18 year old thinking about moving to NH. Should I do it?

[FTL_Ian]

Move now, go Greyhound to save extra money.

College is overrated for most professions, and you can always go here in New Hampshire if you want to.

[Mellamo]

And would your family help you get in school, if you failed here first?

They would want to, but I don't think that they would be able to do much. They can't help me that much right now, and in a few years my little brother will be going to college too. They would help as much as they could, I know that much for sure.

PS ATHF  U=Mic Rula! Old Schoola?

You wanna trip? I'll bring it to ya. 

My parents can't afford to pay for college for me (part of me wants to pay my own way anyway), but they said that they will help out whenever I need it.

If you are going to be paying for college yourself then you might as well go to college in NH. You will be in debt either way so there is no advantage to staying in SD.

If I go to college in SD, then I will have less debt than if I go to college in NH. That's the advantage.

There is a big difference between you and the kid with no money. He didn't ask for advice and just showed up expecting others to take care of him. You obviously are not as careless and do not have such an expectation.

The difference is only $800. You're right about me not being as careless as he is, though. That's why I'm deciding to stay here until I'm ready and able to go. Call it a conservative choice if you will (because it is), but I've decided that it's the best choice I can make for myself.

As several others have said, it's not going to be easier later on. That's the honest truth. So, don't look at it as a matter of the move being hard, look at it in terms of pros and cons for you personally. Make a list of reasons why you should stay and make a list of reasons why you want to move, then after you have internalized the list throw it out and do what your heart tells you! 

My heart has made it pretty clear that it wants to move to New Hampshire. I typically make decisions with my head, though. My head has a much better track record than my heart does, so I don't think it would be wise to trust my heart with a monumental decision like this one. I'm going to give in to my heart eventually, but I need to be ready for it! 

I recommend that you stay in South Dakota for just a bit longer. Graduating with a good degree from a university with in state tuition will really set you up for success in the long run when you move: you'll have a job lined up for you, no (or not as much!) student debt. These things are important.
I know it's hard to stay in a place where most people don't believe in liberty or anything like that, but it's much much harder to move to NH and realize you can't afford to stay and have to move back home.
Just wait a few more years, work hard, save (you need more of a cushion in case it takes you a while to find a job!), and then move.
In the meantime, be a thorn in the side of everyone else in South Dakota

Alright, so I'll graduate and then move to New Hampshire, or I'll start school in South Dakota and transfer to a college in New Hampshire. As for the thorn thing: I'm already becoming that thorn; hopefully the wound gets infected! 

I hope you'll splurge for the bus fare to come here for PorcFest. I'm sure someone can arrange to pick you up at the bus station in Manchester and get you up to Gunstock. I'll scholarship you into my campsite so you'll have a place to stay. Think it over.

I'm still thinking about it. I may have ruled out the possibility of moving this year, but I'm still interested in Porcfest! I'll come up with a decision very soon... it starts in 3 days. 

I like the idea of you starting school and maybe transferring. However, the bottom line is that you MUST be able to support yourself financially. If you can't do that then you should stay where you are until you have acquired the skill sets necessary to do so.

When I was in my early 20s I didn't do that and ended up homeless for a while. It was not a pleasant experience but it made me realize that I had to grow up and accept responsibility for supporting myself. Relying on other people for that is never a good idea.

Having said all that, I look forward to when you do arrive in New Hampshire. The state isn't going anywhere and neither are we. So take your time and prepare yourself, you will be welcome regardless of when you arrive. 

Whoa, that's heavy, man. Thank you for the advice. I'll definitely look into transferring to a NH college. I'm looking forward to moving to New Hampshire, whenever it happens!

[Mellamo]

Actually, I just might end up moving! 

I just got done talking with my mom about how I'm going to pay for college. I'm going to have to borrow a lot of money, either from the Federal Stafford Loan, in which the government pays the interest for me, or from some other student loan, in which I have to pay my own interest. There is NO WAY I'm taking the Federal Stafford loan because I'm too principled (I'm not eligible anyway because they don't have me in their selective service database), and I don't know how I could handle the interest rates from a regular loan. I asked her about staying out of school for a year and working rather than going off to college and getting crushed by interest rates, and she said that would be fine. She suggested that I should go up to Minneapolis to live with my uncle, and I said that I want to go to New Hampshire.

