Does the instability of academia make romantic relationships impossible?

Letter Thirteen: Dear On the Topic of Romance

The story we often tell ourselves about staying is that staying is the ingredient to finding a partner. It is the key to the fantasy of the picket fence house and a long term relationship and all that, and I relate to how deeply that can bury under our skin. But what really ‘counts’ as giving a place a good enough go when it comes to dating? What is the cut off point for risking that fantasy? What is ‘stable’ enough to sustain a partnership?