I don't think you're screwed. I'm 32 and in debt (fortunately my country provides for healthcare and has mandatory retirement money set aside), and I'm in a co

I don't think you're screwed. I'm 32 and in debt (fortunately my country provides for healthcare and has mandatory retirement money set aside), and I'm in a company with a toxic environment (like you said your old one was). Yet I don't think I'm in a bad position, and I don't think you are either - as others said: we're in a well paying profession, with almost no unemployment. You're not tied to a city either (no emotional attachments). If you're making customers happy, I'm pretty sure you can make more money. A good and reliable consultant is worth it. I'd take it as an opportunity to reshape my life and realize my goals (if you don't know what those are, to find them out :) ). If I were you, I'd use the opportunity to be adventurous. Do you like traveling and startups? There's for example Startup Chile - http://startupchile.org/ http://startupchile.org/ . You can travel with very little money by US standards too. I'd try to meet people - is there a HN meetup or similar where you live? Meeting people face to face will probably help. Or if you have some kind of interest outside programming, meet other people that share those.