Of course, she's worried about me being able to find a place to live and a job and being able to afford things. I told her about the unemployment rate and the low taxes of New Hampshire. I showed her parts of the 101 Reasons To Move to New Hampshire on freestateproject.com. She asked how I'm going to get around without a car. I said I don't need a car to move around; I can use a bus or walk. Crime rates? One of the lowest in the nation, I think. "But you don't know anyone there!" I played a segment of the 5/26/07 episode of Free Talk Live (love the show, Ian  ), when they were talking about the helpfulness of the people in the Free State Project and I mentioned how helpful the people of this forum are. She walked away after that, but she's thinking about it.

This might actually happen!

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I expect we'll be seeing you here soon!

[Rosie the Riveter]

Actually, I just might end up moving! 

I just got done talking with my mom about how I'm going to pay for college. I'm going to have to borrow a lot of money, either from the Federal Stafford Loan, in which the government pays the interest for me, or from some other student loan, in which I have to pay my own interest. There is NO WAY I'm taking the Federal Stafford loan because I'm too principled (I'm not eligible anyway because they don't have me in their selective service database), and I don't know how I could handle the interest rates from a regular loan. I asked her about staying out of school for a year and working rather than going off to college and getting crushed by interest rates, and she said that would be fine. She suggested that I should go up to Minneapolis to live with my uncle, and I said that I want to go to New Hampshire.

Of course, she's worried about me being able to find a place to live and a job and being able to afford things. I told her about the unemployment rate and the low taxes of New Hampshire. I showed her parts of the 101 Reasons To Move to New Hampshire on freestateproject.com. She asked how I'm going to get around without a car. I said I don't need a car to move around; I can use a bus or walk. Crime rates? One of the lowest in the nation, I think. "But you don't know anyone there!" I played a segment of the 5/26/07 episode of Free Talk Live (love the show, Ian  ), when they were talking about the helpfulness of the people in the Free State Project and I mentioned how helpful the people of this forum are. She walked away after that, but she's thinking about it.

This might actually happen!

I am so glad that you are taking the time to think it through and talking to your mom about it.  It is very important when making big decisions to consider everything and it is so much better when you have the support of your parents. You can check out jobs and places to live in Manchester at http://www.unionleader.com/ in the online classifieds-- you can get a good idea of what is available so that you can make an educated decision.

FYI -- About the car -- Manchester is a small enough city to get around on a bike -- there is also a bus system.

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Does anyone know if Alec has any rooms available at 412?

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Does anyone know if Alec has any rooms available at 412?

Not at the moment. It's quite crowded here.

[Lex]

If I go to college in SD, then I will have less debt than if I go to college in NH. That's the advantage.

Debt is relative. It depends on many factors. If you go to school in SD and then move to NH you will have some degree, debt and little knowledge of your new environment. If you go to school in NH then you will still have a degree and more debt (have you determined for a fact that schools in NH are more expensive than SD?) but you would have already developed a network of friends and a resume of NH based jobs. When you finish school you will not be starting from scratch, you would have already created an identify for yourself in NH with a resume, network of friends, etc. so I think that you will have a significantly larger success rate of finding a higher paying job than if you finished school in SD and then moved here to a new environment. So the amount of debt is relative and depends on how much you will make to pay it off and your interest rate. If by going to school in NH you make enough contacts to find a really nice job you have already offset the possibly more expensive debt. So, I guess the size of the debt isn't as important as what you do with it :-)

Also, another very important consideration is that if you go to school in NH you will make a lot of life long friends many of whome are from NH and will stay in NH after graduating. In SD you would be leaving most of your newely made friends (other than those you convinced to join the FSP of course).

Definitely check the school costs before you make up your mind that it would cost more to go to school in NH.

[MaineShark]

...they were talking about the helpfulness of the people in the Free State Project and I mentioned how helpful the people of this forum are.

Speaking of which, we can help reduce your expenses a little bit: free cookware.

Joe