live longer than that. It alone, however, is not reason enough to keep me here. I’m not sure I could handle another Pennsylvania winter.

My job is not a reason to stay either. I recently applied for a writer/editor position in another department, but I haven’t heard anything back yet, and I don’t know when (or if) I will. And the possibility of another job is not reason enough to stay. If I move, though, especially somewhere largely unfamiliar, can I be guaranteed anything better? The idea of moving anywhere without some kind of financial security seems like a very bad idea, but I haven’t seen much posted on job boards or online want ads for which I qualify in the cities that interest me. Scheduling interviews long-distance can be difficult. I don’t know when I’ll be able to visit these places.

Visiting these places also isn’t necessarily cheap. I could probably afford airfare, for instance, to Austin or San Francisco, but I doubt I could afford both. Certainly, these trips would have to be months apart, since right now about half my monthly paycheck goes to pay my rent. I also have to keep in mind the cost of moving, which itself is not insubstantial. I don’t want to let worry about the cost keep me here, immobilized, but I recognize that it will take more planning than seeing a city that looks nice in a book and hopping on a plane.

I would also like some sort of closure with the Monty Python Society, if only because I still have a lot of club material (old newsletters, videos, props, etc.) I need to give them before I leave. (The club no longer has an office where I can store them.) I don’t need to make a big deal about my leaving, but I’d like to let them know. If I plan to move at the end of my current lease in July, this could be difficult; they themselves will be gone at the end of the semester in early May. This isn’t insurmountable — I can always give them the material and say I might not be coming back — but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an issue.