Currently I live in a less-than-desirable low COL city in the Midwest. I moved here originally for work but recently got a new remote job so I can live anywhere. During my time here, I’ve amassed a large group of friends which keeps my social life busy. However, I don’t know if this city/state is somewhere that I’d want to settle down long term. Is it better to stick around for the time being due to friends or start making moves to a slightly higher COL city if it’s a place that I can see myself living in long term?
6 comments
if you were able to make a large group of friends in one city, you should be able to in another. keep in touch with them and who knows, some of them might migrate to where you are.
i’ve made 3 major moves in my life and i’ve been able to make new friends in each new place. it takes work, but it sounds like you’ve done it before.
another option is to take 6 months or a year to live in another city and see how you like it. if you don’t, try another city or move back.
best of luck
I say always invest in yourself, hobbies, general happiness first and the rest will follow. I would move asap and start making new friends. You can always travel to visit if they truly good friends.
What’s your reason for wanting to move? It doesn’t seem like you actively *dislike* your current city.
People typically move to more expensive cities to advance their career. Your current job is remote and you don’t seem to indicate this being a career move. Keep in mind that you will not only start over socially, but also take a step back financially.
I’m going to buck the trend here and say “don’t move” unless you actively dislike your current location or do expect this to advance your career.
It’s easy to fall into a “grass is always greener” mindset, and people tend to undervalue how important social networks are to quality of life. Do you have family in your current location?
I left my friends to move to another city. While it sucks having to leave them behind, I go back and visit them frequently and get my “fix” and that’s been enough to keep me going! I’ve even found our time together more fulfilling than it was when I lived closer. That way, I get to live somewhere that I want but I still get to see everyone. Best of both worlds!
Also, I understand there’s always a case of distance / finances in terms of travelling back to visit people. So, if that’s not an option for you, I agree with what other people said about being able to make new friends in a new city while still keeping in touch with the others 🙂
My wife and I have talked about this at length because if I end up with a fully remote job for my next position, we can basically live anywhere with an Internet connection. Want to go to her grandparents’ vacay house in Florida for a month? No problem. We’ve also always talked about moving back to the area where we went to school.
The beauty of not being attached to a particular place is you can take an opportunity to explore a new area and if it doesn’t work out there, you can always move back or try another place.
Low COL city and a good group of friends? Sounds like you are doing great.
Take the remote work and go work from other places from time to time without moving completely. See how that feels and how you like the other places.
A lot of other remote work and mobile people are going TO low COL places. You may already be in the catbird seat.