Comments on: Choose Where You Want to Live, Then Find a Job

By: her every cent counts

her every cent counts — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:00:07 +0000

Yes. Sort of. I moved to California. I had an internship which made it easier to make the move. It included housing so at least I had some where to stay while figuring out my new life. I’d be too scared to just pick and move with nothing. But I knew I wanted to move out here and the only want to do that was to just move… it’s too hard to get hired when you’re not in town for interviews, esp if you don’t have a degree from an Ivy League school.

By: David Weliver

David Weliver — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:37:44 +0000

I love hearing these stories about others who are doing this and are happier for it. Awesome!

Understandably, this strategy is easier the less-attached you are. But that’s why for young workers who haven’t put down roots yet, I think it’s especially attractive.

@MC, as for doing it with kids; I think it could still work—especially if there’s an area you want to live for the sake of bringing up your kids in a better environment. I just think you need to have a solid plan to be able to provide for your family during the transition, so that makes it trickier obviously.

@Steve, your career change at 62 is inspiring! That’s great. An interesting aside—being a pilot is a career I always wanted. I have my private pilot’s license and always dreamed of going professional, but after considering how rigorous the lifestyle is I opted not to pursue it. I can imagine you’ve got mixed feelings about your career-change, but the ability to stay grounded (excuse the pun)—where you want to live—should be nice!

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:03:10 +0000

Excellent post, David, and one many folks at any age would do well to seriously consider. I’m at the other end of that age spectrum (62) and am in the process of a career change from being a pilot to finishing a second grad degree in historic preservation. Before beginning the degree, I knew I wanted to live in my home state of Virginia. Given the immense history of the state and my interest in it, making the decision to live there and concentrate on historic preservation was relatively easy. Nevertheless, even before deciding on this new career path, I’d locked onto where I wanted to live. The job, income and career would have to fit the locale, not the other way around.

By: Nina

Nina — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:35:09 +0000

I truly appreciated this article. My husband and I recently relocated from Los Angeles (where we’d been for 10 years) to Wilmington, NC. We’d visited a few times and really loved the community and the quality of life that we weren’t getting in LA. We both left career jobs and while we’re thankful to have found work here, the pay and the jobs themselves are not comparable in the least. However, though we’ve had some lean financial moments, we’re both glad we took that plunge…

By: James

James — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:29:51 +0000

Depends on what your situation is. As an unemployed credit professional over 50 and with no retirement prospects, the question isn’t so simple. So please don’t be so glib about stuff like this. With unemployment as high as it is, and in the last week of benefits, tell me (or should I say, I will tell you) that you don’t really know what you are talking about. Give me a f****n break. That’s like telling a poor native family living in Guatamala that its best to drink bottled water because its pure. Just go dunk yourself, please.

Ken

By: mc

mc — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:11:08 +0000

What do you think about making this sort of move with kids?

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:29:13 +0000

“When it came down to it, we agreed that our quality of life was more important to us than what we did for a living.”

I absolutely, wholeheartedly agree!

There are so many things more important in this life than our jobs… like our happiness for one! Who cares about how much money you make if you’re not happy living where you’re living… right?

Makes perfect, non-conformist sense… love it.

By: WeSeed Editor

WeSeed Editor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:25:59 +0000

This article really hits home — I lived in Missoula, Montana, for a few years when I was in my mid-20s. I absolutely loved it — a beautiful college town in Western Montana? What’s not to like? And I really wanted to stay there.

The problem: I was making well under $20k, and I couldn’t begin to pay off my student loans. So eventually, I bailed and moved on. Now, I live in my hometown of Chicago.

I have few regrets — I wouldn’t have my wonderful daughter if I’d stayed in Missoula, for instance. That said, I still look back fondly on that time, and there’s a tiny voice that asks, “What if…?”

By: Credit Card Chaser

Credit Card Chaser — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:10:09 +0000

I agree with your thinking and am glad that it worked out for you. I was in somewhat of the same position as you when I first graduated from college and decided that I wanted to live in Florida rather than in Pennsylvania where I was originally from.

By: David Weliver

David Weliver — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:24:58 +0000

IntelligentSpeculator—so true about the social aspect. It’s not easy, either! I moved up here knowing I knew almost nobody in town by my wife!

And since I’m kind of an introvert by nature, meeting people has been tough…especially now that I work at home, for myself.

I made a few friends through my coffee shop job, have gotten chummy with my wife’s friends, and have started volunteering to “get out of the house”, but making social connections is a challenge.

But, if you want to live somewhere and make it work, it can be done.

I moved to NYC after graduating college for a job, and I didn’t know a soul in New York. Not surprisingly, I didn’t last a year there because I didn’t make the effort to create a social network. If I could do it all over again, I’d have started working to make friends the minute I got there.

Of course, if that happened, I probably would’ve stayed and my whole life would look different now. Things happen for a reason!