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

[Mellamo]

Hi, I'm an 18 year old male that just graduated from high school in Yankton, SD. I am accepted to the University of South Dakota, where I plan(ned?) to attend for the next 4 years of my life before making the move to New Hampshire. However, I want to move NOW. I'm sick of South Dakota (especially my family's attitude toward my new libertarian viewpoint and also their controlling nature) and I want to live with and work for a liberty minded society. Moving now would be taking a huge leap forward, one that would look downright stupid and insane to my family. I'm not really concerned with what they would think about it, but rather the possibility that their worries are legitimate. I don't want to screw up my life. 

I have about $800 right now. The plane ticket is about $480. I need a place to live and a job, and I have no idea where to start.

I would like to attend college, but I am definitely not paying out of state tuition. The main reason I would stay at USD would be the cost; it's only about $11,000 for the full cost of the 2007 school year here, tuition and fees. It's pretty cheap compared to every other college I've looked at. If I move to NH I would either stay out of school a year and gain residency (if you can even do that in NH for in state tuition, I know you can't do that for the University of Nebraska) or attend some community college or tech school. Tech schools interest me because I like technology, but I don't know. Right now I look at college as an opportunity to gain knowledge rather than preparation for a career. That would likely have to change if I move to NH.

Should I move to New Hampshire? I have everything set up here in South Dakota, I just need to wait for classes to start. However, I could throw all that out the window, and hop on a plane to the east coast to start a new life "with nothing but the shirt on my back".

Where would I go? What would I do? How could I live? These are all things that I would have to struggle with if I move to NH, but not if I stay in SD. I realize, however, that I will have these same concerns 4 years from now when I graduate, but with thousands of dollars in debt instead of $320 in cash.

I have no idea what to do. I know what I want to do, but I don't know if it's a very realistic or reasonable thing to do at this point in my life.

If I move to NH this year, it's going to be before Porcfest, so I need to make this decision very soon.

[error]

Welcome to liberty!

I guess to advise you, my first question would be what is it that you want to do?

And $480 is absolutely nuts for a one-way plane ticket. Shop around; you can almost certainly find something cheaper.

[Mellamo]

Welcome to liberty!

I guess to advise you, my first question would be what is it that you want to do?

And $480 is absolutely nuts for a one-way plane ticket. Shop around; you can almost certainly find something cheaper.

Ok, I just found one for $213.30. That helps a little bit, I guess. 

I want to get the hell out of South Dakota. I want to move to New Hampshire. I want to work in the Free State Project. However, I don't want to screw up my life. I want to go to college, and I'm set to go to a relatively inexpensive college right here in South Dakota.

I don't feel like I'm ready to dive into the "real world" so soon, but maybe that would change quickly if I just plugged my nose and jumped in.  It's scary up here on the high dive, but maybe the water's not so bad after all.

[KBCraig]

Ditto on the welcome, and ditto on the advice.

As for plane tickets: they're expensive when the plane is almost full, and dirt cheap if there are empty seats while it sits on the tarmac. I just paid $124 one-way from DFW to Atlanta for my daughter, about two weeks out. That price would continue to go up, reaching its peak the day before the flight, and would plummet at the last minute. It pays to have your bags packed, and be surfing for prices at the airport.

Another hint: look for an incomplete flight. Our son just booked a round trip from Las Vegas to Texarkana. It would cost him$150 more to get off the very same plane in DFW, with us having to drive 6-8 hours round trip to pick him up. Instead, he'll save that money by getting off the major flight, collecting his baggage, and re-checking his baggage to a regional airport 15 minutes from our house. Go figure.

Now, as the father of college-age offspring, and having been in your position 26 years ago, let me say that I suggest following your heart. Moving to NH now, even if it means working for $7-9/hr. while you wait for college, will give you some great memories for the best years of your life. Plus, you'll gain real life experience. Having been a corporate manager, and being a small business owner right now, I can tell you that I don't give a flip about degrees and certifications, despite having my share of them. I only care that an employee will show up when scheduled, will do the work required, and won't steal my money or stuff. An employee who goes above that minimum and asks, "Hey, is there anything I could be doing right now?" goes to the head of the line when it comes to raises and bonuses.

Thanks for coming out of the lurker closet.  I hope you'll stick around, and I hope to meet you in NH soon!

Kevin

[KBCraig]

I want to get the hell out of South Dakota.

Do us a favor: kidnap Tracy on your way out of the state, and bring him with you.

