In 1997 I was in the same position. I lived in Chicago with my son who was 7 at them time, but knew I needed something different. My father who I hadn’t talked to in many years lived there. I took a chance and called him. He said we could come. Two weeks later I packed up my son and we moved to Florida. I did wonderfully in Florida and my son was happy. I did try to go back for a year in 2000 but realized it wasn’t a good place for me and came back to Florida. I have been here ever since. Sometimes you need that change to start over again. It can be scarey for a single mother, but if it works, in the end your child will flourish.