Letters to the Editor
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The Reality of the Job Market
I'm a chemist - a recently laid off and unemployed chemist - and the job market for chemists is brutal right now. Unless you are extremely lucky, this is a problem you're going to be facing throughout your career. You'll be laid off. She'll be laid off. At some point, you may both face the problem of having to relocate to find jobs. It's the reality of the job market for chemists.
I don't want to say "ignore love". Maybe love is worth sacrifice. But if you want to have a long-term career in chemistry, you will need a strong foundation. The right postdoc, where you can get strong references and make good contacts, is essential. That may mean Toronto, or it may not. There are certainly options in the Bay Area (it's not as if she's moving to the middle of nowhere.) But the decisions you make about your career now are going to affect you for years to come. If you stay in your field, people will still be asking you where you did your postdoc when you're 50.
You need to discuss this with your girlfriend. Even if you decide to go to SF with her, it's an issue that will probably come up again later (maybe when she graduates and starts looking for a postdoc). Lots of two-scientist couples have the same issues, and there's no one answer - but you have to talk it over and decide what you want to do and what sacrifices both of you are willing to make.