So How Do You Like Them Apples?

In accordance with the rest of my life lately, I’m thinking about changing the plan – again. I am debating moving back to Boston sooner rather than later and just really would like some magical flashing neon sign to come down from the sky with an arrow pointing at a map to either Boston or DC.

Here are the factors:

- I have found a place to move into in DC, and will be moving all of my things out of my current apartment as of August 5th. HOWEVER, due to the torrential rains several weeks ago, the basement room I will be moving into flooded and they are putting in a sump pump and redoing the floors. The workmen are dragging their feet and even though we are number 1 on their list, it’s debatable as to what exactly “number 1 on the list” means in terms of a timeline. So what I’m actually doing on August 5th is moving all of my stuff to the apartment and dispersing it in the storage area, in the living room, in the dining room, basically any place it will fit while we’re waiting. And then I’ll be sleeping on a friend’s futon until I can actually move in. The reason I’m doing this is because we thought the room would be ready by the time I wanted to move in and there is no way I’m paying another full month of rent in the place I’m living in now. I’m pro-rating through August 5 and am still paying around $200. If you do the math, you’ll see that’s a hefty rent for me to pay all by myself.

- In the meantime, my old apartment in Cambridge is opening up. One of my old roommates is staying and another good friend is contemplating moving in. It would be a very fun, friendly, and loving place to be. Plus, I always liked the apartment, even if it was on the 3rd floor. The eaves added a lot to the charm. It was in a great neighborhood, with a great location smack dab in the middle of Harvard and Central Squares, and because we were good Mormon girls who the landlady liked, she hadn’t raised the rent in a few years and for the location and the quality it was an absolute steal.

- If I moved into my old place, the rent would be $70-$170 more than the place I’d move into in DC.

- However, I wouldn’t be paying $200 a month to see Jason. This is assuming we get the cheap tickets (around $150 now, which is asinine for an hour-long flight) and factoring in parking. The tickets have cost as much as $220 when we haven’t planned far enough ahead. So that’s really something like $250-$270 with economy airport parking, depending on how long my trip is. As an added bonus, I’d actually get to SEE Jason on a regular basis. Even though he’s probably moving to Providence, driving 45 minutes on a Wednesday night when we feel like seeing each other sounds better than these spaced out, every 2-3 week trips we’ve been doing. We’ve been dating this way for almost a year and it’s getting old. Missing him is getting old. Hearing about the fun excursions he and his friends are going on while I’m sitting at home wishing I was there and knowing I would be there if I lived in Boston is getting old. It’s just all really wearing after awhile.

- My temp job here will probably be lasting through October, possibly November.

- Although I don’t have a job in Boston, I have seen several ads for doc review projects there over the last few weeks. I’d be making anywhere from $9-$14 less an hour than I am now to do crummy doc review.

- But if I’m in Boston, I have a real-life Boston address for my resume (I’ve been using Jason’s, but if he moves to Providence then I have no local address), I can attend bar association events to network, and I can go meet former co-workers for coffee and do the face-to-face networking that generally means a lot more than phone calls and emails. I can also pop into my law school’s career services office occasionally and show the director lady who knows me and likes me that I’m really serious about this whole moving back to Boston thing and I’d really like the career services office’s help with, you know, getting a career.

- There were some other factors that were keeping me here in DC, but which don’t really seem so much like an issue anymore and I find myself wondering why exactly I am staying put, other than the safety factor of having a temp job that will probably last at least a few more months. Which is really kind of a big factor, but is it worth it? I have some money saved, I could keep myself going in Boston for a couple of months without any work. And I’m sure I could get something eventually, even if it’s just temp paralegal or secretarial work (and how happy am I to be contemplating doing the exact same work I did before law school $90,000 later? That was money well spent).