Need advice, please!

[mirnell]

I really need to stop doing my deep thinking during classes, even boring ones.

I need opinions, help, advice, something. Although I've talked about this with mashfanficchick, this is the first time I'll be putting some of my thoughts into words to anyone other than myself.


I'm about to start my second to last term of classes, and I've been done with my actual computer networking courses for almost three months. I've always known that I wasn't going to hang around Philadelphia forever, but it was always a question of where I was going to go. I've toyed with moving west, I've toyed with moving to the UK, I've even thought about moving to the middle of nowhere and ignoring the existence of all civilisation. I always imagined that I'd get a job where I could do most of my work from a remote computer and live somewhere where there's nature nearby.

Recently, though, I've had a new idea, one that seems, not only more doable, but more right. I'm seriously starting to consider moving to New York City. One, I actually have friends there. I've lived in or just outside of Philadelphia for the last almost thirty years, and I still don't have any close friends in the area. Yes, I've had some over the years, but no one anymore who I can just call up to go out for a cup of coffee or a drink. Two, there are always computer jobs out there, especially for a networker who's proficient in two operating systems. And just glancing at places like craigslist, there are just as many positions in New York as there are in Philadelphia. Three, I spend so much time in New York already that people are surprised when I tell them that I don't actuall live there. I don't think twice about jumping on a train to go up for the day, or, occassionally, even for just a few hours. Four, the more I think about it, the more I realise that I like New York. Me, the city-hating, nature-loving, almost-but-not-quite-a-techno-hippie, likes New York City. Yeah, it was a bit of a shock for me to realise too.

And the thing that really struck me, and made me start thinking about this as a realistic idea, was the sudden understanding that I have a life in New York. How the hell did I end up having a life in a city that I don't live in? But I do. Somehow.

So the opinions I need... does this sound like a potentially realistic plan? My mom, who doesn't want to even think about me ever leaving the area, said that I should get a job locally first, and then in a few years think about moving. The way I figure it, why should I try to start a new career twice? I'm about to have a degree in a brand new field for me. I should look at it as a chance to start over, right?

Also, from past experience, I have trouble living with people, particularly people I don't know. I can be a very private person, as anyone who knows me can attest. I've had a number of very bad experiences with roommates, and eventually decided that the best person for me to live with is me. I know that New York is expensive. Is living alone possible (no, I have no idea where yet), or should I resign myself to the idea of trying to live with someone again?

Any other advice or thoughts or questions I should ask myself? The thing that scares me the most right now is that the more I think about it, the more right it feels. Which I suppose is actually a good thing. It's just scary.

I am still two terms away, which means I likely won't even start sending out resumes until June-ish, as my last term is starting. If all goes well, I should be finished in August, and the idea of having a concrete plan is about all that's getting me through some of these classes.

Comments

[mashfanficchick.livejournal.com]

silver_chipmunk accidentally makes a good point: it's all about what your personal needs are. Granted, she got crazy-lucky with her Hobbit Hole, but still: if you thought you could deal with renting a basement or upstairs apartment (they're very popular in Queens, especially in my area; most of the attached brownstones like mine in my neighborhood are actually two-family houses), you could probably find something affordable pretty quickly. And lots of times these are cheaper than a regular co-op or condo, because you're paying just rent--often pretty low rent, since you have what in other places amounts to a room rather than a whole apartment--and your own utilities, as opposed to rent/mortgage, maintenance, all the associated costs (like tipping doormen), etc.

(Hey, silver_chipmunk, can mirnell come over to your apartment one of these days to see what it's like? Like I said, you got majorly lucky, but it would be a start for her to see how your place is set up.)

*really needs a New York City icon; reminds herself to ask silver_chipmunk if she can borrow hers*