Look at the present you're constructing. Will it lead to the future that you want?
Perhaps not, but it is what it is.
The only family I have are my parents. Mom is 69; dad will be 61 in less than two months. I am incredibly close to them, so moving far away is just not an option for me.
I love my job, and I need to be relatively close to it because I enjoy attending school functions (musical, talent show, etc.) and hate driving. Teacher jobs are getting cut left and right in the state and in the country (I had to watch co-workers cry their eyes out a few years ago after being told right before Easter that they wouldn't have a job the next year), and moving to another district would mean even less job security (no tenure), so that isn't an option. And again, I love where I work.
I am also in the process of buying my first house; settlement is at the end of August. It's "in town," as opposed to "in the country," where I've lived for 29 years. Of course, where I live, "in town" doesn't exactly mean a thriving metropolis. Even the "cities" near me aren't very big. I just can't see me thriving in a city. I like peace and quiet, and I love being close to nature.
