[akamaka]

All of your options are very good ones, so you likely won’t be able to come to a decision by simply thinking about it and getting advice.

Take concrete steps in a promising direction and judge the results along the way.

For example, if you want to pursue a higher-paying job:

* Do interviews at big tech companies. Talk to the people who work there and really learn what it’s like to work there.

* Visit cities like SF, NYC, and Seattle, meet local people, and see if you would love to move there.

Same goes for the other options. Spend some time working for free with someone who has a startup idea and see if you like it. And so on.