So I always spend more time planning for the future than attending to my responsibilities in the present. For example, a few years ago I had no problem researching universities like crazy, but doing my nightly homework was another story. (That paid off, though, since I’m already a junior credit-wise.)
So since I’m at college now, I am of course planning for what I will do after I graduate. Instead of doing my calc homework for tomorrow.
I’ve been thinking a lot about where I could go. I won’t have many things holding me to one specific place; I probably won’t be married in three years, and my degree should pay well enough to support me. I could easily stay in Colorado, since there are tons of tech jobs in Boulder and Fort Collins, and I already know and love the area. But there are a lot of other places I find enticing:
- San Francisco (and surrounding area within a few hours… including SLO, San Jose, Santa Cruz, what have you)
- Vancouver, B.C.
- Sweden (100 Megabit internet for $24 a month? Yes, please!)
- Spain
- Somewhere in the Caribbean (think mojitos and telecommuting.)
Yes, there’s only one place in the U.S. on there. I haven’t traveled a ton, but I know I really enjoy the places I’ve gotten to visit so far. The truth is, it would be nice to live somewhere that isn’t led by a bunch of imperial fundamentalists. I feel fine in the U.S. for now, but every time I start reading about human rights violations or a new law that infringes on my privacy for the claimed purpose of counterterrorism, I get a pang of conscience that reminds me how easy it is to emigrate to Canada.
Of course, there would be a lotto get used to. I’m very hard-wired to my American cultural ways, and I would have to adjust to a very different social sphere.
Choosing a specific place would be hard- there’s worldwide demand for people in my field, but choosing a place where industry is strong would be tricky (for example, Hawaii is out because its tax system isn’t business-friendly.) Also, I struggle with the concept of moving further away from good Mexican food.