Where should I move?

If you are in the US, how about someplace like Virginia or the Carolinas? The cost of living is relatively low, the weather is usually nice with mild winters, and the cities aren’t too big. You could live near the coast, if large bodies of water are your thing.

Plus in either direction, there’s great places like Miami, Washington DC, New York and Philly to visit.

For warmth, lifestyle and still have easy access to wonderful America you can’t beat the Florida Keys.

Wait, can I just ask..you don’t plan on going to school to get a career started, because of these installments of payment you’ll be getting?

I’ve been living in Rhode Island since I was born, so, being the ocean state, the ocean has always been a big part of my life. I want to be somewhere warm with plenty of beaches, which is why australia catches my eye. I’ve never been that far from home and it seems in pictures like a beautiful place to live.

I also have a friend that moved here (of all places) from South Africa. The stories he’s told me about how nice it is and how crystal clear the water is.

This isn’t something I’m determined to do, I just feel like I have no stake here so I might as well try something new.

@itsjustmatt what I’m thinking of doing is going to new england tech to get an AD in web design, moving, and doing freelance work. Then, I’d like to start a surf/skate shop off the back of my web designing.

Honestly, though, I’m taking any suggestions. Being 19, I’ll admit that I don’t know what the best way to handle this is and I know there’s a lot of older flutherites that have been around the block and can provide some good advice.

Re: the conformity issue, you might consider the west coast. It’s definitely different.

If you feel like you are more cut out for work than school, you might try to apprentice with someone who is working in graphic design or intern with a company. Or just teach yourself and start small with a business, since you won’t need the cashflow straightaway.

If you are looking to escape Big Brother, you ought to be aware that America isn’t the only society that Is moving in that direction. England and Austrailia have their own surveillance creep issues. I would guess this to be true for most western nations. Anyway, it’s worth researching if that’s one of your motivators.

If you haven’t seen “Endless Summer 2” watch that to see what the workd’s best surfing beaches are. It’s a little dated (1992), but probably worth a look.

If money is no object, you sound like a Malibu, CA kid to me.

As far as work goes, I’m with @kevbo – finding an internship or apprenticeship with someone more experienced is a great way to learn graphic design or web design, and it’ll give you the one-on-one learning experience that you’re looking for. Just make sure that whoever you apprentice to understands that you’re really looking to learn their craft, and not just be an assistant or gopher who does the menial tasks without learning the more skilled stuff.

As far as where to go, if money really isn’t an issue, why not travel for a while? It sounds like you’ve got several ideas of places you might like to go (and you’re getting more from the folks here), so go spend some time in the ones that sound best to you, and see what you like. Kevbo’s right, though – if you’re concerned with the way the government acts, do your research before you pick a place to move. That sort of thing isn’t necessarily something that you’ll find out while visiting, but it will be important to you once you move.

Like others have said, try an apprentice or vocational program first. This will give you the skill set you need to be successful and give you time to mature. I would’t advse moving out of the country, or any major move, until you have matured and found your direction.
As for the conformity issue, there isn’t a place on the planet that you won’t have those issues. I think you will fnd those issues will resolve themselves as you grow in wisdom and confidence.

I loved living in southeast FL, but I am not sure what exactly your are looking for when it comes to people? The different areas of Fl each have their own personality.

I will tell you this, living in warm sunny weather all of the time changes your life! If you are already aware that you want to live where it is warm, you will appreciate it all the more. My friends and I who lived/live there, who grew up in the NE never took the beautiful weather, blu skies, and palm trees for granted. I lived there for 12 years, the feeling of being on vacation all of the time never went away. Once you are in an environment you are happy in, the sun will give you energy I think, you might be able to be more focused on career.

If you really think you can’t get through school, then maybe volunteering your time and apprenticing is the way to go to get experience. Try to think of unique ways to use your interest in graphic design, you can start small, create unique business cards, flyers, logos. You can do this from anywhere if you decide to travel and try to figure out where you want to live. Tell your friends and family you are starting your own business, get a website together advertising these services. Or, maybe those skills can be used in the theater? I don’t know if sets are done on computer or freehand?? Try to think outside of the box.

