Cole McElwain posing in front of Blizzard's logo.
Cole McElwain says he doesn't regret moving despite losing his job.
  • Cole McElwain relocated to California for a job at Blizzard in October.
  • After just four months, he was laid off after the gaming company made a big round of job cuts. 
  • McElwain says he doesn't regret moving to California, but the city's cost of living worries him.

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Cole McElwain. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I applied for roles at Blizzard for almost two years before landing a job there.

At the time, I'd been working as an office assistant at Activision in Minnesota, but the Blizzard job was based in California.