Relocation opportunity

[loudnlousy]

I had to move several times because of my job.
That caused problems: The costs of moving to another town with a big household (including refurbishing) were huge. Lots of things got damaged and had to be replaced, too.
My son went to six different schools during that time. Had to acclimate and find new friends. That`s not good at all for a small kid.
Although I loved my new workingplace, the city and our new big home, my wife felt very uncomfortable in her new surrounding. She never found rea friends or adequate work there, too.
She drove home to her parents at least twice a week and became basically homesick.

After a vew years we relocated to our original hometome.
Happy wife, happy life...

 

[Bertotti]

I had to move several times because of my job.
That caused problems: The costs of moving to another town with a big household (including refurbishing) were huge. Lots of things got damaged and had to be replaced, too.
My son went to six different schools during that time. Had to acclimate and find new friends. That`s not good at all for a small kid.
Although I loved my new workingplace, the city and our new big home, my wife felt very uncomfortable in her new surrounding. She never found rea friends or adequate work there, too.
She drove home to her parents at least twice a week and became basically homesick.

After a vew years we relocated to our original hometome.
Happy wife, happy life...

My wife got a taste for moving after the first move after I got some biomes training finished. She was home sick for a six months to a year. We didn’t have much for money but I was able to get her home once or twice a year. It was around a 21 hour drive and to save money I would stop once and that was only if I couldn’t stay awake any longer most of the time I drove straight through. Slowly she started to realize that the trip wasn’t the hard part many times it was being with family that really wore us down. I have been here so long because I refuse to move my kids and now I have been here so long I have no real desire to go anywhere else. Even with the tornadoes and blizzards and -55F or -75- with windchill temps. We’ve gotten comfortable and I really hope you and your wife have also, it’s a nice feeling.

 

[blueruins]

My wife got a taste for moving after the first move after I got some biomes training finished. She was home sick for a six months to a year. We didn’t have much for money but I was able to get her home once or twice a year. It was around a 21 hour drive and to save money I would stop once and that was only if I couldn’t stay awake any longer most of the time I drove straight through. Slowly she started to realize that the trip wasn’t the hard part many times it was being with family that really wore us down. I have been here so long because I refuse to move my kids and now I have been here so long I have no real desire to go anywhere else. Even with the tornadoes and blizzards and -55F or -75- with windchill temps. We’ve gotten comfortable and I really hope you and your wife have also, it’s a nice feeling.

I hope you’re not in sales

 

[Dansimpson]

Relocation isn't for everyone. The best advice I can give, spend at least a fortnight in the area, and don't do anything that tourists would do, to make it your home means not treating it the same as on holiday/vacation.
I came close to relocating from the UK to Boston on the late 90s, I love that place, but pulled the plug at the last moment.
ATB
Dan

 

[AZBrahma]

Before I moved here I believe I did all I could to prepare: I checked into the cost of living (food, gasoline, rents, etc.), population makeup, crime statistics, culture, local foods, educational opportunities and everything else I could think of.
I signed up at an online dating site and talked with women in this area for six months before moving.
I stayed in a hostel ($30 a night) for a month before picking out an apartment. Excited, didn't notice anything I didn't like.

What has turned me away from this area is a couple of factors that weren't immediately apparent and have gotten under my skin over time.
The crime statistics aren't much worse than any other city of this size but it is different. In Ohio I knew the bad areas and would stay away, no problem, but here there is no "safe" area, crime is a constant problem everywhere. This is the Wild West with too many guns, too much machismo attitude, too little education, too few police, too many drugs.
Breaking Bad in real life.

