I was in an ideal situation for a cross country move. My family members were and still are all in good health and financially stable. My mother had just bought a house, younger sister in college. I was single and didn't have children, and I was 29 yrs old.
At the time I had just finished grad school and had been out of school for about 6 months. I was working two part time jobs with no promise of either of them becoming permanent and full time or offering health benefits.
I had applied for jobs all over the East Coast from Vermont all the way to Florida. Then I tried west, Tennessee, Ohio, Chicago, Michigan, Missouri, and I just kept getting letters in the mail saying that they'd found a better suited candidate and thanking me for my interest. I had even been on interviews locally that gave me no response afterward, and even tried applying for positions that I was OVER qualified for. It was horrible. I had my Master's degree and it felt like it was all for nothing.
Anyway, I saw a job posting that fit what I had been looking for, only catch was it was in CALIFORNIA. In North Carolina, that's pretty much like Siberia. I figured well whatever, they'll just send me a sorry letter like the rest of them for sure, since I'm so far away anyhow. So I did it just to try to say well I did try.
So the company called back for a phone interview, and I wasn't impressed, it was the same old routine like everyone else had followed. They ran the background check, and that was standard. I didn't perk up until they called me back to ask me when I could come out for an interview, all expenses paid. I was FLOORED. But even still I didn't want to get my hopes up, so I kept thinking well at least I get to visit California.
So I get back, 2 weeks later, maybe a little less, my cell phone rings and the caller id displays a phone number with their area code. My heart sank to my stomach. I thought to myself, companies don't call you to let you know you DIDN'T get the job..
They made an offer and I told them I'd think it over. I was in tears. It was a major life changing event. I'd have to leave everything that was familiar and comfortable to me behind. I was happy because it was such a wonderful opportunity but I'd have to leave my family. So it was a rollercoaster. I was happy, then I was sad. UP..
down..
UP..
down..
UP..
lol!
The company that owned my apartment complex, had properties all over the country including California. I had lived there for almost 4 yrs. Little did I know that this would pave my way to move out of state someday! So, I had my apartment complex to transfer my lease to an apartment in the Bay Area so I absolutely had NO reason not to go, I had a place to live without even setting foot there, which was my biggest concern, not having a place to live.
My family had mixed emotions about my move here. My mother was scared but hopeful. My dad absolutely didn't want me to leave. Funny now they are opposite! My dad says stay, my mom says come back LOL! Some of my family, my aunts pretty much have stopped contact with me. They came to visit me last year and I think they were secretly hoping that my life wasn't that great here. I showed them my place, my car that I bought, took them to meet the people at my job.. just showing them my daily routine and parts of my everyday life. After they saw that, they stopped contacting me when they got back. They even talked down about the scenery here, saying oh it's nothing special, just like NC. Like there was nothing exciting to see here which was really wrong. So there is some animosity towards me moving to California and it's sad, some of your relatives would rather see you fall on your face and fail to relieve some insecurities that they have about themselves.
I mean they act as if I won the lottery or something. Moving away this far for so long (going on 3 yrs now, just had my 32nd birthday
) has really shown me some things about my family members. I guess some may take it as a rejection of some kind. They think that you move away to get away from them, and it was absolutely not the case. I moved to make a better life for myself. I was in a rut when I was in NC, I had some good times there and went thru a period where I did have a job but then I got laid off and returned to school to get my Masters, which opened the door for a huge opportunity in California. There was nothing holding me back from doing it other than fear of rejection from certain family members, which was sort of happening anyway when I lived there but just became more prominent and visible once I stepped back and have a look at the whole picture.
So in summary, my family's reaction has been mixed. Everyone didn't take it the same way. Some supported it, some not, and some have decided to stop communication with me. What you have to remember when you make a big decision like this is that even if you're the only one moving, it still does have an effect on other people, but on the flip side of that, you have to do what makes you happy and not live for other people because whichever decision you make, you are the one who has to live with it.
I hope my story has helped and inspired someone out there.
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I still have vivid memories of the air conditioned high school gymasiums being turned into shelters for the low income and street people to shelter in during the day, churches distributing box fans and window units to the poor and elderly, and talking heads on the tv gravely advising people to fill their tubs with cold water and rest there during the late afternoon's heat if they didn't want to go to the shelters. Those summers were anomalies - happening only once a decade or so - but even the rest of the summers were hot-hot-hot. I don't fuss about the heat here. I have suffered worse. 
Moved away from family - from NC to Cali
