constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Feb 1, 2014 8:53:53 GMT -5
For anyone who has moved several states away or halfway across the country, how did you do it? I am in the early "considering" stage of moving from the Northeast to Florida. When I think about everything that would have to happen, my head spins. I have not had to job search or interview in over 14 years, which was really before online job postings, etc. How do you apply for/interview/etc for jobs in another part of the country?? I have looked on a few job sites and even started a few applications, but it just seems overwhelming. I have lived my entire life in the NE. I hate cold, hate winter and every year I hate it more. Part of me thinks it would be crazy and stupid to try to do this since I have a great job and living situation here. But there really is nothing holding me here. My mom lives in Florida and I've visited a couple times a year. I have identified areas I'd be interested in moving. I have a couple friends from HS that live there and have been in contact with them to put some feelers out for me. And I love my mom, but I'm not sure I want to move that far and have her be the ONLY person I know, if that makes sense. I have friends here, but they are all married, some with kids and have their own lives. We rarely ever do anything anymore. I go to work and I come home. That is the extent of my life right now. So, why not make a big change. So, I would love to hear from people who have done this. The steps they took to make it happen, etc. and any general tips or suggestions.
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emma1420
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Post by emma1420 on Feb 1, 2014 10:29:06 GMT -5
I am curious about this as well. I'm trying to relocate now. I've had several interviews and one job offer (which wasn't right for me), and I've found if I'm well qualified for the job and I make it clear I don't expect relocation assistance that most potential employers are quite willing to interview me. I do think that they are less likely to offer me the job as I can't start as soon as someone who is lock can. And I don't get interviews for stretch positions much probably because of my location.
I am also pretty picky. I like the job I have now. I am not interested in moving for just any job.
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milee
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Post by milee on Feb 1, 2014 11:17:25 GMT -5
It's so much easier now with the internet. You can remotely research almost anything. Some of the issues with relocating can be overcome through research and good planning and some are just a leap of faith.
As for interviewing, one tip is to try to consolidate interviews in one trip. While some employers will pay to fly out a good candidate, many others won't. So if you're planning a Florida trip anyway, be sure to put that in big, bold letters on your cover letter and in all correspondence since a potential employer might go ahead and interview you if you're already there, but would take a pass if they had to pay for your trip.
As far as your mom being your only friend, that will be true for a little while after a move, but is also completely in your control. Since so many people are not native Floridians, the culture tends to be very friendly and open to new people. You won't be the only person who didn't go to elementary school with everybody else, and there will be lots of groups that are there mainly to attract and socialize. It's a good place to move to. What areas are you thinking about? If I know anything about any of them, I'll steer you to some newcomer activities that might be fun.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 1, 2014 11:55:41 GMT -5
I've moved 3 times across the country for jobs, the last time for medical treatment. I've also been flown in for interviews.
Like Milee said, it is important that you be willing to pay for travel up front to the interview, mention that you travel to the city regularly and the next time that you will be in town is on XX date.
Twice, actual move been on the company's dime.
I have never had any problem moving to a new place and making friends. My last move probably went the most smoothly. I had researched a bunch of places to live beforehand and had narrowed down my choices to about 4 places. My first choice was the place I moved to.
my last move I'm finding it a bit more difficult to meet people, but this (I think) is largely because I am not working and my disability tends to hamper me from activities where I'd go out and meet people.
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flopsy
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Post by flopsy on Feb 1, 2014 12:17:21 GMT -5
Do you have an idea of what you want to do and who you want to work for? Start there. Write down the industry(ies) you are interested in and use the net to search for companies in that industry(is) in the desired location. The Book of Lists can be a good resource for finding companies but it's expensive. Libraries will carry a Book of Lists for their major metripolitan area but you would have to be in your target market already. When you know what companies you are interested in join LinkedIn, connect with people, talk to people about your desire to move and your strengths and what you are interested in. You never know what connections or insight/knowledge people may have that can help you in your ssearch.
Good luck!
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Feb 1, 2014 12:31:08 GMT -5
When DH and I first started out together and living in San Diego, he got laid off and started sending out his resume to both the Washington D.C. area (where his mom lived) and Boston (where he had other relatives and went to H.S. boarding school). He wound up getting a job in the Washington D.C. area and I followed him three months later.
