Decision time looms

By this time in three days, I will have made the decision about where I will be spending the next X years of my life. Part of me is really excited. Part of me wants to burrow into a hole somewhere, sleep for days, and hope that in my absence someone makes the decision for me.

The bad news is that none of the possibilities seem Fabulous. The great news is that none of the possibilities seems like a Bad Choice. All have their pros and cons. And as cowardly as this may seem, I am hoping that one of the possibilities comes through with the proverbial “offer that I can’t refuse” so the decision is easy and brainless.

So, here are the top three contestants in the Where’s This All Leading To? Contest. Presented in no specific order. Actual school names obscured because I’ve seen too many news articles about people getting in deep doo for blogging about jobs.

Contestant One: Miss Washington DC
Miss DC is the only wholly known entity in the group. I’ve been offered the job and the financials have been discussed. Miss DC is a very prestigious all-girl’s school (the only all-girl’s school in the lot) in the heart of the city. The job would be teaching 10th and 11th grade English. The money offered represents nearly a 50% increase in my wages. Unfortunately those are in DC dollars and not New Orleans dollars. Regardless, it means a small step up for me financially.

Miss DC’s reputation is as a very competitive, very affluent school. She’s gorgeous and has excellent, impressive facilities. I loved her faculty; they were young, brilliant, and enthusiastic. Her English Department Chair is so sweet that if I do say no, I will feel incredibly sad.

The pros:
1) The school represents a big step up on the prestige ladder. The school’s name is one that is very recognizable.
2) DC is a great city. There are too many pros to list about DC.
3) I would be in the same city as my cousin Sarah and her husband. Instant social life and renewed family life.
4) It’s a 7 hour drive or a long Amtrak ride home or to Boston and my mother and Sarah’s parents could rideshare to visit.

The cons:
1) Though there’s a 50% increase in my pay, my rent would go up 100% easily.
DC traffic and commuting… nightmare to this girl who’s had a 5 minute commute for 5 years.
2) DC IS a great city… but I have my qualms about whether it’s MY city. Lots of suits, lots of yuppies, not very much in the way of bohemia and arts community.

Contestant Two: Miss Louisville, Kentucky.
The dark horse contestant. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was trying to think up an excuse NOT to visit this school from the moment I said that I would. Right up through getting off the plane and checking into the hotel. Hoped I’d get sick. Hoped I’d get in a car accident (minor, no injuries) on the way to the airport.

And yet… Miss KY is a co-ed, Pre-K-12 school. Once an all girl’s school, it went co-ed in the 70’s and celebrated its 90th anniversary this year. Incredible campus with a brand new, high tech upper school building. The job is teaching 11th grade and a Composition elective. A little bigger than my current school. There’s a big “changing of the guard” going on—new headmaster next year and new upper school head. They seem to be heading in good directions. Very much like the high school that I attended—similar vibe all around.

I have not actually received an offer, but I believe one is forthcoming. It will be a blow if they call me on Tuesday and say, “We changed our minds.”

The pros:
1) The real selling point here—hold your hats, folks—is Louisville. I was shocked to find that Louisville is gorgeous (despite the fact that it rained the whole time I was there) and has a thriving arts scene.
2) The cost of living in Louisville is so attractive that I think we ALL should move there. If I moved, I would not be looking to rent, but to buy a house.
3) These folks have pursued me relentlessly and paid every expense that I incurred to visit.
Unless they offer me what I make currently or less, this will be a step up in lifestyle for me.
4) Louisville is 70 miles away from Jason’s family. And Kentucky is really convenient to a lot of neat places.
5) Miss KY offers its faculty very impressive development scholarships. Just about everyone on the faculty that I met had “just gotten back” from studying mythology in Greece or poetry in Tibet or culture in Japan. They’re instituting an exchange program with China in 2006-07 and two of the faculty I was working with were leaving for China on Wednesday.

The cons:
1) It’s still Kentucky, folks.
2) The faculty is amazing, but older and very established. This would not be the same “instant family” that my school was or that Miss DC might be.
3) Um, there’s still the issue that there is not yet an offer on the table for me.

Contestant Three: Miss Local
Miss Local is a co-ed, Pre-K-12 school in the suburbs of New Orleans. Despite the proximity, I knew very little of the school before I went for two days of interviews. It is, I’m afraid, the least impressive of the schools and would represent a lateral move for me. The job is 10th grade and yearbook advisor. It’s a more low-key position than any of the others because yearbook is a class, but with little prep for me. It’s a competitive school with good use of technology and a lovely campus.

There’s no money on the table. I’ll find out their offer tomorrow at 2pm. I doubt that they will offer less than what I am currently making. The problem is that I’d rather not stay where I am, apartmentwise, and rents have increased by 50% in New Orleans. I’m not 100% sure I CAN stay where I am, as my landlord is a nutcase.

The pros:
1) Staying in New Orleans. And while that’s the only major pro, it’s so important to me in so many ways.

The cons:
1) Lateral move.
2) What if, God forbid, there’s another hurricane?
3) It’s a 20 minute commute at least for me right now.

So that's the contest, folks. Feel free to weigh in with your advice between now and Wednesday. As I said, perhaps Miss KY or Miss Local will make an offer that I cannot refuse. Miss DC's offer was good, but I can refuse it.

I'll post my decision shortly after it's made.