Hello, I feel dumb for writing this. But my internal freak out and a poorly timed joke have me very worried.

I am 23 years old and I cannot drive. I previously lived in the Bay Area (California) with my mom and stepdad. My mom was in charge of teaching me to drive, but even if I asked her to take me out to practice driving when I had my permit her answer would always be "later," Admittedly I did get my permit late (18) but I did want to drive. She did this until I went through two permits. They expire after 6 months. Or 12. Can't remember.

So I lived with public transit. In the Bay Area public transit is good, but very slow. So I basically couldn't leave the Bay Area. I couldn't get jobs that were too far away. The ONLY other place I could go was with my dad and stepmom in Kentucky. So I saved up money from my job and moved here. I have a decent amount in savings. I trusted him to be more helpful/responsible than my mom and get me driving. I have lived here for 7 months. I don't even have an ID for this state yet.

I am employed by my stepsister in watching her 8 month old son. I make less than half of the federal minimum wage. I am the current only childcare option. I have posted about this in the past. Long story short I don't have a choice in this anymore.

There is no public transit. To get a job I would have to walk/bike 7-10 miles a day. I am stuck here.

Today my dad made a "joke" that if I keep baking so well (I'm a hobby baker) that I'm not going to be allowed to move out. I just stared at him. And he was like "Well that wasn't funny I guess," and no. It very much was not.

If I am trapped here what are my options to escape? I also own a cat. I have 20,000 in savings. I do not have friends I can couch surf with. I made a bad choice and left my support system in California. If this continues what are my options to get the fuck out? I desperately want to move out on my own.