I don't know where to move in Journal of life stuff

I never wanted to live in New England. The only reason I moved up here was because, in 2013, I was more terrified (and it was legit terror) of not having a job than of having a job in a place I hated. I took the job because it was 30 miles outside of ~major city~ and I thought that would be more like the suburbs and I wouldn’t dislike it so much. That was wrong. I understand why it was wrong, mostly.

The thing is, I can’t decide where I want to go next. I need to move in Apr 2020. It’s causing me legitimate anxiety and I would love some measure of input on the matter. With that in mind, where, generally, do I want to move? Realistically, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas?, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, and North Carolina. I would, if I’m honest, love to live in TN, but the one city I actually want to live in is the same place my parents live, and I will not move so close to them. That’s…unwise for many reasons.

My anxiety is twofold. moving this from farther below
1. Do I move somewhere cheap or somewhere with a good job market?
2. Do I worry about moving to a place with single women (so, a major city), or do I just focus on staying cheap for the next 2 years until bitcoin booms again?

North Carolina is really Durham or bust. Arizona is Pheonix/Tucson or bust. Why? Tech jobs. I have a computer science degree and I’ve spent my career working with computers. I could be the desktop support guy for any company. I have that skillset. The problem is that when someone reads my resume they’ll wonder why someone who can earn 2-3x the salary of a desktop support engineer would take a lower paying job and not hire me. sigh.

My issue with Kansas/Oklahoma is tornadoes. Unless I got a job before moving, I wouldn’t have health insurance, and while I have the savings to stay alive without income for a few years, a tornado coming through and destroying all my stuff isn’t something I want to deal with. The upshot of Kansas, if not Oklahoma, is the extremely cheap cost of living. I could rent an entire house for $450 a month and, at least in online photos, it doesn’t look like a complete shithole. I’m cool with 1970s appliances. I don’t need ‘nice’ stuff, ‘working’ is fine with me.

The main thing I am struggling with is do I move somewhere that is cheap, or do I move somewhere that has a strong job market? Indianapolis, all of Ohio’s cities, Durham, Phoneix, these are all cities with a strong IT presence. I could find a job. I have a great resume. On the flip side, I have enough in savings that I could survive without income for at least 2 years. Rent is the biggest factor in that. If rent is $450 a month, it’s more like 4 years. If rent is $800/mo then it’s more like 2 years. I’m in good health, I don’t need health insurance. But if my appendix decided to fuck off on me, that would change quickly. Both my parents lost their appendix so mine will go at some point as well I’m 99% certain. That specific worry is not unfounded.

I don’t value health insurance enough to pay for it out of pocket. If I have health insurance, it would be through an employer only. Why? Because the cost of getting an appendix fixed without insurance is well below the $450/mo premium. Especially when you factor in the deductible. It’s literally cheaper to not have insurance. That’s something all the universal healthcare propoganda fails to mention. The health costs that people think they pay in the U.S. are not the actual costs.

Right, sorry, back to moving. My anxiety is threefold. Let me move this section higher up: magic I was wrong, my anxiety was twofold, not threefold. The job/income thing is purely about hedging my bets. If I’m wrong about bitcoin, it means I am not in a desperate situation 2 years from now where my savings are essentially depleted and I haven’t worked in 2 years. And as for not being single? Really that’s about weight loss more than anything. I need a source of happiness that isn’t food. I realize a dog or cat would probably be a better companion than a person given that need.

Thoughts? Perspectives? Have you lived in any of these places? Suggest them? Avoid them?