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I'll say this just to give you, @DanielS, some context around what @CCarter is saying about talking to your parents.
I grew up in a family where my dad made good money. We were lower-end middle class. I did well enough in high school to get a full-paid scholarship, as did my brother. My sister didn't, and my parents ended up buying a condominium for her to live in while in college, with the plan to sell it when she finished. But my brother and I ended up moving in there too later for college since housing wasn't included in our scholarships.
Our dad was happy to pay for it like anything else because it was his way of making up for being a complete shit bag in every other way. Our Christmas's were insane with gifts, even though he was out all night Christmas Eve and late for Christmas morning, high off his ass laid up in some slum house.
But it was absurd. Us three siblings were fighting non-stop because we're dysfunctional from growing up like that. My parents were control freaks. They'd literally go grocery shopping and then drive the groceries one hour to us and put it in the fridge (instead of giving us money to buy them ourselves). They actively discouraged us from having jobs while in college. It wasn't all bad or from a bad place, but it had a bad effect.
Eventually I got sick of it. Accepting that treatment meant accepting their control. I was the first to start insisting that I pay rent and they refused to take any money after I chose to get a job (killing it on summer paid internships and previous jobs). Eventually I told them "I'm moving out, it's time for me to live as an adult." And I did it, with my siblings following suit. I was about your age at the time. My parents soon after sold the condo, my dad lost his job, blew their retirement, refinanced everything over and over, my dad went to jail for a while, failed rehab 4 or 5 times, etc.
Still, to this day, he tells everyone how much he regrets having to kick me out of that condo and forcing me to grow up and live like a man.
That's some very personal information I'm putting out there solely for the sake of trying to help you out.
The point is that all the good your parents think they are doing can stunt your growth, and their reasons for doing it aren't as innocent as you may think either. And it is up to YOU to take on responsibility and grow and to thrust off any coddling being done to you. It is not good for you.
Should you just take the leap? No, you need to get a day job or get clients and get a small nest-egg of 3-6 months savings first. But all this crap about "$2,000 rent" is a bullshit excuse. You can move anywhere that has reasonable rent rates. Every city has high, medium, and low rent areas. You can leave your city, your province, your country. I'm not into this "go travel south east asia" fetish everyone has. Just find somewhere that matches your culture and find stability first. I'd suspect you could find somewhere to rent for $750 or less. And find US clients so you take advantage of the exchange rate and charge them US prices.
It's all on you. There is no external locus of control here. There's no luck, no probabilities, nothing. You either make it happen on your own terms or eventually it will be made to happen with you kicking and screaming.
I have a buddy who's a great person but not very intelligent. Growing up, his dad tried to discipline him and his dumb ass brother and the mom would say no. She'd coddle them, protect them. Eventually a divorce happened and they chose to move in with mom. And mom turned into a devil. She "forced" them to both get jobs and pay rent, but rent meant their entire paychecks. One of them is 37 and one is 33, both live at home with mom and can't get any savings together. And they chose to live with mom because she was the nice one who let them be children. And now they're in their 30's and still children with a domineering abusive mom who finally showed her true colors.
These are real life stories with zero exaggeration. Your parents probably aren't like that, but look at your life and tell me if the result is any different. What will it look like when you hit 30 if you keep on the path you're on?
I grew up in a family where my dad made good money. We were lower-end middle class. I did well enough in high school to get a full-paid scholarship, as did my brother. My sister didn't, and my parents ended up buying a condominium for her to live in while in college, with the plan to sell it when she finished. But my brother and I ended up moving in there too later for college since housing wasn't included in our scholarships.
Our dad was happy to pay for it like anything else because it was his way of making up for being a complete shit bag in every other way. Our Christmas's were insane with gifts, even though he was out all night Christmas Eve and late for Christmas morning, high off his ass laid up in some slum house.
But it was absurd. Us three siblings were fighting non-stop because we're dysfunctional from growing up like that. My parents were control freaks. They'd literally go grocery shopping and then drive the groceries one hour to us and put it in the fridge (instead of giving us money to buy them ourselves). They actively discouraged us from having jobs while in college. It wasn't all bad or from a bad place, but it had a bad effect.
Eventually I got sick of it. Accepting that treatment meant accepting their control. I was the first to start insisting that I pay rent and they refused to take any money after I chose to get a job (killing it on summer paid internships and previous jobs). Eventually I told them "I'm moving out, it's time for me to live as an adult." And I did it, with my siblings following suit. I was about your age at the time. My parents soon after sold the condo, my dad lost his job, blew their retirement, refinanced everything over and over, my dad went to jail for a while, failed rehab 4 or 5 times, etc.
Still, to this day, he tells everyone how much he regrets having to kick me out of that condo and forcing me to grow up and live like a man.
That's some very personal information I'm putting out there solely for the sake of trying to help you out.
The point is that all the good your parents think they are doing can stunt your growth, and their reasons for doing it aren't as innocent as you may think either. And it is up to YOU to take on responsibility and grow and to thrust off any coddling being done to you. It is not good for you.
Should you just take the leap? No, you need to get a day job or get clients and get a small nest-egg of 3-6 months savings first. But all this crap about "$2,000 rent" is a bullshit excuse. You can move anywhere that has reasonable rent rates. Every city has high, medium, and low rent areas. You can leave your city, your province, your country. I'm not into this "go travel south east asia" fetish everyone has. Just find somewhere that matches your culture and find stability first. I'd suspect you could find somewhere to rent for $750 or less. And find US clients so you take advantage of the exchange rate and charge them US prices.
It's all on you. There is no external locus of control here. There's no luck, no probabilities, nothing. You either make it happen on your own terms or eventually it will be made to happen with you kicking and screaming.
I have a buddy who's a great person but not very intelligent. Growing up, his dad tried to discipline him and his dumb ass brother and the mom would say no. She'd coddle them, protect them. Eventually a divorce happened and they chose to move in with mom. And mom turned into a devil. She "forced" them to both get jobs and pay rent, but rent meant their entire paychecks. One of them is 37 and one is 33, both live at home with mom and can't get any savings together. And they chose to live with mom because she was the nice one who let them be children. And now they're in their 30's and still children with a domineering abusive mom who finally showed her true colors.
These are real life stories with zero exaggeration. Your parents probably aren't like that, but look at your life and tell me if the result is any different. What will it look like when you hit 30 if you keep on the path you're on?