FFFFollowup #3

This is going to be kind of a weird week/end of the month -- I'm doing a little traveling, and a bunch of transactions are processing their way through the system so my end of the month update will probably be a bit late as I wait for everything to go through so I can get a more realistic picture. However! For now:

A couple more FFF questions:

The Intentional Penny wanted to know "how did it feel to knock out that student loan debt?"

Short answer: Really, really, really good. :) Longer answer: It was a big relief. I've been talking all along about my unstable job situation; it's year to year for the moment, and while I'm now pretty confident that I'll be able to keep doing that as long as I need to, it was something that initially really scared me. It took me until right before I graduated to land my first post-grad school job, and for a while there it was looking like I wouldn't get one at all (let alone one that ended up paying me as much as that one did.) So, I was facing unemployment with $19K in loans, which was not a good feeling at all. 

Paying them off fast became a really high priority for me because of that. Now, no matter what happens with my career, at least I'm not going to be also in debt. It makes situations like an extended period of un or under employment more feasible, because I can go to my break-the-glass emergency plan (move in with parents) and just have to deal with a few small immediate expenses, like my car insurance. So mostly what being out of debt provides is a much better sense of security. It rocks.

Debt Debs (orchestrator of the whole thing! Thanks!) wanted to know "Why did you move to the MidWest? What do you like about it there and what do you not like?"

I moved for a job, but I'd spent some time in this particular city before. What I like: it's wayyyyy cheaper than the big coastal cities where I've lived before. It's also quieter. Even Chicago feels much more chill, less crowded, less loud and overwhelming, than New York -- let alone the much smaller city where I actually live. As I get a little older I get more low-key, so that suits me! I also like the strong sense of regional identity and cohesiveness; people here want to support their communities in various ways, buying local food, going to see local artists, etc. What I don't like -- well, the persistent and generally unacknowledged racism bothers me. There's a bit of a superiority complex (but God knows the coastal cities have that too! I guess all places are a little smug about how awesome they are.) THE WINTER WEATHER. And finally, my closest friends and family are all far away, some on the east coast and some on the west. I do have a good support system and group of friends here -- they're just not my absolute closest. So that's something that's bothersome. But basically I do like it here.