Moving out of state without a job lined up

Wondering anyones experience with this, I've come to dislike my job and entire life situation where I am at, and anywhere outside the twin cities are towns so small there might be 1 IT person per 100 square miles.

So I am thinking of up and moving Southwest, I am thinking Colorado as I've lived / traveled in surrounding states and always wanted to live there, and I am really on the verge of making a jump for it now before life bogs me down and I never get a chance to check it out.

Anyone have any links to discussions on this topic (such as applying for out of state jobs, costs, success stories), words of wisdom, warnings of failure for me? I may just stay in town and stick out a year lease before the move, but I have several thousand saved and it feels like this might be my last clear chance to take the leap, any responses appreciated.

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Comments

srabiee

The fiance and I are considering relocating to the Denver area fairly soon, and we may end up doing it before having jobs lined up.

I think it really just depends on the area and your credentials. For example, if you are moving to a large city with plenty of IT opportunities (Denver, Dallas, etc) and you have years of experience and a degree, it may not be that much of a risk. For those seeking entry-level helpdesk positions, I would proceed with much more caution unless you have a large nestegg to live off of in the meantime.

joelsfood

I did that several years ago, moving from OKC to Chicago. Took me about six weeks to land a job, stayed with family during the job search (and a bit longer, to wait for opening at townhouse I wanted to rent). It's definitely doable, but not for the faint of heart. Make sure you have something to keep yourself busy while you're trying to land the job.

E Double U

I don't have any experience with that, but admire people that do. Takes some serious balls or desperation to do it so I wish you the best of luck with that. I think you will always wonder 'what if' if you decide not to go through with it so I say take the leap. [Disclaimer: most people regret taking my advice].

I want to move to another continent next year, but I definitely plan on having a job lined up before I go lol.

NotHackingYou

I have done this before. If you have the finances to float until you find a job it's not bad. Is there a reason you can't apply for some jobs before moving?

iBrokeIT

Do you have a place to live already lined up?

That will be your biggest expense and thing that would concern me the most. A lot of places are going to want proof of income or employment before will rent to you. Would be best if you lived with a family member or friend until you get a job lined up.

ande0255

I haven't started looking too much recently, I have a girlfriend that I am not sure if she would come with initially, and no family in town that I could live with. I have about 1.5 years of Route / Switch, Unified Comm, Firewall experience which when I update my linkedin or anything else I get hit up for Network Engineer jobs immediately for a week or two afterward. Also several years with helpdesk / pc tech / other random work experience.

I am considering staying in town for another year to sell off all my stuff, like I have a whole storage locker full of an entire apartment worth of furniture that I'm not sure what I would do with, and could save probably close to 5-6k at least before making the jump.

I know it's bold and I have done this before, but never by myself, and never while keeping trying to keep a pulse in a career so it's adding a bit more weight to my decision making.

So right now nothing is lined up, not really sure what to do beyond pack a bag of clothes and maybe rent a room that will take a few months rent down to let me stay, and find a job in those few months and get a place. That is all I've gotten so far, unfortunately.

EDIT:

Forgot I also have an AAS in ITT Advanced Networking as well.

GreaterNinja

I just quit my job last month to move from Phoenix to San Francisco and finish up certs + school for this term.

I recommend saving at least $5000 to $10000.
Plan to only rely on yourself. Plan to be living in a cheap apartment or your car too (just in case). Plan to be eating out of the grocery store or taco bell.
The absolutely minimum would be $3000 and that's pushing it.

Now with it all said, you can probably land a job quite easily if you are good at Cisco R&S and you do have a CCNA. I recommend you have a job lined up or at least a good game plan before you jump ship. I thought mine out for several months and its still not going exactly how I planned :P.

edwilliamsky

I'm in a similar position at the moment, but have a house lined up already. It is likely (but not set in stone) that I can remain with my current employer working remotely for a month or two, although at a slightly reduced salary. I would be moving from a landlocked state to a house that is less than a mile away from the Atlantic, which is super tempting. The only thing holding me back at this point is securing firm employment where I'd be moving to at a salary that will pay my increase expenses (I have a roommate where I'm at, the move would add $600 a month to my expenses). It would be about an hour commute from the nearest large city, and I'm carpet bombing them with resumes at the moment, but I don't really have any good contacts in the area yet. I'd be moving with at least 3 months of expenses in the bank, and hopefully that month or two of remote work would sustain life, BUT still nerve wracking going into the great unknown.

Best of luck if you decide to move!

powdered toast man

I know exactly how you feel as I ended up moving across the country myself last summer (to the southwest) for the same reason. I don't have a wife or kids which really helps make that move a little easier so if that also applies to you that is a plus in itself because you will only have to worry about yourself. As soon as I moved reality hit me and I finally thought to myself I want to make IT a career of mine. I bounced around a couple unstable jobs and finally got a crappy retail job that paid minimum wage (but it was stable). While I worked that retail job I was studying for my A+ and applied for new jobs like crazy after I got certified. I now recently accepted an offer for my first IT gig providing tier 1 tech support and the money is a lot better than that retail job I had.

I'm not sure how comfortable you are renting a room with someone or people that you don't know but thats what I did when I made my move because 1.) it's cheaper than an apartment and 2.) You don't have to sign any lease and most of the time is month to month so if you needed to move a little closer to your new job it would be no big deal.

