The question here is what you and your family understand to be the "American West" at that time. Few were heading to the Pacific Coast in that decade, and the Intermountain West - between the Rockies and the Sierra - was formidable and rarely considered as viable for a "young man from New York in the 1830s." Even approaching the eastern slope of the Rockies was rarely undertaken - if that is what you're telling your family that you are intending, they will figure that they'll never see you again, and that will be realistic, because you will probably die soon.

For that decade, "the West" meant something in the Mississippi drainage including the territories and newly minted states on its western bank. You might be considering settling in Mexican territory in what will become Texas, or you might be considering places upstream in land acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase.

The question, then, is whether you are hoping to acquire cheap, farm land or if you are hoping to pursue options that are more mercantile in nature. Both are viable and with hard work, some know how, and a considerable amount of luck, you may succeed and you may not die in the way that you are likely to do if you push into the "far West."

Young men (and fewer young, single women) - and young families - found opportunities, relocating "to the frontier," which was a zone that was steadily moving toward the West. It was a great place to have a fresh beginning to find opportunities unconfined by the more structured Eastern states. If you were a young man whose family could help establish you in some business or trade in the East, you would find a better chance at modest success without moving. Relocating to the "frontier" carried with it higher risks but also a better chance for higher rewards.

How lucky do you feel and/or how desperate is your current situation?