Moving back home at 38?
Sorry in advance if this is all over the place as I'm writing this late after a busy work day; my brain feels fried. I'm originally from central California and I've been living in Los Angeles for almost 15 years. I moved out of here a few years after high school with some friends on a whim. I was young and dumb had some good times but from about just before covid till now, I feel like I've aged out and it's become unaffordable to me. I work in what used to be a high end kitchen which is still extremely busy but I'm utterly burnt out and I'm making laughably low wages for effort.
On top of that, I don't have a car anymore and between car prices and insurance, that feels out of reach now, so my ability to get around is limited and time consuming. Even though there's so much here, I don't feel like I have any real opportunities or prospects. It's a really messed up time in America and it feels palpably close to some sort of financial/social collapse. To make a long story short, I feel like I don't really have anything to show for my time here and believe I'm depressed.
My living situation is about to change in the coming month with me either getting a roommate or moving into a studio which maybe taking alittle under half my earnings in a month. If I get approved for it, I could get another job or look for a higher paying one to be more secure. I've talked with my mom about moving back and trying to restart and help her out as she's retired and dealing with health issues. I intend to pay rent but I also don't want to burden her and see me having to move back as a shortcoming. She's actually excited that I do but there's a part of me that knows this will be short lived and I don't want to deal with a parental tone and I'm not sure if my opportunities for employment will be better in the valley than here. Ideally I would hope I could find a job I can grind and save to buy a car and maybe build a
I feel pretty lost in life and don't know how to navigate this.