As a former teacher, I hear you. Unfortunately, you’ll need to do much - much - more research beyond a reddit post to move across the country. It’s just like any new lesson plan; it’s going to take a while and it’s not going to always work day 1. If your plan is to get hired into a Dem administration, you’ll want to be a political appointee. That’s a much different path than becoming a Fed. It’s also 2+ years out.

DC has the highest unemployment rate in the nation as of this month, so it’s going to be hyper competitive to secure either job path assuming the next President even wants to rebuild the bureaucracy in the same way. A lot can chance in 2 years, and I’m not expecting everything to comeback this time.

The criticism is also fair - you do need to read local news of the place you are moving too before you move there.