I feel stuck between financial stability in NY and happiness/freedom in Florida

I’ve been going back and forth for months now about whether I should stay in New York or move back to Florida, and I’m curious what other people would do in my situation because I feel like I’m at a real crossroads right now, you feel me?

For context, I work in ABA as an RBT/behavior tech and I also work as a behavioral class aide in a school district making around $25/hr. One of my ABA cases in NY just got bumped up to $30/hr, which honestly made this whole decision even harder because financially that’s not easy to walk away from. I know Florida pay is generally lower unless you really fight for good rates or move further up clinically.

At the same time though, part of me still wants Florida because mentally and socially I feel like I’d be happier there. Most of my close friends are there, the vibe feels lighter to me, and I originally wanted to move back because I wanted more freedom and more of a life outside of just constantly working. I do still have friends in NY too, but Florida just feels more emotionally appealing to me if that makes sense.

The thing is though… my boyfriend is in New York, my family is here, and if I stay, my boyfriend and I would eventually get a place together. Financially, staying honestly makes more sense right now because I already built connections here, I have experience here, I’m getting higher pay here, and I’d still be able to continue school because the BCBA program I want is online anyway. So technically I could do either state.

On top of that, I recently totaled my car, so now I’m also thinking realistically about needing stability to get another car, save money, and rebuild a little before making a huge move. So now I’m sitting here like… do I leave the state where I’m financially growing and established just because Florida feels more freeing socially? Or do I stay in NY, keep building financially, get my own place, continue school, and create the lifestyle I want here instead?

It kind of sounds like a no-brainer when I type it all out lol, but honestly this is a really big decision for me and there’s a lot of factors involved. I feel like I already know what I wanna do deep down, but I still wanna hear different perspectives just to help me see it from another lane, you know what I’m saying?