Im 26 and had to move back in with my mother about a year ago due to financial hardship associated with the increased cost of living. This experience here has been an absolute nightmare thanks to my mother’s unchecked narcissism, alcoholism, tendency to yell and scream at me over any perceived indiscretion, and refusal to take accountability of her actions. Growing up, she was a terrible, negligent parent, and because of that we’ve always had a turbulent relationship.

For most of my time here, I’ve been able to somehow not get too bothered by her disrespect - sucking it up to save some money - however over the last few weeks tensions have escalated to new heights. She’s begun to regularly yell and scream me at me over the most trivial of disputes. For instance, the other day she erupted and yelled at me after I politely asked her to clean her dirty dishes after they were left in the sink for hours. I pay $500 per month in rent, walk her dogs regularly and do practically all the cleaning, so it’s not like I was out of line to ask that. My mental health is seriously declining in this type of environment, I feel like I’m in a constant state of flight-or-flight.

If I had more money I would’ve left and permanently excommunicated her long ago, however my savings have dwindled to about $5000 after losing my job 3 months ago. At this point, I’m seriously considering packing up my things and leaving on a whim. I live in an extremely high cost of living area and desperately want to get out. There’s this beautiful, scenic, inexpensive mid-size town in the South that I’ve been eyeing. It would probably take me about three days to complete the drive there. Moving somewhere close to my current location is not an option, as the cost of living here is just ludicrous. Moving in with my dad is also not an option.

Thankfully, despite her ill-will I’m not at risk of being kicked out, which does leave me the opportunity to stay here, look for another job and continue to save up money. Uprooting myself across the country is a huge risk, especially given my unfavorable financial situation and the current economic climate. I have a degree and work experience in my field, but still feel uneasy about not being to promptly land a job in this awful market.

So what would be the best course of action here? Suck it up, try to save more by searching for a new job while enduring the mental torment? Or take a huge leap of faith and hope the risk pays off?