---
title: "California Dreaming: Moving Out of State and the Warning Signs I Ignored"
description: The California dream was born while I was working as a bartender in College Station. This idea to move to a new state seemed realistic to attain.
---

[PrimeWay Blog ](https://www.primewayfcu.com/blog)

# [California Dreaming: Moving Out of State and the Warning Signs I Ignored](https://www.primewayfcu.com/blog/moving-out-of-state-warning-signs)

 Written by [Kelley Reynolds](https://www.primewayfcu.com/blog/author/kelley-reynolds) | Mar 8, 2019 6:30:00 PM

### The California dream was born while I was working as a bartender at a popular bar in College Station.

I was making money – stupid money. So when Ian, my boyfriend, came to me with this idea to move to a new state, it seemed realistic to attain.

He wanted to finish up his degree at UCLA, versus at an in state institution. At this point, I had been bartending for about two years, and even though the money was fantastic, I was done with the bar life. It had just run its course for me and I was ready to move on - not to mention GROW UP!

## Planning Ahead for the Moving Expenses

We knew that we needed to [start saving for moving expense](https://www.primewayfcu.com/savings-accounts)s to make this cross country voyage. We quickly opened a joint savings account and started putting money in right away. This was the first time I had ever had to prioritize and budget money in my life, much less a moving budget. In hindsight, I would have to say that Ian and I had a pretty good plan.

I was to put half of my earnings from every shift I worked into the account and Ian would contribute too. The account was to be used for rent and bills for the future, and to give us a cushion when we moved. We also knew that we wanted to go out and visit California to go apartment hunting. I wasn’t into just looking at apartment ads online and picking one blindly. So we booked flights and hotel stays to begin our search.

[View full post](https://www.primewayfcu.com/blog/moving-out-of-state-warning-signs)

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