I want to move, so badly. It's been my singular goal for over a year now and I've cut back my spending nearly entirely except for rent+groceries to try to save up enough to do so, and I've sold most of my belongings to save more and make the eventual move easier. Moving is what I think about when I wake up and before I go to sleep.

I have severe seasonal affective disorder and pretty bad driving anxiety. I've seen mental health professionals for both of these and everyone's just said I should move. I have cognitive techniques for both of these that help a little, and been recommended medications to help, but really the solution is to move and be car-free. On days where I don't have to drive and it's above 65F outside, I genuinely feel like a totally different person.

The only place in the US where you can be a first-class citizen without a car and feel the sun every day is San Francisco. It's a nice bonus that SF is a fantastic place to be a hardware engineer too. I've been on a plan of sending out 10-15 applications every week for about a year and have at least 1 phone interview each week. I've been in the interview pipeline with around 60 companies over the past year, and so far received zero offers. Usually it's "we're looking for someone already local".

If it ever happens, getting a job in SF and moving there will have been the hardest thing I've ever done. My bank account is at $13k now, so once it hits $20k I'm just going to risk it and move without a job.