Should I consider leaving it all? I would really appreciate thoughtful suggestions and opinions.

I have lived in Los Angeles my entire life and I have been heavily involved in music production over the past eight years. While working towards my bachelors degree I interned at various record labels in hopes of landing a job in the music industry while I pursued my personal endeavors. Lucky for me, I graduated six months ago and managed to land a gig at one of the more prominent record labels in the country. Right now my life consists of full time work, and music production. I'm busy all day...every day.

As of right now, I really could not ask for more. I live twenty minutes from work, I have my own studio room and my own bedroom at home, awesome parents, no rent to pay, and live very close to family and friends. To top it off, Los Angeles is a great hub for the music industry and has served as a great place to make new contacts.

What is my problem you ask? I have lived at home, in Los Angeles, my ENTIRE LIFE. Everything has always been so convenient for me. The college I attended is only 5 minutes from my house, and the university I attended is a 25 minute drive. I never moved out for school, and I've never had time outside my house living alone. I always came home to cooked meals, had a car to drive...and it was all just so damn convenient!

Everyone around me knows that I am extremely disciplined. I sacrifice every night and most weekends to work on music. I have always had a strict workout schedule, and typically find a decent balance between work and my social life. I would like to grow as a musician/person as much as possible. I have contemplated going abroad for 1 year to teach English, to just live somewhere else! I really want to emphasise that for someone like me, who has managed to find a great job, lives in a great home, and a great city...leaving all of this would be a VERY bold move. This is where I need everyones opinion...

I have had numerous talks with a close friend, and he has simply told me "why the HELL would you want to move away from everything you have built and achieved, especially when it is finally starting to take off?!?!" To some extent he is correct. Over the past year my music has been getting great recognition from top record labels. We both also agreed that my music will eventually TAKE me abroad, and that I would get paid to go to other countries, so why would I bother SPENDING the extra cash to live abroad and leave everything??? But who the hell knows, am I really going to sit around and wait??

Now I ask you, would it be a bad idea leaving all of this, to purposely put myself in an uncomfortable position, going from a studio and my own bedroom, to an apartment abroad using a laptop and headphones? Will I really grow THAT MUCH? Would living abroad for 1 year benefit or change my life enough to consider cutting my productive legs off in Los Angeles and just dive in head first?

I have everything I need in Los Angeles and more, but I think that's exactly my problem. I almost want to say that I want to go out and STRUGGLE. For some reason I feel that it would heavily benefit me and my career. However, I'm not sure if its the smartest thing to do.

I know that I am in an extremely fortunate situation, and that I should take advantage of it for every SECOND it's worth...but in all seriousness, would staying in Los Angeles and taking advantage of all of my strengths here...outweigh the experience of moving away from it all? This thought has really been eating away at my head, and I'm definitely confused. I'd love to hear everyones opinion or suggestions.

Many thanks.