Plan to get out of Utah

I technically was supposed to leave Utah next month, but that got nixed around February/March, when I realized there was no way I was going to finish my thesis by April. So right now I'm here till next October (2024). Or maybe it was August; to be honest, I can't really remember because it's Friday and my brain is soup. 

Additionally, I struggled because all my friends are here, and I don't want to start that process from scratch again. I don't make new friends easily (understatement of the decade there). I also LOVE how many tiny little water parks there are all over the valley. It's awesome. 

But, the seasonal depression is already hitting me hard, and I know I can't keep living like this. Plus, pretty much everyone here is married with kids, or unmarried/divorced with kids, and 99% of people got married at like 21 to someone they knew for 4 months. Utah has an accelerated timeline and it just doesn't work for me. Once upon a time I believed in the strong feeling I had that I would find the right person for me here in Utah, while at BYU. I no longer believe this. It was wishful thinking. I was wrong. I don't know what I'll do in that regard, but I'm not going to find what I'm looking for here. There's no point in continuing. 

One option was Florida, but then I realized that:

  • It rains almost every day in Florida during the summer (I hate rain). 
  • Florida has crazy ants that destroy PC builds, brain-eating amoebas in the water, and basically every creepy insect you can think of. Florida is filled with insects. 
  • It's too conservative for me. I do not support the anti-LGBT legislation or threats to eliminate AP classes. 
But on the other hand, it is a paradise for theme parks and water parks, it's not crazy expensive, I can ride water slides all year long, and there are plenty of beaches. 

Then, we have California. 
  • Family is there -- which is both good and bad. Obviously, I want to spend time with them, but my parents have a very specific way that they want me to live my life and conduct myself. I often feel that I'm putting on a mask for them, and I can't live too close, or it will slip. 
  • The average nice 1-bedroom apartment is around $2500-2600 at the absolute cheapest, and those are the small ones. Right now I'm paying $1600 for a very nice 2-bedroom. I do not want to do Doordash or whatever to make rent. I need sufficient spare time for all of my side projects. 
  • In Utah, I can walk at any park or bike path anywhere and feel safe. 
  • Utah has tons of little water parks. California only has a few here and there, and the water slides are generally cheaper, less thrilling models. 
  • I was supposed to be back years ago. 
  • You have to be more careful about where you take walks and which parks you go to. 
  • I'm a little bit worried about living in a big city, because more crime is there. But if my job allows me to remain remote, then I may not have to worry about it. On the flip side, I might have a greater probability of finding the right person in a large city -- more people.
  • The carnivals can sadly be sketchier. At least I saw a video of some guy getting beat up at the LA Fair and it kinda spooked me. 
  • Lots of the apartments are crap with roaches and no air conditioning. Obviously, I'm not going to move if I can't have climate control; that's ridiculous.  
And -- Way less rain, beaches, theme parks, still a decent amount of water parks, etc.

I have to do the following in order to get back there: 
  • Finish my master's degree. 
  • Figure out finances. I am trying to monetize my side hobbies but I'm not good enough at them yet. I really wish I could be publishing novels, taking art commissions, putting apps and video games on stores, having a Patreon with subscribers, doing CTFs and bug bounties. But it's up to ME to get all that going. I could also try switching into development. Right now I'm not really making enough to comfortably live in a $2600 apartment, while also affording medications, my theme park trips, etc. I want to move my summer lifestyle to another state, ideally CA, and live it all year round. 
  • Figure out where I want to live exactly. 
  • Figure out if I can stay remote while living in CA or if I'm expected to work in-office. 
  • Figure out the following activities: theme parks, water parks, community pools close enough to visit during the week, gyms, safe running paths, beaches, parks, safe carnivals, corn mazes, places to take classes, and a community band or orchestra to play in. 
  • Figure out how I can stay in touch with the parts of Utah that I like -- maybe visiting for a week or two every summer. 
  • Achieve core competency in all of my pursuits. 
It's funny how all it took was a crappy weather Labor Day forecast. I'm ready to go. The dark months to follow are when I need to put in the work required to get there. And so it begins, right now. 

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