On the Sobering Reality of Reality

To make a long story short, I am not terribly fond of my hometown. There's nothing existentially wrong about it more than any other town of 75,000 people, but, being in the Midwest, being in a metropolitan area of only about 325,000 people, and being in a region of the world that sees regular cold and snow, I grow fond of the idea of moving to Florida or SoCal or another place where I can be reasonably expected to be able to go outside and feel actual reasonable temperatures on my skin. I also have always had an appreciable fondness for large cities. Their sights and sounds. The never-ending people watching. The feeling of there being something new to see every day.

Alas, in order to own a house in my part of the country, you only need to make what is a relatively small amount of income. My sister and I combined make about 30-32,000 (we also have a roommate), and that is more than enough to afford a house, life expenses, and still bank some away. Such numbers, in, say, Miami, don't really fly, much less LA or San Diego. Alas, while corners can be cut - say, sharing an apartment with roommates, for example, - my lack of many references and a college degree severely hampers my pursuit of greater income.

Where this leaves me, I do not know.