Because of the ideal weather, homeless people number in the thousands. I knew of none in Ohio.
They are everywhere, always hitting up anyone close to them for money. My problem is that I wish I could help everyone of them but that is impossible, their numbers are huge.
They congregate at the drive through at McDs, they approach when your window is down. They line up outside stores and restaurants, walk around parking lots everywhere, walk down your street and beg for money everytime someone is within earshot. They join together into tent cities until things get out of hand and the police shoo them off to rebuild somewhere else.
Someone pointed out to me that there are many organizations that provide food and shelters with beds so many of those begging want money for what they can't get for free: drugs and alcohol and cigarettes.

I hope this post is not considered political, I'm just trying to illustrate how factors I didn't expect have ruined this area for me.

All just my observations, many love it here.

This is awful. I moved from ABQ I guess about sixteen or seventeen years ago, and at that time it was nothing like this. I really enjoyed my time there. But I had heard about it getting bad.

 

[loudnlousy]

I would love to see England, Scotland, Ireland and more places over there.

You will love it.
I visited GB several times and found it to be a wonderful place. Beautiful architecture, beautiful nature, proud and friendly people with great humour. Very strange local food "(would you like your pasta with fries or rice on the side?"), though.

 

[Bertotti]

I hope you’re not in sales

Nope, although I am the one who discusses equipment updates I am technical service and consulting. Everywhere I go is a franchise. I do their franchise audits, some certified training, production analysis, and when the dealer and local machanics and electricians can’t fix it I do. We have a lot of responsibility and we travel quite a bit especially these bigger central and even bigger western areas. We have some tech job openings like I have and getting people has proven to be very hard. Company car expense account except for break downs and meetings I pretty much set my own schedule and work out of my home. But when they find out that after a six month training process they will go to the first open area which could be anywhere in the states they bow out. I know eventually they will be filled it’s just taking a lot longer. It is a technical job we try to get people well versed in electronics or electricians mechanical engineers some type of tech who we can get up to speed. So not just anyone works out.

 

[Dansimpson]

Here ya go, just one of a whole rake of hospitality opportunities in the UK..
"
MANAGEMENT VACANCY:
We are now recruiting for a driven Management team for the Exeter Inn at Bampton near Tiverton.
At least one half of the team MUST be fully competent in the kitchen.
This is a beautiful Devon Long House with snugs, function space, log fires, and 8 fabulous ensuite guest rooms. Popular with tourists, locals, walkers, and families, this is a super opportunity for the right candidates to come and join our team.
This is a pressured role due to the tight controls required to run this business in partnership with our Directors and the Punch Partnership team.
The package is percentage based with 3 stepped levels paid on ALL gross takings, with you being responsible for your staffing costs. This model is proven to be an excellent earner in this style of high turnover venue for ambitious Managers. We offer a stunning one bedroom adjoining cottage as part of the role.
(Not suitable for families with children. One pet allowed)
To apply, please contact by emailing [email protected] telling us why you’d be great for this role. Interviews being held immediately."
ATB
Dan

 

[Edison]

I've been in my current home a little over 2 years, and considering it my 'forever home' after 20 years living on Chicago's far north side. No mortgage, empty nesting, and my overhead is low, so I'm mostly making bank toward retirement, making up for lost years. ..Still, old habits die hard, and I find myself looking at real estate listings, basically for a modest 2nd home.
My older sister and her retired husband have a 2nd home outside of Phoenix, where they both winter.

Me? I mostly look in the pacific northwest, Northern Cal and Oregon, but sometimes I'll look at properties in the UK. An impractical fantasy, perhaps, but a large part of the expense of staying anywhere for a prolonged period is accommodations. A modest flat, bought and paid for, would secure a more immersive exposure to everything while there, especially if it were for 2 or 3 months every year.
That being said, even under ideal conditions there's little chance I could afford to buy anything in London, or even its immediate burbs. Realistically I would end up in a modest row home or semi-detached in a smaller hamlet of a larger city. Which would be fine, if I had a savvy agent over there who was looking on my behalf. And once established, it's even easier to bounce to somewhere like Europe or Scandinavia.

