Possible Move to Baton Rouge from New Jersey

cknapp78

Hi Everyone,

Had something very interesting happen to me yesterday which I wanted to get some opinions on.

Bottom line...I have been working as a Messaging/Active Directory Consultant for the past 5 years. Most of my jobs have been of the 6-9 month nature. Come in....design a solution...implement the solution...train the staff. I have migrated almost one million users in the past 5 years. Up until 6 months ago, things had been going very well. The most time I ever had off between contracts was 4 weeks. 6 months ago I finished my last job and other than a quick 4 week contract, I haven't worked at all. Couldn't find anything else without being on the road 100% of the time.

Due to the nature of my family (Daughter with Autism, Son with ADHD, wife with Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis) I simply can not travel more than 33% of the time. I need to be home at least 2-3 weeks a month so my wife can get the rest she needs to take care of the kids. I have been extremely lucky over the past 5 years. I have only had to travel 6 times during that time and my longest trip was only 5 days. Every other day I would make the long commute to my basement office and come upstairs for lunch and dinner.

Made the decision to bite the bullet and move my family into my parents' house. Definitely not the best solution but it was the only option we had at the time. Spent most of the past 6 months interviewing like crazy for anything nationwide and locally. Nothing came through. Finally managed to get a job about 50 miles west of my home and started last week.

During my time out of work, I had worked with a recruiter and interviewed and got a verbal job offer from a company in Baton Rouge. Was all set to start discussing final salary, relocation bonus, etc... Then the hiring company pulled the offer. Apparently this position was a backfill slot for someone who was leaving the company and moving north to be with a sick family member. When he found out he was being replaced instead of his job just being put on hold, he came running back. As a result, the job was no longer available.

My family and I were devastated since we had little else to go on at that point. Either way, I finally found the local job here and have been here a week and a half. Last night I get a call from the recruiter asking if we still wanted to move to Baton Rouge. Apparently the guy who came back has been a no-call no-show employee for 2 weeks so they terminated him. They then proceeded to call my recruiter and tell him to get me on the phone immediately.

Here is my dilemma. We know the area in Baton Rouge. We have researched the schools, the hospitals, etc.. What concerns me is the substantial drop in pay compared to NJ. Most of the work I do in NJ, I bill between 75-100/hr. All total, I make about $130,000 per year. The offer I have gotten in Baton Rouge is $90,000 plus benefits to start (My family doesn't have any now). They will also cut me a check for all my relocation expenses and enough money to cover a new rental (one month rent plus security) up front.

My wife and I have always lived a pretty spartan lifestyle and always lived within our means. Our only car is 10 years old. We only buy what we need when we need it and only eat out once a week. I brown bag my lunch every day. I have looked at the housing down there and for the same price as I was paying for a 2 BR condo of 900 sq. ft in NJ, I can get a 3,000 sq. ft. 4 BR ranch house. Amazing.

I think that part of this is just nerves. I have done the math and think we will be fine. However, there is no support system. My family and my wife's family are only 10 minutes away from us usually. Neither of us have family in the south and that is one of the perks. Frankly, neither of us gets along with our families. Other than being good grandparents, they usually just cause more trouble than they are worth.

Anyway...

Opinions?
Anyone from the Baton Rouge area who can advise?
Anyone ever gone through something similar?

As always I appreciate all your comments and opinions and consider myself blessed to be a part of the TechExams family.

Corey

ptilsen

I have nothing to say about Baton Rouge, specifically, but it seems like a big move. That ~$40,000 is a big difference, but I do know the cost of living is quite different. Bankrate confirms $130K translated to $92K with this move. Granted, this is an estimate, but at worse it will not be a step down. The value of the benefits you'll get is certainly huge, especially with your family's current status. You might pay several $4-10K to get benefits, but they'll probably save you $10K+ compared to out of pocket. On that note, as great as a family support support system may be, health insurance is a pretty big deal.

Again, not knowing Baton Rouge very well personally, I will say it will be a culture shock. The pace in the South in general, and certainly from the people from LA I've worked with, is very much the opposite of NJ. Frankly, it's not to my liking, though neither is Jersey abrasiveness. That's a personal thing, though. You might be fine with it. It's certainly not a showstopper if this is the right thing for your family.

If you haven't already, you should certainly look around at other areas and see what jobs you can find. I wouldn't restrict myself to any one place unless I had a specific desire to live there. We've had a couple threads on places to live that would be worth checking out. I like to look at a lot of different factors and really weigh my options. With your experience, there's likely to be high-paying jobs in every major metro.

I personally wouldn't choose LA or NJ for cultural, climate, lifestyle, and career reasons, but that's me. I get there's an offer on the table already, but I just think you should very carefully consider what you want. If you're down for the numerical pay cut and move to LA, I say go for it. Overall, I have to say I think life will be better for you, from what you say.