Spinster

As Heather reminded me last week, I am 6.5 months away from getting my master’s degree and having to get a “real job.” I mean, the job I have now is fairly real but it’s a student position, so once April hits, I’m on my own. Because I’ll have a professional degree, I can start applying for jobs in January.

I’ve been thinking about where I want to live. So far, I’ve lived in Miami, Portland, Miami again, and Toronto, with a 3-month stay in Glasgow. Miami is the no-chance-in-hell option–I will never, ever live there again (I don’t even like visiting). I like Toronto but my options for staying in Canada are pretty limited. It’s not like I could get a stop-gap retail job here while waiting for something professional.

So, since I’m not going “home” and I’m not sure if I can stay here, I’ve been thinking about places I would live. Being me, I have a pretty inflexible list of things I look for in a city, and I’m not really looking to change any of them. They are, in no particular order:
1. Distinguishable seasons
2. Decent yarn store(s)
3. Liberal political climate (even if it means that the city is a blue oasis in a
sea of red)
4. Good public transportation
5. DIY attitude
I can’t think of anything else right now, but I’m sure there are other requirements. My father thinks I’m insane. He is a firm believer, perhaps because he’s a transplant from England living in Miami, that a person’s environment is not important. He figures that you’ll find the right people and the right places no matter where you are. I suppose that could be true. However, I never felt like I fit in in Miami and eventually I realized that it just wasn’t the place for me. That experience, of feeling like a misfit in my hometown, has shaped my desire as an adult to find the “perfect” city, or at least the place in which I would feel comfortable and healthy.

So far, this is what I’ve got:

Kansas City, MO (I read an article in BUST about it and it sounds cool)
Portland, OR
Eugene, OR
Seattle, WA
Vancouver, BC
Toronto, ON
Maine
Vermont

And that’s it so far. Out of the entire English-speaking North American world, I have 6 cities and 2 states to consider when it comes to living and working.

I never said I made life easy for myself.