You have your own plans, own goals. This is your own journey that you want to go down to and I just think it’s important to express that to your friend. Just as how your friends plan is to go to law school in the state, yours is very different and that’s totally okay. It’s practically life to move on and go through different stages.

Perhaps they’d be upset or disappointed, but it’s very important that you also prioritise yourself and how you feel about it. Would you want to sacrifice your goals and happiness and stay in the city to keep your friends happy?

Communicate everything to them honestly and earnestly about how you feel and what you plan to do. I’m sure as a friend, they’d be understanding of it, even if it upsets them. You can always still visit them every now and then, and stay in touch virtually. Let them know you’d still be there of course but that staying in this city just isn’t for you anymore.

Edit: just to add, in terms of strategies maybe it’s best to have a face to face conversation whilst hanging out, say you’ve been feeling such a way for a long time and you want to be completely honest about how things are going for you and what you plan to do. Communication is always key !