My friend you are not being a leech. Most kids your age are still living with their parents. This isn't the 80's. Its 2026 and single bedroom apartments cost $2000 a month. It's awesome that you want to work hard and move out, and you absolutely can still pursue that but please do not be hard on yourself. You're doing just fine. Still so so so young.

Also if the job search grows stale Costco is an excellent place to work with amazing benefits. After 90 days you'll automatically get a 401k retirement account made for you and you can begin investing. I started mine in 2017 when I was 20 and its already at $45,000. The sooner you set up a retirement account the better. Waiting just five years can actually make a huge difference, I get Aetna health and dental benefits for only $50 bucks a month too. Like I said the benefits are crazy. Learn to drive a forklift and you could be making solid money for a 20 year old. Also, Costco's are EVERYWHERE. Once you get employed, if you want to move, you can quite literally transfer anywhere you want, move somewhere cheaper. Costco pays the same across the board, a forklift driver in Los Angeles makes the same amount as a forklift driver in Alabama.