im going to tell my story on this.
I was 18. no money for school. no way my parents could pay for it. In a dead end town with a chair factory and lumber plant and the nearest semi big city 30 minutes away. I enlisted in the marine corps and left for boot camp. Did my thing in the Marines for 8 yrs. Watched and buried countless childhood friends from stupid shit. Almost all have kids or multiple DUIs. They think making 30 grand a year is great pay. not good but great. I've been home maybe a dozen times since that day in 2000. Nothing there except the girls who wanted nothing to do with me before I left now love me because I'm not a local anymore. Except they all have something I don't want lol. Fast forward to today
I'm 28 yrs old. Own my own home. I'm married and have absolutely no bills besides my house bills cars insurance and cell. I made over 100k last year. And I can directly contribute that to walking away from everythign I knew at the time and enlisting the Marine Corps taught me everything I know about my job and invoked the things in me that have caused me to do well with my current job. If I had stayed at home and done what everyone else did, I might be dead. At the very least I wouldnt be living the life I have now.
Just something to think about. I find my story is very similar to alot of people who are contemplating this very decision.