The Career Conundrum

A very wise friend once told me that you should never make an important life decision between the months of November and March. It's too cold, and your brain isn't functioning properly. And while the April weather is yet to become warm here in Cincinnati, it is the season for life contemplation. And it seems like everyone I know is contemplating their careers. Here are a few scenarios I've come across most recently:

1. It's time for a complete change in your life. A change of careers. A change of cities. A whole new start is in order.
   
2. It's time for a change of cities, and you really really hate your job situation. But it's impractical to move before the fall. How do you deal with a heinous job for 6 more months?
3. You know the perfect city for you, but before you move you have to conduct a long-distance job search and deal with significant obligations in the city you're in before you can up and go.
4. You absolutely love the place you work and the people you work for, but you aren't sure you're really the right type of person for the career you're pursuing. How do you decide what's more important: the employer or the career path?
5. To advance in your career path, you MUST move to another city, but you see yourself coming back to your current location at some point. What is your plan of action?

I'm sure all of you could add a scenario to this list. I wonder if it's the season for change or just the general time in our lives for it--all of the people in these scenarios are in the same places in their careers (3-5 years experience), give or take a year or so.

What do you think? How would you solve these career conundrums?