What is important in life?

[27offsuit]

happiness

love

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

food and sex.

[bdk3clash]

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you... and to hear the lamentation of their women!

[The DaveR]

KB, For a variety of technical reasons a residential real estate price drop in Seattle seems very likely over the near term.

[CharlieDontSurf]

[ QUOTE ]
I've said in this very forum that we very likely cannot know what will make us truly happy in the end, but I struggle with identifying what is the most prudent move for me in the near future. About two years ago I moved out to Seattle to be with my girlfriend who I recently broke up with. There's no chance we'll get back together, so that's not anchoring me here anymore. However, being a semi-social kind of guy, I managed to build a new life here with significant ties to the area:

-Own a small business with one partner
-Rediscovered my love for baseball and play in several leagues here
-Met a bunch of great new friends (many from 2+2)

There are also obvious advantages by living in Seattle over Cleveland - the weather, the people, the opportunities, and so forth. However, I feel that I'm reaching an inflection point in my life, one that revolves around planning for the future a little bit better than I normally would. In Seattle it's impossible to get a house for under $350,000, while in Cleveland the same house goes for $90,000 or less (and there's a lot more choice in the market).

Here's a list of the problems that I'm facing:

-A recent trip back to Cleveland made me realize that the friendships I had with the people there (and still maintain) are much more evolved than the ones here.
-I know a good business partner that would be happy to work with me in Cleveland, and have several trustworthy employees lined up (which I don't have here in Seattle) if I wanted to relocate.
-Housing prices are just insane in Seattle. Combine this with my terrible credit and desire to own property, and Cleveland comes out on top.
-Though I love the weather here, I could just travel during the Cleveland winter months with the money I'd save on cost of living.
-Baseball's now a huge part of my life, and being able to play year-round is great. There's also a big lack of active people in Cleveland, and not surprisingly, amateur baseball teams.

I felt that the people in Cleveland were holding me back when I lived there, since most of my friends were unmotivated and I let that influence me in a big way. However after being with them for two weeks, it's clear that most of them have matured but keep those close friendship bonds that I lack here.

My lease expires in October, and while I'm definitely going to live in Seattle through the winter, this decision weighs heavy on my mind with regard to what decision I will make come March 2008.

Has anyone else experienced a similar inflection point in their life and can offer their advice or suggestions? I feel like I need to identify what is important to me and make a good analytical judgment, but this is definitely one of the tougher decisions I face.

[/ QUOTE ]

Going thru the same thing here...continue on my career path that i started years ago in LA or move back to Scottsdale, have better quality of life better social structure and enjoy life more..though my career path with be up in the air.

[inside??]

Out on the road today, I saw a dead head sticker on a cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, "don’t look back. you can never look back."
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
You should just let them go.......

[ThaSaltCracka]

Kyle, not gonna lie, Seattle is a dope place that I miss, but man, its [censored] expensive. Not like SF or LA, but its pretty damn pricey.

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

its hard to rationalize living in expensive cities without a proportional incentive in earning potential. You are just paying twice as much for everything that you would be paying in another city. It might be best to live in the cheaper location and travel more on vacation to the expensive location.

[El Diablo]

kyle,

The older I get, the more I realize that the only things really important to me are people that I care about.

That consists of family, close friends, and hopefully a girl.

Sure, I like having stuff and going places and eating and drinking good stuff.

But I find myself caring less and less about that stuff every year, and my relationships with a relatively small group of people becoming more and more important in my life.

This doesn't address your specific situation, but perhaps is a perspective that can help you focus some of your thoughts.

edited to add: Actually, not having a boss who I have to answer to is pretty damn important to me too.

[Dids]

[ QUOTE ]
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you... and to hear the lamentation of their women!

[/ QUOTE ]

The first year I was in a bowling league, we played some team in the finals with 4 dudes, and one (cute) chick.

We buried them, and they basically stopped trying halfway through the 3rd game. The chick started crying.

After it was over, one of my friends noted.

"We just had a Conan moment there".