Buffy deciding to stay in Sunnydale after graduation

[Chosen Enemy]

Buffy had a really good SAT score, and she could have probably go anywhere she wants. She could have passed the torch to Faith (which at the time Joyce suggested that Faith still hasn't turned evil) and get a higher education. She even fought for that goal with Wesley, she was really excited about a life far away from the Hellmouth.

BUT! She decided to stay in Sunnydale and continue with her Slayer duties.
Was it smart of her? I mean, if she defeated the Mayor and Faith's threat, she could have gone somewhere else. Did she make the right decision? She could have had a big future, even live (which as a Slayer is almost promised that she wouldn't for long). She could have had the normal life she's always dreamed of.

What do you think, was that the right decision to stay in Sunnydale intead of choosing normal life with a brighter future?

 

[nightshade]

I think that without Faith being there she felt that she had to stay to cover the hellmouth. which Faith would have done if she hadn't joined the Mayor

 

[Kean]

To be honest, she wouldn't have been Buffy if she left. As much as she loathes what being a slayer means to her life and options, it is very much who she is. Like she said in Helpless, she couldn't turn her back on it knowing what goes bump in the night.

 

[ticonderouga]

Also would it really make that much of a difference where she was? Part of the Slayers legacy is that she is drawn to the things she is supposed to fight, and they are drawn to her. So while leaving the Hellmouth may have reduced the amount of time that she devoted to Slaying, she would also be leaving the support structure that has allowed her to survive longer then most slayers. So I believe that leaving Sunnydale probably would have meant Buffy dies much earlier and has no one like Willow, Anya, Tara, and Xander around to resurrect her after she did die. So the net result? Another in a very long line of dead Slayers.

Course the other reason could just be that if Buffy leaves Sunnydale then the show essentially ends, and everybody would be out of work.