diff --git a/init.el b/init.el
index faf998a..abbae3a 100644
--- a/init.el
+++ b/init.el
@@ -15,9 +15,12 @@
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
 ;; set up straight package manager
 ;;
+;; set new location for straight.el
+(setq straight-base-dir (expand-file-name "~/.cache/emacs/var"))
+;;
 (defvar bootstrap-version)
 (let ((bootstrap-file
-       (expand-file-name "straight/repos/straight.el/bootstrap.el" user-emacs-directory))
+       (expand-file-name "straight/repos/straight.el/bootstrap.el" straight-base-dir))
       (bootstrap-version 6))
   (unless (file-exists-p bootstrap-file)
     (with-current-buffer