Full Careers
How does one make a living in an idyllic small town?
I am been pondering a major decision in my life: to leave everything behind and start anew in a place that I actually want to live (rather than let my career dictate where I live). Now, the rub is that I have a PhD in an obscure research field and no practical skills to speak of, so what would I do in a small town to survive (well)? Frankly I am well aware of my strengths and weaknesses and cannot see myself doing anything non-intellectual. Before I fell into academia, I always dreamt of becoming a writer, but I'm also not so delusional to think that I can easily become a famous writer and make a living at it. The thing is I desperately need a change--I sort of burnt-out having met my goals early (became a professor at 26, tenured by 30, and now direct my own research center at 32). I got my PhD not because I was planning a career, but because I was just interested in what I was studying. Having answered my initial questions to my satisfaction, I'm afraid the fire has just gone out.
Public Comments
- Here I go again. I live in a small rural town in Florida of about 10,000. Jacksonville is an hour from here. Gainesville is just south of my slice of paradise. Tallahassee is just strait down the Interstate, 2 hrs away. U of F is in Gainesville. FSU is in Tallahassee. So, brains are close by. <grin> Right now I am looking out the office window at rolling hills of green grass. Not a skyscraper or brick building in sight. Folks here are friendly yet optimistic about life in general. We still have vegetable stands loaded with fresh tomatoes and local strawberries are just about done. We even have our first Starbucks being built much to the delight of our community college students. I think you could find a place to hang your hat just about anywhere down here considering the availability of academic institutions and big city businesses an hours drive away.
