Thanks for the update Laura. It sounds like your boss wants to do his best to keep you and make sure you are happy working there. Holding thumbs for semesters only. That would leave a lot of travel time.

Thank you for all of the advise I received above - I wanted to give some feedback. Dd has gone for two sessions with the Psychologist and she really likes her. I eventually decided not to talk to the therapist myself, but I did walk Dd through what she should tell her when asked why she was there - that she is autistic, needs help with relationships, and how to handle the feelings about the ones that went wrong. It sounds like she did that. I can hear in the things that she has said in the last two weeks that the therapist is really making an impact. The boy who was brave enough to tell her that she was too intense and he 'needed distance' for a while, did reach out again and she is open to giving their friendship another chance - which is huge for her. She would not have forgiven the slight before. She's been invited out three times now with the new group she met a while ago. They have another group outing planned to watch a cricket game this weekend. She met one of the girls, who lives close to her new apartment, through a friend. The new group sound like a nice wholesome, and somewhat nerdy bunch. I'm pleased that she's being included. She is diving into these friendships again, but except for the friend-through-a friend girl, there is no one on one texting and calling from the get-go. They have a WhatsApp group where they organize their social events and share memes and jokes and have included her. Holding thumbs that these friendships do blossom, but slowly, and that they accept Dd for all her wonderful qualities and are tolerant of her quirks. I'll be holding my breath.

You'll be on my mind and sending you love. Stay strong.

Mine as well. I add bagged fresh vegetables in the microwave. The total cost is less than three McDonald’s Mcchicken and fries and I can just stop at the supermarket on the way home. If you let the chicken cool down completely it is safe to shred and freeze.

Does she live close enough that you could invite her over and say 'we're making such and such' tonight - bring your ingredients to add to ours and I'll show you how easy this can be'.

All the very best with the negotiations!!

I'd go with D for this reason. My previously super fit and healthy Dh has just gone through a major health crisis that will permanently affect his quality of life. Where we thought we would be working a few more years, we are now going to move our retirement forward to be able to enjoy the things that take more time to do. It is a big step though, as for many of us our identity and self-esteem is coupled to our jobs. If you know that you have the opportunity to pick up contract work that will pay for your travel, even better. The other question is whether job A is outcomes driven or being 'available' to customers or colleagues? What I mean by that is, if you have a job like programming, or data analysis, an experienced person could cover the same amount of output in half the time to a new recruit, thereby freeing a lot of time for themselves. Starting a new job always requires a lot of time to get up to speed.

I forgot about the weekly art class that I started recently. The lessons are very reasonable (about US$ 2.50 per hour), but I've really gone to town on some of the supplies!

We also have Wusthof knives and have added to the collection over the years. They are carefully stored and regularly sharpened. At the other end of the scale I like to buy small Solingen (a German manufactured) vegetable knives. For a long time they were not available here and I had to stock up any time we went to Europe or someone visited. About a dollar each, but with the added cost of flights LOL.

In his negotiations he should include that other companies are reaching out and he's testing the waters. He doesn't have to tell the current company that he'd really like to stay.

Dh has a lot of entertainment subscriptions - pay television for sport and news, streaming services, etc.

Cleaning services and gardener, although these services are quite common to have here. Annual subscription of Otter.ai for my financial coaching side-hussle/ post corporate retirement job. I could take the notes manually, but this saves a lot of time. Curly-girl cut every quarter. I need to drive about 90 minutes to the city for this and its way more expensive than a local (small town) cut, but so worth it. I also buy salon products when I'm there. Manicure and pedicure for special occasions. Eating out doesn't quite fit into the grocery thread. We do so about twice a year, preferring to entertain at home with barbeques or cooking for a small group of friends. I might meet a friend for a coffee more often. ETA: While Dh was in hospital, I drank a daily takeaway cappuccino and I'm happy those aren't easily accessible here as I'd be so tempted. I spent a fortune!

It's hard to know the size of the panel up front, but count on at least 3 people (and a spare).

Absolutely. It immediately shows that you are forward thinking and considerate.

I think that's reasonable.