Lateraling Out of IB

Turning here for advice since i’ve never been more lost. Went to a top target school where everyone shoots for IB. Did SA in NYC but ended up taking a regional office offer for FT since the comp would be much higher and cost of living would be far lower, and it was kind of a no brainer in a tough job market last year.

At the time I was content with this idea, since I viewed it as an investment in my career and a chance to save up a lot of money for a couple years.

Now i’m a couple months in and have never been more miserable. I’m far away from my friends in NYC, my alumni community, and my family. I’ve realized now that those mean more to me than any amount of money, and that I don’t need that much money to be happy since I’m pretty frugal and I budget well. The city I live in is abysmal and has nothing to do. We work till 4am every night with no weekends off and I don’t like the sector i’m covering. Higher up’s are crazy and foster a terrible culture that has everyone wanting to jump ship.

I’ve had trouble sleeping at nights and can barely get out of bed in the mornings, and i’ve felt sick for weeks straight. I need to get out fast because I won’t last, but I’m not sure how to do it. I was thinking of trying to transfer out of IB and into another division at my firm in NYC, but i’m not sure if management will block that. Have been applying to other places but haven’t been getting much traction, even tho I went to a top uni and did very well, with a ‘very clean and impressive’ resume according to some recruiters I chatted with.

Do you think it’s a bad idea to try to move divisions at my firm? It would be great to hear from people who were in similar situations and were able to leave IB after a short period for something that was a better fit (please be kind, just a confused recent grad here looking for some advice! :,) )