well I say go for it, as you said it, your only young once, and might as well try, or you might regret it.
DC is a tuff place to work and live
if you can make it thereI think you will be fine else where, just make sure you have a job lined up, as jobs, and GOOD jobs are not easy to come by
leaving a good job is a hard step to get over, so be careful on that part