Compromising

I applied for a job in New York City yesterday. This confused Andy, as we both know we don't want to live in New York City. But with my recent work-related malaise, I've decided to get some resumes out there, and there really isn't anything in my city, so why not start big?

My plan through high school and most of college was to stay kind-of-near where I grew up, get my Bachelor's degree here, then move to Boston for grad school and whatever came next. But then I met Andy, and we dated, then I got offered a teaching job here (they actually called me for an interview before I even submitted an application), then we got engaged, and then we bought a house. Note that nowhere in there does it say "then I/we moved to Boston." Because I didn't. And I really like my life here, but I never imagined I'd spend forever twenty minutes from the town I grew up in. (Note: the jobs I'm looking for aren't really available in Boston right now either. I've been looking.)

On the other hand, there's Andy. He is not the kind of guy who likes to disrupt the status quo. He lived with his folks until we bought our house; he spent years working at a terrible job because the known evil was better than the unknown-evil-plus-$1-an-hour-more. Neither of us are super psyched about our jobs every day, but also neither of us hate them, so why change? He also is close to his mom (have I mentioned his dad's not exactly helpful?) and still does a lot of handyman-type stuff for them that they couldn't really afford to pay someone else to do, so he feels a lot of responsibility that I think is not his to bear.

I think what we have is an opportunity to see what else we could be doing and where else we could be doing it; Andy thinks we have a lot tying us here. Both of us are right, I guess. Help give me some perspective here:

Did you grow up and move away? Do you live down the street from the house you grew up in? What is the best and worst thing about your choice?

P.S. This post makes my husband sound kind of loser-y. Like Dante from Clerks or something. Please know that his preference to stay where he knows the scene and everything does not mean that he is Dante from Clerks. Because he really isn't.