Hello folks!

My name is Maya Ventura. You may remember me from such podcasts as Well There's Your Problem, or from the bots I run online, or for the stuff I’ve developed for the Pebble platform, or for something else. I am a trans woman from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. In fact, that's actually the problem.

My girlfriend Annika and I have lived here for years - myself since 2017, when I moved here to attend university, and her since 2019 when she moved in with me. The hope was for me to graduate with a degree (which I did, in 2021) and then move somewhere that offered more opportunity and prosperity. This did not pan out - after working several years in the field of my degree looking desperately for an opportunity to move up to something permanent that could afford to move me out of here while commuting 100+ miles every day, I was boxed out in favor of candidates who lived more locally or, more relevantly, were more politically palatable, which is to say not transgender.

Being trans in rural America has, of course, not improved with time. It was never great, but it gotten to a point where the vast majority of local employers won't so much as consider a transgender candidate, leaving me often relying on freelance work to so much as make rent. People have seen me being visibly trans at the grocery store and reached for their concealed firearm in order to simply menace me while I'm browsing canned pasta. It has reached a level that is completely untenable in day-to-day life, even as I've done my best to soldier on.

Lucy, my beloved partner, moved to Washington for work in 2024. Seattle, specifically, is the city where multiple people I'm dating and a large number of my friends live. It's a city with nearly boundless opportunity for me, as a trans woman with proficient career experience in both tech and public politics. It's where my community is. I've wanted to move there since 2023, and have been hoping for an opportunity to do so.

With Lucy having moved into Seattle proper, the opportunity seems like now or never, so it's happening one way or another. Call it a Hail Mary if you wish, but it's what I and everyone around us thinks is the best move to preserve ourselves and get a fresh start in a new place.

But moving is expensive. A truck and a cross-country drive is easily thousands of dollars already, not to mention having to stay along the way; it'll obviously cut both me and Annika's ability to work for a while; there will be things we have to get rid of here and replace after moving, there will be a ton of administrative costs, it will be a lot. We have a lot of help from our community and friends, but there's still going to be a lot more that needs taken care of. Plus the unsettled costs I've put off but will need to deal with before moving, including getting caught up on existing bills that will need paid off before we can move.

If you can provide any, anything at all, it will be a major help, and we thank you immensely for the help.