I'm currently 37 years old.u00a0 My wife (then fiance) and I moved to California in August of 1999 from our home state of Wisconsin.u00a0 I was 23 years old then, if I'm doing my math correctly.u00a0 My dream had always been to move to Los Angeles and work in the film industry.u00a0 Life got in the way right away after high school though.u00a0 I moved from my hometown of La Crosse, WI to Madison, WI right after high school, thinking that I would be in Los Angeles by the time I was 19.u00a0 That was my goal.u00a0 I floundered in Madison for five years.u00a0 Growing up.u00a0 Making mistakes.u00a0 I was studying screenwriting and reading every book on the subject that I could.u00a0 But I just couldn't save the money and couldn't grow the courage to up and leave for California.u00a0 I kept putting it off year after year.u00a0 In retrospect, it's the smartest thing I did because A) I would have likely been broker than a broke kid could be, and B) I wouldn't have met my wife.u00a0 In 1998, my wife and I met and quickly fell in love.u00a0 We were engaged within six months.u00a0 She was/is my rock and she made it possible for us to be able to move out to California.u00a0 What I mean by that is I finally had someone saying that I should go, leaving little to no doubt that I could do it.u00a0 And better yet, she was coming with me.u00a0u00a0u00a0 We actually took a road trip with her brother and my two best friends tou00a0 Los Angeles earlier on.u00a0 We drove 2022 miles.u00a0 We stayed in Hollywood in some dive hotel.u00a0 We did the tourist thing.u00a0 This was my very firstu00a0 trip to Los Angeles, so I was in heaven.u00a0 This is where they made myu00a0 favorite movies.u00a0 We checked apartments and such in Los Angeles and had a ball.u00a0 Then we drove back to Wisconsin, ready to begin the process.u00a0 We wanted to move directly to Los Angeles. However, we decided that she should get her Master's Degree in Microbiology.u00a0 She ended up being accepted to The University of California - Riverside, which was about 45 miles or so away from Los Angeles.u00a0 Now in the land of Wisconsin, 45 miles is nothing.u00a0 That's a half hour drive.u00a0 So we thought we'd be fine.u00a0 Most people who know the area are probably laughing their asses off right now, but I'll get to why in a bit.We decided that she'd take the couple years she needed to get her Master's Degree while I commuted from Riverside to Los Angeles for any job in the industry that I could get.u00a0 We went through an apartment search website and found a cool one bedroom apartment in Riverside, close to the university.u00a0 And we obviously signed the lease blind, having no real clue what to expect beyond the handful of pictures we found online.So it was a little scary in that respect.u00a0 We didn't know anything about Riverside.u00a0 We didn't know anything about the area we were moving into.u00a0 We knew next to nothing about the apartment complex.u00a0 We spent a day with our family, packed our Saturn SL1 and the smallest U-Haul trailer available with next to no furniture (futon, bed, chairs and table), and headed west.u00a0 Riverside was great.u00a0 It had its rough areas like many places in California.u00a0 The apartment was pretty big.u00a0 Nice complex.u00a0 But then there was the commute.u00a0 So, 45 miles in California from Riverside to Los Angeles isn't like 45 miles in Wisconsin.u00a0 LOL.u00a0 The commute was usually about two hours.u00a0 Maybe an hour and a half IF I got lucky.u00a0 My wife went to school during the day and I was off trying to find film industry work.u00a0 Long story short on that front, I nabbed some jobs.u00a0 Did a lot of movie extra work to get on sets.u00a0 When push came to shove, I decided to return to retail sales management while my wife was at school.u00a0 When she graduated, I quit without hesitation.u00a0 We moved to Los Angeles.u00a0 I got into a movie studio, worked my way up a bit (See my bio), and rest is history. We moved back to Wisconsin in 2022 after my wife and I had our first son, despite the fact that my career was based in L.A.u00a0 The film industry.u00a0 It was my decision.We had no family in California.u00a0 Our parents would had to fly in to see their grandchild.u00a0 Or we had to fly out there.u00a0 That wasn't good enough for me.u00a0 For my wife.u00a0 For our family.u00a0 For our son... seeing his grandparents a few times a year at best.u00a0 So one day I told my wife that I wanted to move home.u00a0 It was a tough move.u00a0 We had made a life in Los Angeles.u00a0 I was just starting to break through in my screenwriting career with many studio meetings.u00a0 It's 2022 as I write this.u00a0 We own a house.u00a0 Something we could have never done in L.A.u00a0u00a0 We have two boys now.u00a0 They see their grandparents AT LEAST once a month... usually more.u00a0 And ironically, I had all of my screenwriting success happen AFTER I moved back to Wisconsin.u00a0 I fly to L.A. when needed.u00a0 I don't miss L.A.u00a0 I miss studio life.u00a0 That's about it.u00a0 So if you're wondering whether or not you should make the move, I'll say this...If we hadn't moved to California, I'd always be questioning whether or not I should have.u00a0 Many great things came of it.u00a0 I realized many dreams.u00a0 You can too.u00a0 If life is compelling you to make the move, do it.u00a0 Don't question it.u00a0 Don't let the time slip away.You can find an apartment online to start with.u00a0 It doesn't have to be THE ONE.u00a0 Let the first year be your settling point.u00a0 And remember that you can always move back home, or anywhere else you'd like.u00a0 Just as easy as it is to make out there.u00a0 Best of luck...