thanks for all the advice, everyone. guess i wanted to give an update on the situation. i hadn't been pressing over the question then because i figured things would play out and make the decision easier, and that's happened--like it always does. I contacted a random person in the Parks&Rec Department of Boise (about to graduate into that field) and the girl said "I don't expect any full-time openings for the next three years." I was really leaning on choosing Boise, but that mostly made my decision right there. not to mention my friend there, who i was hoping to be able to hang out with, will be having his first kid in a few months, which means he's never going to have the opportunity to bum around downtown with me. so i think i've got my plan down. i'm heading to Denver to help the brother move in (I also used to live there), will find some work to save money and then head to Austin. i'm sure i'll look for work in Denver, too.