Hair cut

I want to let my hair grow long. It's reached about 5-6 inches long now, so I figure why not try it, else I'll always be itching to find out what I would look like with long hair.

Thing is, my caucasian hair is thin but VERY thick. I know a lot of people who say they have thick hair, but even they find I have too much hair.
My hair is slightly curly/wavy, well it does what it feels like. It also grows like a plant, which means towards the sun.
I've had my hair at 9 inches long and none of it stayed below my eyes naturally.

That being said, I like my light brown hair but its a huge pain. I've had a straight perm (the new japanese style, which costs a shitload) and it worked ... for a week. After 1 month it was 100% back to normal ... I don't have the budget to do that every month, therefore thats not a solution.

So, tomorrow is my last day in Japan and I'm looking to get my hair tamed before I leave.
Being that I want to let it grow long and that a straight perm doesn't last long enough, I'm trying to figure out a hair-style that could fit me.

Any suggestions?
I can speak conversational Japanese, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue, if I have a picture or something to give the general idea.

Thx for the help. I'd like to keep the total bill under 60$, but if theres a very good solution that I don't know about, I'm ready to shed whatever it takes if it lasts long enough.

Hi Andrew,Your hair will grow down eventually so don't worry and mean time buy and use good conditioner to make your hair soft and moist. My hair just like yours always spike up when they'r about 5cm then after that they grow down.

Actually, if all your worried about is how curly your hair is going to be, you should leave your hair that length, but get a straightening iron. You can find them everywhere at different prices depending on the brand.

I had thick curly hair too, I had been straightening it with the straightening iron since I was 13 years old.

But now I have a straight perm (permanant) so I dont have to worry ;)