I don't feel like I'm ready to dive into the "real world" so soon, but maybe that would change quickly if I just plugged my nose and jumped in.  It's scary up here on the high dive, but maybe the water's not so bad after all.

The older and more "established" you get, the higher and scarier that jump becomes. Twenty-five years ago I'd have tossed all my belongings into my car and started driving. Twenty-five years later, with wife, kids, pets, bills, mortgages, careers, obligations, "stuff"... we're still coming, but it's a lot more complicated.

[Kat Kanning]

My opinion - you should only move when you're ready to take care of yourself.

[Edwin Sheldon]

You should definitely move while you're young, but, as Kat said, you're going to need to have some cash accumulated before you make the jump.  I just turned 24 and am finishing up college before I move.  I'm looking at working for another year so I can save up enough money to put a deposit on an apartment and related utilities, pay moving expenses, and support myself while doing job interviews.  It's a pain, but it's a necessary step to ensure your financial independence.

[Lloyd Danforth]

I assume your parents are willing to pay for you going to the local university.  Could you work something out with them to go to school in NH?  I don't think the residency requirements are much more than a rent receipt.
The costs would be more as you wouldn't be living at home, but, you wouldn't be the first student to have to get a job.

Or, since you probably couldn't  get into UNH for September, perhaps you could get some sort of stipend (from your parents)  to move to NH, get a job and a place to live, establishing your self in NH, and, then start school in a semester, or, two.
I would try to work out a compromise with the parents.

[mvpel]

I think you're thinking of the residency requirements for voting, not for in-state tuition.

[Lloyd Danforth]

You might be correct. There might be a difference.  In any case if he changes schools there is a semester, or, two worth of time for him to get to NH, acclimate and gain the res time.

[jaqeboy]

Bus ticket might be even cheaper, giving you more reserves. Just boring and long.

One way baby! Be here or be square!

Most people here will help you get settled and get a job.

[Kat Kanning]

I'll never forget the young man at the first PorcFest who took a statement like that as "We have a job and a place to live for you."  He showed up with no money, no place to live, no job, no way home.  I found him in tears at PorcFest because he had no idea what he was going to do, once he realized the real situation - we might be able to help some, but aren't going to provide these things.  The poor guy was a total mess.  We finally managed to get him on a bus to some relatives.  It was really sad.

[Rosie the Riveter]

If you take the opportunity now, that your parents are providing you with, to go to college until you graduate at 22, that is still young enough to pick up and move when you're done school....Trust me when I say that we will still be here working towards liberty at that time and there are many things that you can do to help from anywhere in the country. For example, you could start a liberty activist group at the school you are going to, you can hold Ron Paul signs anywhere, you can write letters to the editor, etc.

I would encourage you to take time to carefully consider all of your options. You may even consider staring school as you have planned in the fall and working on transferring to a school in NH for next year or the year after...

We have debated here at nhfree.com whether or not college is important, but that is a personal choice you have to make.

I agree with Kat that you should only move to NH when you are ready and able to provide for yourself...

Good Luck with the decisions and though I know it is difficult when you want something so badly -- please try to think long term.

~Kate

[d_goddard]

If you take the opportunity now, that your parents are providing you with, to go to college until you graduate at 22, that is still young enough to pick up and move when you're done school....Trust me when I say that we will still be here working towards liberty at that time and there are many things that you can do to help from anywhere in the country.

Dittos on what Rosie said.

First, trust me, life will be a lot less constrained when you finally move out of the house and start attending college. College is expensive, and if your parents are going to help pay, it's wise to take them up on it.

Second, there is a LOT you can do from out-of-state -- help promote the NH liberty movement on the web. Take up web programming like PHP, MySQL, and Drupal, we always need more webmasters!

Third, study something economically useful in college. Engineering, teaching, nursing (yes, nursing -- nurses make a hell of a good wage and are always in demand). If you're planning on studying English lit. or sociology, you're better off not spending the time and money in school.

Fourth, be very aware: you can do a hell of a lot more effective fighting for freedom if you are able to care for yourself. Be able to pay rent, pay for groceries, and other suchlike things before even considering taking on more lofty goals.

[mvpel]

Greyhound from Vermillion to Manchester is $72, and "two days and one hour."

You can pick up Amtrak's California Zephyr in Omaha, then switch to the Lakeshore Limited in Chicago which will get you in to Boston, and there's bus service up to Manchester from there.