We have relocated several times and I have never been able to find a job until I moved to the new location. DH and I have different skill sets and when we first started out I was not in a highly paid field with a lot of competition. I think my resume was generally rejected out of hand because of concerns that I was out of the area and might not follow through with the move. I did get one interview with the CIA which was one of the most uncomfortable interview processes I've ever had. I got rejected because they wanted me to say I would leave DH (we weren't married) if I was transferred. Uh, no. He worked for a large international courier company and could probably get a transfer anywhere he wanted but that wasn't good enough. I wasn't going lie to the interviewer and ultimately I think it was for the best!
I've always found work within a couple of months once I relocated. Is moving in with your mom for a few months an option?
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Feb 1, 2014 12:43:19 GMT -5
milee- Mom lives west of Orlando, but I was thinking more Tampa/St Pete/Gulf Coast area. Bonny- I am single, no kids, so I would not move anywhere without 100% having a job where I was going to. And living with mom would not be an option. Her and her SO have a teeny tiny house. My education and experience is child welfare, caseworker, mental health worker. I have looked at job sites off and on over the years and I do frequently see postings in my field. I guess I need to just start applying for some and see where it leads. I don't even have a resume anymore as I've been in my current job 14 years. One of the other million thoughts/ideas running through my head is, I have an RV that I have been trying to sell, currently it's in winter storage. I was going to sell it this spring, hell or high water, but maybe I should hold onto it. I only owe about 8k on it. I could have it towed to FL for a few hundred bucks and it would be ok to live in temporarily. I wouldn't want to do it for a year, but would be ok til I got acclimated to an area and found more permanent housing. See, my head is just spinning
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JustLurkin
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Post by JustLurkin on Feb 1, 2014 12:45:21 GMT -5
Best of luck constanz22--I swear, as my son is making his way across the graduating stage, the moving truck will be backing into our driveway...this snow is for the birds!
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Feb 1, 2014 12:53:22 GMT -5
Constanz22,
Re the RV, unless you planned on "commuting" between the two locations, I think it's probably cheaper and easier to just sell it where you are rent an apartment unless RV sell for a lot more in FL.
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sesfw
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Post by sesfw on Feb 1, 2014 13:09:52 GMT -5
Is it possible to get a transfer with the company you are with now? Or solid recommendations? We moved from Los Angeles to Flagstaff AZ without knowing anyone at all and within a year we were settled in. DH had a transfer and I found a job (McDs) within a month. A fill-in job until I found something permanent.
It's ok to have a fill-in job while you establish a local address and look around.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Feb 1, 2014 13:31:33 GMT -5
I moved to a rural area without a lot of jobs, so I found a telecommute job in my local area before I moved. They knew when they hired me that I was interviewing for the telecommute job because I was planning to move, so it worked out very well. Your job doesn't sound conducive to telecommuting, but is there an aspect of it you could move into, like reviewing casework decisions, that could be done remotely?
My scariest issue when I moved was figuring out what to do with my house.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Feb 1, 2014 13:34:08 GMT -5
We did it way before Internet. Much easier now. We focused on two areas. Clearwater and Ft. Myers. Loved Ft. Myers but sucked for family life so Clearwater it was. Made a great life here and never looked back. I've left two times and both times I hated it and couldn't wait to get back. I am house hunting this long weekend in between golfing.
