View Full Version : Relocating? (hope I am in the correct thread)
I wasn't sure where to post this.
This sort of links with the "apartment hunting" thread.
I have lived in the same area my entire life, nearly 50 years. I mostly stayed here because of friends and family. Lately, I have been finding I am wanting to be with these people less and less. More importantly, however, is the lack of good employment opportunities for me.
Our county has the highest unemployment rate in the state. It's nearly double digit. I'm tired of continually looking for some sort of job in a creative field, and finding nothing out there.
I realize I could move even a two-hour drive away and probably find a better job than what I have now. HOwever, I have considered a "big move." Like possibly to another region of the U.S.
How does one get started with this sort of move? Do I pick a city where I think I'd like to live, and then check out the jobs online? Or look for a job first, then decide if I want to live there? What about climate? Cost of living vs. salaries?
I know in this very small internet world, it must be only a matter of finding the right web sites. I do know about "city-data."
Can anyone offer me some advice? I am almost 50. I feel like it might be too late to "start over." Maybe not?
Thank you for listening!
I've done it both ways.
When I finished grad school I applied for jobs all over the country. I got one in the Phoenix area and moved 2000 miles. I had only been there for an interview trip and wanted the adventure of moving to a new place. I knew it was hot but I was excited about the job.
When we moved to MN, we picked this location for a combination of climate, quality of life, and DH's job. We looked at some data from the various cities where he had job offers (see Morgan Quitno Press). Climate was a big consideration, and DH only applied for jobs in locations where we both thought we could live for at least a few years.
My parents started over a few years ago, moving across the entire country from SE to NW to be closer to their grandkids. They looked at a few different cities, both online data and in person, and chose one. Their primary considerations were reasonable cost of living, climate (they wanted sunshine), low taxes, and an easy city to get around - not a lot of traffic. We moved a lot when I was a kid so they've done it before - still, I think it was more difficult at their ages (>60) due to the intense work of packing, planning a move, unpacking, driving cross-country. Although they weren't looking for a retirement community, it turns out that most of their neighbors are, in fact, retired - and this has made it much more of a social place for them than their previous neighborhood.
A friend of mine who is in her 50s and had been unemployed recently moved a long distance as well, to be closer to her nieces. She wanted to move out of her high cost of living, high-tax city and state, so cost of living was a big consideration for her. She is working now but not in a highly-paid position. But she is enjoying having family connections, which she did not have in her last location.
When I was graduated from college, I didn't have a job, so I moved back East to live with my parents until I got a job. Frankly, I was looking all over the country but it was the recession of the early 80s, and I got nothin'. I finally landed a job near home, which I kept for two years until I decided I really didn't like living in that area anymore. By then, I decided I wanted to concentrate on the Midwest, so I looked for areas in which I could find not only a job, but a career -- progress in my chosen field. Some cities were far more promising than others, and eventually I landed a job in Minnesota. Been here since.
For me it had to be job first, particularly since I wasn't real interested in moving all over the country. Other people I know have advanced in their careers to the point where there are very few quality positions for people who do what they do, so they would have to search job-first. On the other hand, your job may be such that you can be employed almost anywhere, in which case you can pick more easily based on activities you enjoy, family or friends, and so on.
Good luck. It's kind of fun to think about when it's your choice to look!
Hey SteveinMN! That is just toooo odd! Our son 19 year old son, Steven, just moved to St.Paul (midway area) to get out of our small town and explore the city we grew up in and still have f & f there. He's having a very difficult time finding work.
Small world.
iris lily
4-18-13, 11:33pm
I've moved 3 times across states for jobs, each time I had the job lined up before I moved.
Hmm... I'm not sure if they produce the same publications that were so useful to us, and they were recently acquired by another company. But you might find some info if you browse around the website.
http://morganquitno.com/
You have a great opportunity to create the most ideal life for yourself with this move!
Write down what would be the life you want to live, the weather conditions, the stores, the people, the work you are looking for, etc. Prioritize the list and then have fun with Google!
This is a great opportunity to choose your life as you want it.
Big city, small town, boonies, tropical island or ski heaven... Your priorities will narrow your search and Craigslist will help you discover how much rent will be in the areas you're looking :)
Have fun with it! There will be trade offs but your list of priorities will help you make the final decision :)
I've moved a total of 26 times and it's been a great experience seeing new places and meeting new people, learning new ways of doing things.
Keep us posted, we'd love to hear how it goes.
You could post your list of priorities and maybe we could help you narrow down options for you?
