Shame & Guilt are powerful de-motivators. I was born and raised in a very Catholic immigrant city, raised in an Irish Catholic home with dad being one of those even scarier Eastern Orthodox ones. Back in the day, around the age of the dinosaurs, there those gay guys, and normal folks. Forget trans. Anything not normal was far game for derision and worse. I got the word from mom about the age of 4 that boys Do Not wear skirts or dresses. I got reminded a few more times over the years.
After I finished uni, actually slightly before, I had my first utter fail transition experiment. I got out, did the normal thing of starting my career, a g/f, later wife, home in the burbs, divorce after she found my stash of clothes. Shortly after that was my second utter fail experiment. Both failed primarily due to me being utterly ill prepared, and worse, utterly broken on the inside. Zero self confidence, even lower self esteem thanks to the shame & guilt, oh, and that 6ft tall, big everything, and balding fast part.
Like Cindy said, giving advice is easy. You know you need to feel self-sufficient. You know you need to feel somewhat comfortable about, and safe to start, even starting the steps. You probably also it would be sooooo much easier if I can make this go away, bury it. Which that option often sounds better as you start the steps of having a life of your own. Work, a career, new friends, not as much time as you thought you had for yourself. All the while the constant reminders from the world around you that what you want is wrong and won't end well.
I doubt there are any on this forum who will say denial works great and there is a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, if you stick it out. (OK, if they are on here, likely they didn't stick it out)
Transitioning is expensive. It can also be very hard work. I put an incredible effort into healing myself from the inside. It was only after that effort started to pay off did I even dare to think for a third time, that just maybe......
Today, if I had a chance to do it all over again, I know exactly what I need to do first since I know what never worked. Even at the age of 20, I needed a LOT of healing. I needed to unlearn a lot of unhealthy ways of thinking and feeling.
The DFW area is pretty large and I have to assume plenty of opportunities for relocating nearby your support system after getting somewhat financially established. Also being a diverse area, there is "The Resource Center" in Dallas which has a TG outreach specifically geared towards your age group. I am sure there must be others.
There is lot you can do to get started while making the many compromises that everyone does to get through life based on what is important Today.
