Big moves make for big choices

Dave and I are preparing for our first move in a while. Dave has been really good about preparing our place to rent, and we're planning on buying a three-bedroom townhome or house. This is our first move in over five years, so naturally it raises some questions, mostly relating to where we should live.

On the one hand, we have become yuppie north siders. On the other hand, my family is in the southwest suburbs and it is way cheaper to live there. I used to want to go to the southwest suburbs primarily so I could be near my parents when we have kids. However, lately it is seeming less and less likely that we will ever want them, so it makes more sense to live where we like the lifestyle. Let's go through the pros and cons.

Northwest suburbs

• Shopping (Whole Foods, specialty stores)
• Ethnic restaurants
• General uppity nature
• Library classes and food tastings
• Teaching crochet at JoAnn (me)
• Being a teaching assistant at Northwestern (Dave)
• Local festivals
• Proximity to Marengo / Cherry Valley farms
• Proximity to Wisconsin in general

Southwest suburbs

• More affordable housing
• Proximity to family
• Proximity to dentist
• Less traffic, less crazy drivers
• Fewer snobs, more real folk
• Proximity to parents if I have kids
  

So, yeah, it's hard. I think the scales weigh in favor of the northwest suburbs, but it makes me sad to give up the idea of being able to have dinner and visit with family, especially my mom. And buying a place up here probably means we'll stay up here for the long haul, which means maybe never living near my family. And by "near," I mean "where everyone else lives," which is pretty much New Lenox and Tinley Park.

And the whole child debate is just something I still don't know how to deal with. It doesn't sound nice, but I really just do not like children. People say you like your own better, but I really don't want to undergo any biological phenomenon that makes me indifferent to crap, crying, puking, and whining. There is a part of me that has always assumed I would have them, and maybe it makes me a little sad to think about what not having them would be like, but when I think about what parenthood really means, I am completely repulsed.

At any rate, I haven't done a rambling, life-related post for a while - I've kept mostly to events, trips, and achievements. But I really need to vent and spin my wheels a bit, and if anyone is reading this who wants to weigh in on my move debate, now is the time. Thanks for listening!