I think this belongs here. Would moving across the country to a new state with no connections, no hook ups, or even a clue of where to get a job or a place to live be totally impossible? Just a basic high school degree, with a little experience in manual labor, still young, and yearning to go to SoCal. SoCal is quite an expensive place I'd imagine. Not a live or death choice, just food for thought and an idea I had.
I tried to do that same thing one time many years ago. I was living in Washington, on my way to CA with no idea what I was going to do when I got there, and my car broke down in the middle of Oregon. I ended up living in Oregon for close to five years. I didn't know a soul there when I first got there, but to this day I have very good friends there that I go visit several times a year. I was in a Ford Escort hatch back (that I lived in for a couple weeks while I worked to save enough to rent a place). I would recommend a small pickup with a canopy so you can sleep in the back if things get tight. The hatch back sucked ass because I'm tall. Do it now while you can. I'm glad I did. Once you settle down and pick up a wife and kids it's just going to be a "I wish I had given it a shot when I was younger". They are some of the best memories of my life. My last year there I spent living on the OR coast surfing, and generally being a beach bum. Great times bro.
I really think I should get a college degree and find a basic job out there. I just want to be able to go to the beach and smoke some killer buds. 3 hours to the beach from here, but it's crappy, I like the west coast more.
Definitely. Getting an education is important. Don't do like I did and wait until your mid thirties to figure that out. I'm in my third year now as a Chem major, and it is tough as hell doing it with a wife and three kids. I sure wish I would have never dropped out of college when I was younger. Have you though about going to school out there? If you know how to live cheaply, you can just about get by on the pell grants and student loans with out working. That would leave you some beach time. My only other advice would be to choose your major wisely. I know a ton of unemployed people with sociology degrees. My trigonometry teacher at the local community college here was a retired high school math teacher. He told me a story about two teaching positions that opened up at the high school he taught. One was a general teaching job, which you needed just your teaching certificate for (bachelors + 2 extra years for the certificate) for one position there were over 300 applicants. The other job was for a math teacher, for which you needed a degree in mathematics, plus your certificate. There were only two applicants for it. A lot of college students choose the path of least resistance, without thinking about the implications of what you can actually do with it.
I, too, have been wondering about this. I am meaning to do some research before I bail, obviously, but I would love to see what else is out there. I've been out on my own for a while now but not far from home, with the same old people. My buddy and I want to just pick up all of our money and things, and try to make a living of our own somewhere in Cali. Perhaps work somewhere in the cannabis industry, doing what we love where it's actually accepted. We both hold our educations pretty high still, though. Lawrence, Kansas is a cool little town (KU, fa sho!) to live in but I'm tired of this general area of the world. I don't want to live the typical suburban, rat-race, corporate world life that I've been brought up in (Johnson County, KS). I know there's so much more out there to life and I want to live it to the fullest. So...where do we start?!