@kayvin Hey friend, I can relate a lot with this post because it’s how I sorta planned my way through life too. As someone who tried I can tell you it’s a little too ambitious. And 10 years is a long time !! It’s literally between 33%-50% of your life. You will change as a person in that time and you’ll gain life experience that will help you make better decisions. I wouldn’t say it’s wise to lock in a plan now.
It might not be too hard to get a house for $300k in a cheaper town, but it is hard to get a
good house. And owning a house comes with its own set of problems, namely maintenance and repairs which will be a huge problem if you’re buying an older house in the wop wops.
Also I’d say get your job first and then make the grand plans. Everything crumbles if you aren’t able to land that dream job and progress upwards. There are definitely careers in the software dev space that are terrible for growth. It’ll still be a mission finding a good place.
As others have said, working remotely is something you can push for when you have the respect and experience to back your managers taking you seriously. When you’re a junior they’ll just replace you if it’s not convenient for them or you won’t be able to move to a small town, which kinda crumbles your plan does it not ? I’ve been a developer for 2+ years now and I’m pretty much intermediate at this point and even I’d feel a little uncomfortable asking to work fully remote (even though I do work 4 days from home)
And you’ll feel lonely in this time. I don’t know you but I do know people and people will get very lonely and depressed without companionship whether it be from a partner or a set of friends. Life in the smaller towns is not easy if you aren’t used to it, it’s very different from city life. Things close by 3pm. There are barely any events happening around you compared to in the city. And things like shipping costs and availability for items can become a problem.
Good luck man! I totally get the whole idea of not wanting a mortgage. I’m also trying to navigate life without a mortgage for religious reasons.