Good news on the job front!

I've been whittled down into a small group of finalists for a reporter job in Utah that sounds like my cup of tea. In the small metropolitan area of Logan, I would be writing about community issues and city government. The paper, according to the editor I spoke with over the phone, is a great opportunity for a start-up job and there seems to be enough security in the job which means I wouldn't have to worry about being laid off anytime soon. However, the indecisive voice inside me keeps nagging. During this tough economic time, do I even have the option to be choosy when it comes to a first job?

I shouldn't be too hasty. After all, the official choice has not been made-I may in fact not get the position-but my head is constantly swimming with questions and what should and shouldn't be priorities.

One important aspect I've been thinking about is the fact that I need benefits. We all know too well that I need them. Accident prone and clumsy are just two words that have been used to describe me and I constantly get sick all year long. I can't keep living without any sort of insurance. It seems like a bad move.

Two. I'm stuck between two coasts. I clearly remember when I was in high school, dreaming about just leaping and going where the wind took me. But that was before I had a really solid support system. Both halves of that support system are on two halves of the country, which means I'd have to create an entirely new one in Utah. That idea sounds scary and I don't know how to decide what is more important to me. Do I accept a job that sounds utterly perfect yet the location doesn't seem ideal?

The pay is something that has been universal in all the job prospects I've come across. Starting out as a reporter, I am expected to make about $20,000 a year, which is fine. I can totally do that. That's more money than I've ever made in my life, combined. I could handle it, and in Logan, Utah, the cost of living is low enough where I could get by all right.

So how does one decide something as important as this? I'm not sure. It's something I'm sure I'll be faced with more than once in my job search. How does one handle this sort of pressure?