Dear Chipmunk:

You asked for help so to have more trust in your intuition.

I see your struggle not in what you want (to move to Arizona) vs what other people want you to do (to not move out of Chicago).

I see your struggle in what part of you wants to do, to move and another part of you that is afraid to do so.

How to resolve such a conflict: understand, first, that a move, a change like this does carry risks. There are ingredients to the move that will be out of your control, such as the job market, that can be good today and change tomorrow. And there are things in your control, what you can do now to prepare for the move best you can.

You can only increase your chances to make the move successful, you can’t guarantee it.

If the move turns out to be unsuccessful even though you prepared best you can, and it seemed like a reasonable move at the time, following thorough research and examination, then it will not be a bad choice if it failed. This is because we can’t guarantee success. We don’t have enough control of circumstances and conditions to guarantee that.

Even with enough savings for ten years is not a guarantee.

Do the best research and examination that you can, in a word document, if you want. Ask other people only for relevant information, as part of your research. Make sure their information is relevant, not an expression of their fears (you don’t need more of that).

anita