@judi if by malibu you mean I’m a stuck up rich kid, then you’ve got me all wrong. I have an understanding of working for a living, I’m a straight up nine-to-fiver, monday through friday.

As far as travelling goes, my original plan was to get the installment at 21 and backpack through europe as its always been a bit of a pipe dream of mine. This ended up evolving into a trip to amsterdam, maybe for a month or so. But when I decided I might want to move away, I thought I’d use that money to visit whatever place I decided to move to.

@CodexNecro ; No, not at all. My son lived in Malibu and he loved it. The surfing, the laid back attitude. I think you would like the atmosphere. Seriously. It’s a great place, just expensive.

@CodexNecro When you say, “use that money” do you mean you are going to use up this windfall in one move? I say don’t do that. I would not expect you to tell us how much money it is, but don’t spend it all in one place.

@judi I understand now, here in RI all we know about the west coast is what we see on shows like the OC, and we hate what we see.

@JLeslie I don’t really have anything to hide but I’m not sure what the exact number is but I believe it should be around $18,000. The settlement altogether was for $50,000. I got an installment of 15k when I turned 18 and bought a car, then just blew the rest on partying, which I sorely regret (the blowing of the money, not the partying :D). So I get another installment at 21 (the aforementioned 18k) and another at 25 which should be more. I guess it adds up while its in the bank or something.

@CodexNecro $50k is not that much, but it is a great start. This money can make your life easier and more secure, and gives you some freedom to try some things before you panick about paying rent, but should not be spent in one fell swoop. Sounds like you need to focus on work rather soon or you will get yourself into a bad spot. If you spend everything it is the same as living check to check, and you have the opportunity to start with savings that most young people don’t have. I see that you WANT to work, so I don’t mean to imply you want to sit around doing nothing, but I worry you feel like the amount of money you are coming into is a lot of money, and I would bet that most of the people who have commented so far were thinking more in the six figures.

@JLeslie yeah I got you, I probably should’ve have given the numbers before taking advice.

What I’m certainly NOT trying to do is spend all my money at once so I can sit on the beach in Australia or wherever, I just want a change of scenery. Like I said before, I feel confined here. I feel like maybe if I went somewhere new, maybe not even permanently, I’d have a chance to get myself on the right track and get a career started so I won’t have to spend 40 hours a week wasting away in a factory.

I came up with an analogy that some of the collective might identify with. I believe that your life is a box full of legos. On the box is a picture of a castle. Inside, with the pieces, are the directions. You can either build the castle that the box (society) tells you to, or you can say “F DAT” and build your own damn castle. Even if its not as big or amazing, you built it yourself.

I would suggest south America. Although it sounds Like a lot, that money won’t last very long in Australia , Hawaii, or any of the typical resort places.
Another place to get a lot of bang for your buck is Asia. My daughter lived in Vietnam and lived it.
btw don’t believe what they say about the west coast. It’s a great place to live!

Yeah from what I understand you can get beachfront property in Rio De Janeiro (sp?) for, like, 10k.

Ooops, I’m glad I read far enough to find out what you consider a substantial amount of money. To me, that sounds like a mere drop in the bucket. There is no way a few thousand dollars would stake you to a new life in Malibu, CA. That wouldn’t even pay deposit and first months rent on a place there.

Just on a practical note – it is very difficult to emigrate to Australia. They have a point system and it is hard to get a legal work permit there. I would suggest not planning to move there unless you check that out first.

The Tampa area, where I have a second home, is pretty neat. Great beaches, a city, easy access to an airport and some laid back towns like Gulfport. I’ve heard it’s great around Sarasota too. I also really love the San Francisco area although it is expensive to live there.

How about getting a friend and doing a cross country exploratory trip. check out some intersting areas before settling on a place to move?

@janbb cross country trip is a great idea

If you have a problem with the government in this country, rather than the location, I suggest you either become part of the process yourself and work for change, or move to a country that better meets your needs. You could do some extensive research on the internet, and find a good fit.

You need to find the school, not look for the location. Once you have the degree, you are in a better position to move or relocate. If you move without a plan, you will only squander what money you have. That is said based upon experience with the 80/20 rule—80% of the people who come into money they didn’t work for, will squander it.