Any advice about moving where you want vs. staying close to family?

I think you are getting ahead of yourself in some ways. If you want to move south I say "do it". You never know what could change in a couple years, but you may regret never taking the chance of living where you want. My boyfriend and I live 3hrs away from him family and he previously lived out of the country, but he is still close to everyone. So, I think if you are close to your family you will stay close even over a great distance. I think it's nice to stay close to a person's family, but your family might feel bad if you didn't live out your dreams because of them.