One of my best friends is a 27 year-old single mother of two. When she's not busy wiping spaghetti off the mouth of her adorable 18-month old Dana or sternly reminding her 3 year-old Theron that the stark white walls of her rented two-bedroom apartment aren't the place to practice making Picasso reproductions, she's worrying about their future. She's accumulated a number of college credits, but never got her degree, and her job is a modest one at a nearby drug store.

All things considered though, she's blessed. Our city's unemployment rate borders 9.5%.

But that doesn't mean she shouldn't be concerned about bettering the quality of life for her and her two kids. The problem is that even with a college education her prospects around here are extremely limited. Two more years of school would be an accomplishment, but if she's still ringing up customers for nine bucks an hour afterward because nobody is hiring what good does it do? She'll just have to start paying back her student loans.

That's why she's getting serious about moving away. Being one of her close friends I'm, of course, a little biased in my belief that she should stay, because honestly moving could be the best thing she could do to better the lives of her two gorgeous kids. The thing is, there are lots of cities out there where opportunity abounds especially for those with a college degree, even major urban centers.

San Diego, for example, is a city booming on account of its geographical status as a go-between among the other major metropolises of southern California. It's teeming with education opportunities too – there's even a University of Phoenix in San Diego. But the list of American cities where opportunity abounds is itself endless.

Enrolling into UOP might not necessarily be my friend's ideal capping of her education, but she needs to realize that in addition to the opportunity that other regions offer, her personal situation is presently at a good spot for her to act. Waiting until later might spoil her chances to make the most of a move.

Her two children are young enough that relocating them won't cause them to lose friends or interrupt their learning processes. The chain drug store she works at has locations in dozens of cities where she can transfer to so she can keep making money when she returns to school. She's young enough that if she got her career going now, she'll have her life in order by the time her kids are starting school.

She'll start making the motions to move to another city. It's definitely the smartest choice she could make and she knows it. There's just too much opportunity elsewhere, and not enough available nearby. There's no reason an independent woman can't adapt to a new city on her own with two kids so long as she's determined and dedicated to being a provider.

We live in the northern part of the country so she should pick someplace warm and by the sea. That way she'll never have to worry about never seeing her friends and family from back home because we'll go to her!

No matter where she ends up going, I know I won't lose a friend and she'll gain a chance to do something truly great for herself and her children.