Sometimes it also works to move to where you can get a job that pays a good deal of money but where there is a creative culture in your area of interest. For example, suppose you are a computer programmer, but want to improve your art skills and transition to selling classical style oil paintings. So you might look for a computer job in a city that has university/school with some professors who teach advanced classical art, oil painting, and also has one or more museums with a good classic art collection. Check several issues of the local free paper for amount and type of art activities. Plus consider other items mentioned above such as weather and other aspects of the culture.
You are definitely not too old at 50! I've met people who have packed up and just moved to a new location, then searched for a job. Since they were already re-located, it was easier to find a job because the employers didn't toss out-of-town resumes. Good luck!
I'm not sure how practical it is to job hunt from out of town.
As a manager I toss out of town resumes for most jobs because I have enough in-town applicants,. But in past years I have been known to invite a few out of towners for interviews for professional positions, it just depends on if I can get good local applicants.
When I was applying for out-of-town jobs, I knew that I wouldn't be paid interview expenses and that is fine with me. I made a few plane rides on my own dime, but each job search paid off.
If you are single with no kids, unemployed (but have some money) and are renting, then you can probably just give up the rental, store your things (or get rid of them) and just "go" easily! Check out places until you find the right place or right job. But since that might not be practicle or even financially doable (hard to rent another place if you don't have a job) the you can probably just check some areas out before making a big move.
For myself, I wouldn't do a big move until I had first visited the area and spent a little time there. I'd first pick an area (or areas) of the country that i "think" I would like to live in and fly or drive there for a visit. If I thought I found an area I liked, then I'd stay for a couple of weeks or a month or more (off-season vacation house or apts that come fully furnished and with utilities incliuded are good, inexpensive places to stay short term while checking out an area) and look around at the job and housing situation. If it looked good then I'd start looking for a job and housing (get a temp rental until you find a job), get rid of my place and move.
I have moved a lot in my life (for work and also just for a change) and for me (as a minimalist with very few belongings) it's been easiest to first get out of my current place, get rid of most of my belongings, hop in the car and check out various areas I think I'd like to live in, stay put awhile on a temp basis to check it out further. Then stay or move on if it doesn't end up being a dream place. I also think it's important to write a list of all the things that you want where ever you live. Like Dhiana says, it's your opportunity to find the perfect place for you - and maybe the perfect job too. Writing a list of your wants will help narrow down areas.
Thank you for your very good (and diverse!) suggestions.
There's a couple of glitches here--mostly that there is no way I could afford to visit anywhere where I'd have to stay overnight, fly to reach, etc. I just don't have the money to do anything like that. I can't take any sort of vacation and check things out either. That's a great suggestion. In fact, when my mom retired, she gave herself a retirement gift of a six month lease of a condo. She thought she would want to move to that area, but after the six months were over, she made a choice to return to her current home. She had gone to that same area on vacation and dreamed of moving there...but living there was rather different than being on vaca!
Again, thank you for your help.
P.S. I'm not single--otherwise my situation would be rather different than it is! ;)
I just googled "find your best place to live" and found lots of websites, quizzes, info. Sperling's "Best Places" site looks really helpful. Maybe some onlone research would help you narrow it down, then request a relocation packet from those cities' Chamber of Commerce, maybe subscribe to their Sunday papers for a few months. Could be fun.
What a totally cool web site, that Sperling's!
I am there now. Thanks!
I just googled "find your best place to live" and found lots of websites, quizzes, info. Sperling's "Best Places" site looks really helpful. Maybe some onlone research would help you narrow it down, then request a relocation packet from those cities' Chamber of Commerce, maybe subscribe to their Sunday papers for a few months. Could be fun.
That is a great web site. Several towns that I would not have thought of turned up! One where we are!!!!
P.S. I'm not single--otherwise my situation would be rather different than it is! ;)Is your SO willing to relocate too? Do you agree on the kind of places you want to live or does he/she want something else. This is always one of those "compromising" kind of things where you may not be able to pick the ideal place for you (job-wise or live-wise) because you have to make compromises for spouse's job, likes and dislikes, or other family issues. This happened alot when I was married so I know it can be difficult. So probably, in this case, it might be best to actually stay put for now and job hunt within a distance that would be easy for you to go to interviews and check out places to live - maybe no further than a few hundred miles or a days drive away. And if SO likes the area too and is willing to move and work there, then make a serious job search in those areas while living in your current place. Grab a map and put a 500 mile circle around your current place and see if anything within that circle will fit you and SO's needs and wants for a job and place to live.
Frugalone. You are never too old for anything. Follow your heart and live your dream. :)
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