…and of course that.

And read what you say about it…

“I love Lancaster, I really do, but I feel like I need to leave for awhile, to see if I can succeed elsewhere. When I say that there’s nothing for me here anymore, I mean it. Because what I want right now is a career, and as it is, my options in this town are very, very limited. I want it to be perfectly understood that I wouldn’t trade anything about my childhood for the world. I’m grateful that I’ve grown up here, and I will in all likelihood return to permanently reside here one day.”

…not that there’s anything wrong with that, but who are you apologizing to? You’ve said what you want to do, and now you have to leave for a bigger city. There’s lots of blogging (and more) out there that shows that the best way to pick a city is to do so for the city itself, and what you find in the city will find you too. Pick a city for its comfort, for its nature and for its surroundings. The ones that are surrounded by impressive land or great water are the best, and the people will be happier and healthier.

http://creativeclass.com/richard_florida/books/whos_your_city/

…there’s something to ponder which you might have already bumped into, and then there’s those lists regarding top world/north American cities. They usually have an element of truth. Overall, pick a place you can imagine really falling for and just go for it. Possibly easier said than done – but I wouldn’t know because I’ve moved many a time throughout my life.

Good luck!
Torbjorn

Torbjorn: Thanks for your comments, you really speak the truth, which I appreciate, and your advice is helpful. You asked me who I’m apologizing to, which I’ve been thinking about. Honestly, I think I’m apologizing to myself. It’s always been difficult for me to reconcile childhood and adulthood in that I used to fear change and the fact that growing up meant leaving my childhood behind…This is true, I’ve since learned, but I’ve also learned that you carry that part of you with you forever. I think it’s a similar situation with leaving Lancaster — I’ve always loved it here and I have my family and friends here, essentially my comfort zone, and to leave that it a scary thing because I fear leaving a part of myself behind…

You know what? You’re getting your own post as a reply! You’re absolutely right in that there is a deeper issue here that I never realized…It doesn’t have to be, it really can be as simple as moving, but I’d like to examine what exactly is holding me back. Thanks for all of your advice, I’m absolutely taking it to heart. And look for a new post soon.