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Feb 1, 2014 13:47:44 GMT -5
The great thing about my current living situation is I rent to own from my parents, so, I could pretty much just move whenever. No giving notice, no selling a house, etc to have to coordinate. So, in that aspect, it would be "easy". I would have to sit down with my parents and decide what we would do with the house here. It is paid off, so, in all likelihood, we would just keep it. I know my mom would ultimately like to be a snowbird someday, since they are both retired. We'd have to discuss specifics though, I guess.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Feb 1, 2014 13:57:08 GMT -5
Constanz;
I have only read the OP so far, but it could have been written by me. That's exactly my situation; want to move to Florida, my friends here are all married with kids, I hate the cold more and more each passing year, and I don't have anything tying me here in the Northeast. I also have a reasonably good work situation, but I don't think it's enough to keep me here. The only difference is that I am doing an MBA and won't be able to relocate until that is finished (either Dec. 2014 or May 2015). My head also spins when I think of everything I will have to do to move, and finding a job from so far away (I am in the Northeast also) seems impossible. Right now I am saving every penny I can because I think it will end up with me finishing the MBA and moving south, and looking for a job once I'm there. It's scary, but I don't see any other way around it. Now I'm off to read the rest of the thread. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 14:20:02 GMT -5
About 7 months ago i moved from Missouri to Texas. I was lucky because my company had an office in TX so it was easy, just asked my boss if i could work from Houston, he said yes before i even finished my question. I only knew 1 person that is a friend in houston so i joined meetup groups and met lots of people through that. I also joined the group for my country of origin and met a ton of people. As far as the physical moving, my company didnt pay for it so i got a 6x12 trailer, put whatever i could in it and towed from st.louis to houston.
I realize it is not as easy as to just transfer for everyone. But it can be done. I second what somebody else said, try to combine interviews to one trip. You can even see if they would do a skype interview.
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milee
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Post by milee on Feb 1, 2014 14:40:56 GMT -5
Tampa/St Pete is a fun area. It's active and there are plenty of people in all different age ranges. If you move, you will be able to make friends.
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flopsy
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Post by flopsy on Feb 1, 2014 16:13:23 GMT -5
Constanz, you didn't really specify, are you looking for tips on the job search or the moving?
I hope you like sweaty humid weather. I lived in the Tampa area twice for a total of 5 years and never got used to the weather or the bugs or the little lizards.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Feb 1, 2014 17:40:37 GMT -5
Summer can be muggy but I will gladly deal with that as opposed to sucky and forever winters. I never had a bug issue but we had our house sprayed for bugs. Lizards don't hurt anyone and birds take care of those.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 20:57:37 GMT -5
We created a 7 year plan to move to San Diego. That meant saving up money because we knew housing would be many times more expensive. About 3 years into that plan, I was able to find an opening in San Diego with my company and they did a full relocation package. They planned and paid for the packing of the house, the move including transporting 1 vehicle, realtor fees to sell our house, 2 trips out to look for new housing, 1 point toward our new mortgage, and they gave us $5000 cash to cover other expenses..
If we didn't get that opportunity, we would have needed all 7 years to be in a financial position to move. The move was about 2000 miles.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Feb 2, 2014 18:06:42 GMT -5
We created a 7 year plan to move to San Diego. That meant saving up money because we knew housing would be many times more expensive. About 3 years into that plan, I was able to find an opening in San Diego with my company and they did a full relocation package. They planned and paid for the packing of the house, the move including transporting 1 vehicle, realtor fees to sell our house, 2 trips out to look for new housing, 1 point toward our new mortgage, and they gave us $5000 cash to cover other expenses.. If we didn't get that opportunity, we would have needed all 7 years to be in a financial position to move. The move was about 2000 miles. Wow, 7 years!
Since we were renting our 3000 mile move was pretty easy. DH moved with a bunch of his electronics in the back of his truck and I stayed until the packers loaded up our boxes and furniture in a moving van. I know it wasn't that expensive; maybe $5k today.
We did rent for about 2 years in the DC area, bought a condo and sold it a year later when DH got an opportunity to move to the SF Bay Area. I remember being concerned about whether we could afford moving to the Bay Area because housing costs were about double what we would have paid for a similar house. But we did it our very un-YM way of buying a house at 5X DH's salary and never looked back!
