Blind Relocation thoughts

crrussell3

So my wife and I were talking last night, and we are looking at getting our house on the market next spring to sell. During our conversation, we discussed what we were looking for in a house. My wife REALLY wants to move back to Colorado where she lived for a while as a child. We currently live in Iowa.

Now, this is something completely new to me, and I just want to reach out and see how others might have done something like this. In our case, we have nothing to tie us to Colorado, so our move would be blind. My wife does work for Wells Fargo, so she would have an easier time finding a job (at least something to tie us over) at first. But for me, I wouldn't have the "in" that she has.

Has anyone else gone threw something like this and how did you handle it? We know that when we sell, we will be living in an apartment until we could square things away with jobs, etc, and would end up in an apartment if we moved to Colorado for awhile.

Now none of this is set in stone, and we may just find a new place where we live. Its just one of those ideas that has me wondering how others have handled it.

RouteThisWay

I really thought this thread was about blind people when I saw the title! Oops!

The only advice I have, since this isn't a "must" or on a time line- be sure you have a lot of cash you could use to live off of for 4-6 months for both of you. I am sure you already thought of that so I am not really contributing to the conversation.

Have you tried maybe networking in that area remotely? For instance, maybe finding some professionals in that area vie LinkedIn and asked about the major players in the area, make some contacts, etc?

dave330i

Have a job lined up before you move. When I moved to CA, it was because I had a high paying job waiting for me, not because I wanted to move to CA.

networker050184

Definitely have a job lined up first. It would be a really big mistake to move to an area with no job unless you just have the financial means to go without one.

erpadmin

One of my buddies moved to VA "blind" (having no job...nothing lined up). I believe you touched on a good point though, because my buddy is also in the banking industry and was able to get a job quickly. He moved because his wife was relocated to another base or something in the Coast Guard.

I personally would never move to a place without having a job lined up. Only way that would happen is if for some God-awful reason, I was unemployed, then I can transfer my UI to the state that I'm moving to. Otherwise, utilize indeed.com and start sending resumes out to prospective employers.

cyberguypr

I concur with networker and dave. Even though I had almost a year of living expenses saved up I moved to Chicago 6 years ago only because I had a job lined up ahead of time. Some companies frown upon out of state applicants but if you are not in any hurry you can definitely do your homework and find those that will look past physical location and focus on credentials, experience, etc..

It's really a crapshoot moving blindly. I am sure it has worked for some here though.

veritas_libertas

I've done this, and it can be scary but adventurous at the same time. I ended up being blessed with a great job, and having moved from MI to SC it was hard not to have more job options

The best advice I can give is that it would be best if at least one of you had a job lined up before moving. My wife has connections down here so she was able to snag a job before we moved.

phaneuf1

I moved here in Toronto completely blindly. I had no job, no apartment, and I was not speaking a very good English. I found an IT job in a bank as a helpdesk technician, and I'm now a senior, fully bilingual, IT analyst working for a bank. I'm now studying at WGU, and then i'll do my master at BU and my dream is to work on wall street for a major bank. Guys stop to worry about life, just be confident and you'll succeed in everything. I say move blindly, and live your life FREE.

gkca

phaneuf1 wrote: »

I moved here in Toronto completely blindly. I had no job, no apartment, and I was not speaking a very good English. I found an IT job

Same here Though I'm mulling over moving to Vancouver

BigMevy

I'd agree with most here, for maybe other reasons. If you do move out here you might end up not being able to find a job in the immediate area and having to commute just to get into a place. Whereas if you find a job ahead of time, you could really alleviate some of those potential problems.

The last time I did a blind move was in 99 when I moved to Colorado. I had just separated from the USAF and had some terminal leave coming, then ended up living off credit cards for about 4 months till I got something going. I could only imagine doing that with a spouse, and you didn't say if you had kids or not. That would just add to it. I got a place with some buddies in Loveland and had to commute to Denver for the next 3 years or so, which was draining.

If you're serious about it, I'd recommend first doing some research to find out what part of the State you and your wife would prefer living in. Then do some digging into the job market in that area. I can tell you there are a lot more IT jobs in the Denver area than in the rest of the State, but there are jobs elsewhere too. For instance in NCo, I know Otterbox has been doing a lot of hiring and has a few positions listed on their website. It might be worth a look.

Akaricloud

It's a huge risk to do but can really pay off in the end.

I personally moved without a source of income lined up, rented a house and then worked on finding a job once I was settled in. You can always take lower level jobs, contracts or whatever it takes to pay the bills during your real job search. I ended up taking a Helpdesk/Jr. Sys Admin position paying 42k after I moved until I found a position that suited me better.

If it's what you want then go for it. Plan it out as much as you can and take the leap.

tecke

Optimism and confidence will work miracles!

Mike-Mike

no one seems to have mentioned this formula:

happy wife = happy life

N2IT

I would think one of you should have sometime lined up. I think setting your search nationally or globally is a good move, but make sure you have something lined up first. Especially with a family depending on you.

With that said I had a friend move from St Louis it Los Angeles and made it. Landed a job in Compton for a few years and then moved to a controller of a manufacturing plant then a director over some coffee company. (It can be done)

Mike-Mike

N2IT wrote: »

Landed a job in Compton

hmmm.... Straight Into Compton ey? I'm more of an "Outta" kind of guy.....