Valkyrie-
On the parents issue--
I moved away 15 years ago to go to college and never went back. My mom has never given up trying to cajole me into returning. I never will, I hate it there and much as I love my family--I love them more from a distance, up close they drive me nuts.
If your parents don't want to see you go, you should probably be prepared to endure the hard sell for moving back. I cannot talk to my mom when I am bummed out about life in L.A. or sick of the traffic, etc--or she'll launch into the 1001 reasons I should move back home.
Like I said, I never intend to--I hate the place, always did, hightailed it out of there at first opportunity.
Amy