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Feb 2, 2014 18:12:37 GMT -5
I wouldn't even consider asking for relocation expenses. I'm pretty sure no employer is going to pay to move a caseworker.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2014 18:25:51 GMT -5
I wouldn't even consider asking for relocation expenses. I'm pretty sure no employer is going to pay to move a caseworker. I was billing about $500,000 a year to our customers at that time and another group "stole" me because I was doing $100,000 more than their average consultant.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 3, 2014 9:26:08 GMT -5
constanz- DH and I moved from MN to CA. We needed a change of scenery and applied all over the country. We flew out to CA twice before we moved. First time I had two or three interviews scheduled and DH was able to schedule a couple of interviews as well. DH was offered a position with one of the companies he interviewed with. We flew back out 3 weeks later to house hunt and because I had another interview lined up. I found out while house hunting that I got that job. We moved 3 weeks after that. My house in MN sat empty (and for sale) for about a month before my sister called and asked if we'd sell it to her.
I made it clear in my communications with prospective employers that I was planning on moving regardless so I didn't expect relocation compensation. DH's employer did end up paying about $3500 of our moving costs.
Its not unusual to do a phone interview before an in person one so you aren't going into a fly to interview situation blind.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 3, 2014 9:49:09 GMT -5
Good luck Constanz!
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 3, 2014 11:22:37 GMT -5
I always wanted to know. When they 'relocating' you - do they guarantee you job for like at least 5 years contract or what? I know people who interview well but not nessesarily best 'relocation worthy' specialists. What happens if company goes 'shit! he is a dumbass! he wasn't worth all these money we paid for relocation etc.'
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Feb 3, 2014 11:25:13 GMT -5
I've moved all over - but in my field it's pretty common to be given the "royal" treatment with flights for interviews, house hunting trips, relo expenses, etc.
Sounds like you've got a different scenario. I'd try to set up some interviews where you want to move, and then take a trip there for a week as a vacation. You can see if you get any nibbles for a job, and also see if you'd like to live in the area. You can move yourself rather cheaply if you're willing to drive a giant Uhaul- I did it when I was a kid and towed my car behind the Uhaul!! But I didn't have a huge amount of 'stuff' that I have now.
I would definitely say that if you want a change - moving is a great change. Especially if you don't have a house to sell, kids to uproot, etc.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Feb 3, 2014 12:41:41 GMT -5
I moved from Texas to Chicago when I was 25. I moved in with a friend who already lived here. When I arrived, I visited with 2 temp agencies, brought my resumes and references and told them what I was looking for... then I went to Europe for a month. When I came back I had a temp assignment lined up. From mid-June through August I temped and then landed a job August 7th with the firm I am with now. Of course that was 2006, and the economy was much better and finding work was easier. I had the luxury of turning down a few positions before finding what I wanted. Basically, I saved for about a year, enough for my annual trip to europe and for a couple months of living expenses. It was just me and life was pretty cheap then. $650 for my half of rent and utilities, $80 monthly train pass and whatever I needed for food, etc. It was pretty easy then. I totally couldn't pull that off now.
I was also young and dumb with no health insurance or anything of the like... so thank god nothing happened to me!
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Feb 4, 2014 8:14:02 GMT -5
I applied for a job online last night. It is in Clearwater area and is almost EXACTLY what I do now. This agency actually had 5-6 jobs posted that I am more than qualified to do Their site allows you to apply for two at a time. So, go big or go home, one was a supervisory position. Keeping my fingers crossed! I am excited but also scared as hell!
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Feb 4, 2014 10:16:00 GMT -5
If you get it or an interview, pm me. I can help since I lived and worked there and will be buying a place again.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Feb 4, 2014 10:27:08 GMT -5
What about licensing issues -- will your LICSW transfer easily to Florida? As for the Tampa/St. Pete area, I am also from the Northeast and I have several relatives in that area and visit regularly. If I ever move to Florida, it will NOT be to Tampa/St. Pete. Florida is struggling as a whole, and some areas ARE on their way back up, but Tampa/St. Pete for some reason seems to be stagnant. The large numbers of homeless folks and ramshackle housing was really depressing -- I can only imagine that the state and local social service agencies and local charities struggle to support all of those folks given the sheer numbers I see/saw. My extended family is doing just okay. I don't intend to sound coldhearted, because I am sincerely not. While I thoughtfully consider the human condition and the reality just below the sunny, shiny surface of any geographic area, I also work in a more commercial type of setting so that economic factors would play a bigger role in any decision to relocate than it would for you. That said, since you area LICSW, then maybe Florida is the land of job security for you.
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