This is my first time posting here, so I'm sorry this is probably going to sound scatter-brained; I feel pretty stressed out. I'm posting because we come from poor families and are trying to make the best decision now to set ourselves up for a better future, but don't really know what to do in the immediate short term.
TLDR: Should my bf and I move from our LCOL city with fewer and lower paying jobs to a HCOL city while he finishes an apprenticeship for the next 2-3 years?
My boyfriend and I rent an apartment in a LCOL city without many job prospects for either of us long-term. Our current rent is pretty cheap by this city's standards ($1,020 plus some utilities.) The problem is that he's got a new job that has required him to stay at his Mom's house 45 minutes away from our apartment Mon.-Fri. so that he can commute an additional 45 minutes-1 hour to his job sites. Because he's a contractor and the traffic in our state is horrible, he just can't stay at our apartment and commute ~3 hours one way to work each day. He's an apprentice for the type of skilled work that will give him an increase in pay 3 years from now once he's a certified Master (from $18/hr now to ~$60k+/year) The company is going to put him through school so it is worth it for him to stay with this company (which is why he applied for the job in the first place.) We are hoping that in 1-2 years he can be transferred to a part of the state that is a shorter commute, but there's no guarantee until he's done with the apprenticeship and can choose where he wants to work. He has no debt, loans, nothing, so his income goes a long way.
I work part-time at the college I graduated from last year in our LCOL city, a very short commute from our apartment. This job allows me access to expensive art/photography facilities that I cannot afford to purchase on my own (cameras, specialized equipment, inkjet printers) that I'm using to build up my art portfolio to apply to Graduate School in 1 year. I hope to finish my Master's degree so that I can get a higher-paying job working in museums or teaching. I am a poor artist now, but I don't always want to be one. I also work part-time online from home, so I can do that from anywhere. I work around 47-53 hours a week, as I'm trying to pay off my student debt and save money at the same time.
Because my boyfriend lives with his Mom 5 days a week (I can't move in there; long story short there's no room) it doesn't seem sustainable to live separately for the next 3 years while he's an apprentice. Should we stay in our current apartment where the rent is ~$450 cheaper than the HCOL area that is closer to his job, but farther from my job OR should we move to the HCOL area for 2 years until I go to Graduate School out of state? The HCOL area we would move to has more jobs available for both myself and my bf in the long run, and obviously higher pay. We wouldn't be able to purchase a home in the HCOL city, and probably would not rent there longer than 5 years, it would just be a temporary move for us for a few years until I am accepted into Graduate School and we re-assess our living situation based on how much money he's making at his apprenticeship. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice!
October 10, 2019 at 08:39PM
