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Real members of myHIVteam have posted questions and answers that support our community guidelines, and should not be taken as medical advice. Looking for the latest medically reviewed content by doctors and experts? Visit our resource section.

How Would One Move To The American West, With No Money?

A myHIVteam Member asked a question 💭
Nesquehoning, PA

Just a thought excersize. Im from Pennsylvania, what if I wanted to to move west? Where's the best place to go? Does it cost more to live in the harsher west? I want a beautiful place that you cant find in the east.

January 11, 2023 (edited)
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A myHIVteam Member

Always wanted to visit nevada. I was actually born out there, but my family moved shortly after.

January 17, 2023
A myHIVteam Member

i hear nevada is nice cali and ny.. are bad.. money wise crime wise etc...washington state and oregon too have changed too was nice when i was in ft lewis but that was 40 years ago in the army i was 19...

January 17, 2023
A myHIVteam Member

Wow… that is difficult (did you see I din’t say imposdible?)…

Personally, first, I’d try and work out why I would want to move. Is it because of practical reasons like climate, or, am I running away from things? Just so that you are sure that what you’re doing is for the right reasons.

Now, as a person who, up until 10 years ago could never live anywhere longer than 3 years at the most, I have done a lot of moving (and renovating!) and, as we get older, moving becomes harder. It is not like we’re 16 anymore and carefree and can pack all we own into a carrierbag and upsticks and leave. Plus, there is that other, not unimportant thing to consider, called hiv.

But… luckily… we have this wonderful thing called the internet and we can research a lot online. Things like social and medical infrastructure, demographic make-up, how easy is it to get a job over there, or, do you do work that you can take with you and do anywhere with a laptop and or a postoffice in the vicinity? If you are on state- or disability-benefits or a disability-pension, is it transferrable when moving to another state? What about politics? All the stuff you need to know, well, a lot if it, can nowadays be researched to sone exten beforehand.
Maybe make a shortlist of towns or areas and then take it from there… research… narrow down… visit if you can (even sofa-surfing to reduce costs and take your time there to look around, get a feel, investigate, orientate and familiarize yourself.) See if you can be where you want to be on the cheap first for a little while so you check some of the ins and outs and pros and cons first… and… get a feel for the people… (not unimportant). Do you think it might be a place where you could stand being without knowing too many people at first? And… suppose it didn’t live up to its expectations, is there a way of going back to where you are now? Could you? Would you want to? Could you cope? And… when you are there, would you want to be here again or, will your wanderlust get the better of you… again? And… weigh up what and who you’d leave behind if you were to ‘Go West’…

Still… there is something very exciting about going somewhere new… news hopes… expectations… another stab at things…

February 2, 2023
A myHIVteam Member

Not California it's expensive af and we're drowning in homeless.

January 11, 2023
A myHIVteam Member

Also consider the states that have ample lgbtq resources and have local state governments that are democratic. Here in Illinois, like New York and California it is an extremely heavily Democratic state and there are a lot of programs and funding available for HIV and lgbtq people.

January 11, 2023

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