What to do with my hair?

Basically, I'm thinking of doing something different with my hairstyle, but I'm not exactly sure what I want to do. Let me set the stage for you. I have had a similar hairstyle for quite some time (~6 years or so). Well, here's a quick run-down of my past cuts:

Middle school and early high school - Comb over, wavy look (it was very trendy), but dorky (looking back on it)
Later High school and early college - Mid-length straight hair (nothing fancy at all)
College - Very short cut (buzzed on sides and very short on top), the only variations I made were based on sideburns and facial hair (off and on goatee).
Grad school - Same cut as above with a full beard.

So, no real changes for a long time. Over the past couple of years, I generally get a haircut every 3 months. This results in a mix of really short and grow out to mid-length (once it gets hanging over my ears). As of now, my last cut was in mid-June and I'm kind of liking a bit of the longer hair look. What I really like is the casual curl that my hair takes on. The ends have this natural curl that I'm tempting to run with. Here's what I'm thinking, and would appreciate your comments:

1) Let it grow and hang naturally
2) Let it grow and get a perm - likely with loose curls (although tight fro curls are an option)
3) Continue with my previous style (get scalped every 3 months)

The gist is I feel like doing something different with my hairstyle, and I'm not sure exactly what that something is. If you have additional suggestions, let me know. As for now, I'm likely to continue letting my hair grow in the foreseeable future. Economic impact is a push (more shampoo, but less haircuts).