u/drowningfurtherdown

I am currently at the end of my junior year at a 4-year university in Southern California. A lot of my friends are seniors and seeing them begin their postgrad lives is making me think more than ever about my future.

I've known since my freshman year that I wanted to get out of SoCal after graduating, and I've had my eye on Portland and Seattle ever since. I visited the city last year and really liked what I saw. I'm super into art, music and nature, and although it's not cheap, it's marginally less expensive than where I am living now.

My degree is in film (with a minor in gender & sexuality studies), so to some people it might seem kind of backwards for me to turn my back on Hollywood the second I enter the real world. I don't see it that way. I love filmmaking more than anything and I've dedicated my entire life to it since I was a little kid, but the idea of developing my personal life before my career doesn't seem like the worst idea in the world to me. I'm also primarily focused on video editing, which is largely freelance/remote these days.

This is all pre-amble to say: I don't have a ton of money saved up. I don't have very many people I know in Seattle (aside from a few friends), and I'm not entirely sure what I'd do for a living down there. All I know is that I want to live in a city that isn't the one I'm currently in. I would be moving with my girlfriend who I'm very serious with, and she's just as down as I am to figure it all out.

From an outsiders' perspective, am I making a mistake? Should I stay where I have a network and family or would it be possible to live comfortably in Seattle starting with nothing? I would make sure I had secured a job and squirreled away enough money for emergencies before moving down there. I just need a fresh start and I want to know if this town is an okay place for that. Thank you for reading.