Thank you, it's encouraging to get the sense I'm on the right track. Those all sound like good ideas. I think living near a hacker space would be ideal as a way to work independently but still be part of something. Some of my relatives are Unitarians and I've always admired the philosophy--it's like religion distilled down to the good parts. I haven't heard of Less Wrong but I'll check it out.

I'm going to move soon, most likely to SF or Oakland, where I don't have any real friends or contacts to speak of. I'm very excited at having the chance to fully restructure my life, but the wimpy worrier in me is worried that being alone will cause me to freeze up. Ah well, suppose all I can do is try :)