The savings advice that GreaterNinja gave is great.. I was eating mac and cheese and frozen raviolis for quite sometime to save money.

As far as success stories goes some people on reddit had some good ones and I found those helped me before I made the plunge to make a move by myself with no job lined up in a unknown state I am not familiar with.

If I can do it with no prior education or certifications, you can do it....

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Nemowolf

I am looking at making the move out San Francisco and over to Texas. I have some friends in Austin and San Antonio but it seems that the jobs for IT are in Dallas so that is where I am looking to land. Ive been saving for a bit and my goal is 10k saved before I will pull the trigger unless i can score a job then I will move much sooner.

It definitely pays to do your homework and get estimates for your moving expenses and then how much its going to cost to live out there. Im expecting 3-5k of my 10k saved to go just to the cost of moving and relocation for instance. That only leaves me 5-7k to live on until i can find something there.

ande0255

Thanks much for all the feedback, it's reassuring just to read that people have done it with some success, even though I know it's being done successfully every day. I started to think to myself today that it may be better to bite the bullet and lease an apartment here for a year, deal with the job another year, so I can pay off all my bills here... But it feels like I am making excuses to chicken sh*t out of taking the leap.

Did a majority of you have all your finances back home on the straightened arrow before you took off? I maybe have a couple renting related bills from my last place that are a couple hundred each, a couple medical related bills that total maybe a grand at most (very most). I'd also have time to sell all my stuff off, as I had said I have a storage space packed tightly full of an entire apartment (bed, couches, tables, dishes, etc).

Would you have made your move a year later if you decided to stay and take care of loose ends, or do you think that may have killed the momentum you had to go for it?

powdered toast man

For me personally I didn't have much debt or many bills to be paid off thankfully. It's hard to suggest what you should do without knowing how much money you have saved up or the amount of bills you have that need to be paid.. I don't expect you to post that on this forum either as that is your personal business.. If you have at least $3K - $4K saved up you could make it work but that also depends on the cost it would take to make the move and what you would be paying for rent after you make that move.. You should really just grind out the math on your monthly bills and what you have saved up.

If I was unhappy in the current situation I was in (which I was) and decided to stay for another year I would just think to myself.. Am I still unhappy? Do I want to move and try something new? if the answer is yes I would make the move.. for me I would probably still be unhappy and I would of made the move anyway.. It really all depends on your finances now though... If you feel financially comfortable once you sell your stuff I would just make the move right after... You have more of an idea than any of us...

For me personally I would of been miserable back at home working minimum wage at a retail job but since I moved somewhere completely new it was tolerable for me because it was a new beginning and exciting... scary at times but still exciting because you are experiencing something completely different and you almost feel reborn.

Also would you be transporting your car or driving you car to the new state? Also what is the age and condition of you car? Try to factor in what expenses you car might need once you move... I transported my car and took a flight over here. My car is old and unfortunately right when I moved I had to put more money in to it.. so try to think about that also...

ande0255

I figured I would pack the clothes I needed, maybe bring along a smaller TV and a PS4 or something to do in spare time aside from constantly studying (I know, I know), and drive on down there. The bills aren't mind blowing, and if I left this Friday I'd roll out of town with about $5k.

One of the larger issues is I have that storage space full of stuff, that I would basically forfeit if I just bailed, not sure how I would try to sell an apartment out of a gated storage place.

I appreciate the advice on where I'm at mentally, I'd love a completely fresh start, but I think if I maybe I just get a new job and a new place to live I could keep my savings where they are at and re-assess my life over the next year. If in 6 months I still feel like I need to move on, maybe I can start redirecting funds into planning a move rather than jumping the gun.

Though I may still jump the gun and just go for it, I know how to live / survive cheap, and I have never had issues renting a room in a shared house. To be honest the if I didn't have a girlfriend I wouldn't think twice about just going for it, but I am unsure whether I want to take her along and try to support her in that type of situation, etc.

N2IT

I'd have no problem doing that but my wife would freak out.

Dakinggamer87

I'm considering moving to Seattle in a few years but want to finish my degrees first before then. I would personally before making a decision such as yours to have a job lined up priorhand.

datacomboss

Nemowolf wrote: »

I am looking at making the move out San Francisco and over to Texas. I have some friends in Austin and San Antonio but it seems that the jobs for IT are in Dallas so that is where I am looking to land. Ive been saving for a bit and my goal is 10k saved before I will pull the trigger unless i can score a job then I will move much sooner.
something there.

Lots of IT jobs in Dallas-Fort Worth. Houston is pretty loaded too (especially HIT and energy sector) I would apply for one BEFORE you leave and just drive or fly to the interview. I've applied for and was offered positions in other parts of the state/country while living here in Fort Worth. Just takes a decent skills package and diligence with your resume/cover letter.

hellolin

Hey I am planning on leaving CA later on this year to look for a job in the Dallas-Fort worth area as well, already saved up at least 10k for it. Will have my degree by then and over a year of IT helpdesk experience. Already contacted some local studio 6s are found out it is around $750 a month to live there, not bad for the first month I suppose.

ande0255

Yes right now I'm trying to find groups in the Greater Denver area on linkedin to follow, unfortunately I have coworkers (one supervisor for another department) from my company on there, so who knows what kind of backlash that might bring.

Also yes I posted an updated resume a few hours ago, I am going to rocket that sucker around the area to see if I can get any bites.