These people telling you to move to California aren't necessarily giving the best advice. Seattle is like San Francisco with slightly less start-ups and 1/3rd the cost of living. Seattle also has Microsoft and a wide variety of businesses that support Microsoft. It also has a great public transit system that means you can live in one of the cheaper areas around Seattle (Wedgewood, Northgate, Central District, Georgetown) and bus to the city easily for work. There are lots of jobs for tech savvy people, so check http://seattle.craigslist.org/ early and often. You can catch a Greyhound from Yakima to Seattle for $18 if you order online early enough. If you can get a loan from your parents or someone, just enough to cover rent for 3 months, you could find a place to live in Seattle and (hopefully!) find a job in that time.