 

[Bertotti]

I've been in my current home a little over 2 years, and considering it my 'forever home' after 20 years living on Chicago's far north side. No mortgage, empty nesting, and my overhead is low, so I'm mostly making bank toward retirement, making up for lost years. ..Still, old habits die hard, and I find myself looking at real estate listings, basically for a modest 2nd home.
My older sister and her retired husband have a 2nd home outside of Phoenix, where they both winter.

Me? I mostly look in the pacific northwest, Northern Cal and Oregon, but sometimes I'll look at properties in the UK. An impractical fantasy, perhaps, but a large part of the expense of staying anywhere for a prolonged period is accommodations. A modest flat, bought and paid for, would secure a more immersive exposure to everything while there, especially if it were for 2 or 3 months every year.
That being said, even under ideal conditions there's little chance I could afford to buy anything in London, or even its immediate burbs. Realistically I would end up in a modest row home or semi-detached in a smaller hamlet of a larger city. Which would be fine, if I had a savvy agent over there who was looking on my behalf. And once established, it's even easier to bounce to somewhere like Europe or Scandinavia.

I don’t own multiple homes but my whole life since I turned 18 has been travel. I might be in my forever home now. I’m not sure if my family wants to stay in this area I’ll stay. If they are willing to uproot once out of school we will go somewhere else. To this day I still travel. 100+ nights every year are in hotels. I have no desires to travel, vacation, move to exotic locales anymore. A nice trip to a camp ground or water park makes my family happy. Sadly even that is more than I really want to do anymore. I will be very pleased when this house is paid for and I can spend my nights, all of them, here. I do understand the urge though I’ve spent 38 years traveling and it’s almost out of my system.

 

[TV the Wired Turtle]

Have any Gretsch talkers pulled up stakes and relocated for a career change of life/pace opportunity?
Tell me the experience you had...

Yes! in 2017 my oldest son was 2 yrs into his college education when he was awarded a 2 yr full ride scholarship for track & field plus academics, in San Diego. 90 miles southwest of Riverside California. We'd been at our house for 12yrs, I'd finally finished restoring my mild custom 54 Buick, and I rebuilt the carport and garage into a full functioning shop.
We decided to sell it all, and follow my son out to the coast. I'd grown up in Orange County and beach life was everything to me, so it wasnt hard to convince me. When it came time to actually walk away from it all though, I fell apart. I actually grieved the loss for almost a year and I felt silly about it because I'd achieved my goals in life and I sold em all away for a new adventure.

Glad we did because our family is still close and w the support my boy continued on past his bachelors in science to get his masters in psychology. The younger son has become a local surf grom down here in La Jolla at Scripts and wandering through Jr College. I'm very lonely at times being away from all my friends and family but San Diego is pretty damn magical. I hope we can stay even though it gets harder and harder every year to make it.

 

[AguynamedJ]

Lived in Kentucky, Tennessee, Utah and California. Nowhere is perfect there will always be something that isn’t right in some manner or another.
Sadly I ended up in California, Orange County. Reading the other posts the writers are spot on. Knowledge is power.
When it comes to Ca…
+pros. This is where the money is depending on your skill sets
Trends and new tech originate here.
Weather
Things to do.

Negs: It’s California.
Politics and current laws
It’s stupid expensive. All of it.
Not good bang for your $
Liberal mindset in the extreme
Starter jobs don’t support you or a family
Drivers that don’t know how to drive

Ok maybe some sarcasm about Ca, but it did give me a long well paying job with good benefits. With that…Now me and my pension are outta here. Feel free to take my place.
Good luck to all who have to make a big change like this. There is good/ bad everywhere. Hopefully all will find the good place there were meant to find!

 

[blueruins]

I don’t own multiple homes but my whole life since I turned 18 has been travel. I might be in my forever home now. I’m not sure if my family wants to stay in this area I’ll stay. If they are willing to uproot once out of school we will go somewhere else. To this day I still travel. 100+ nights every year are in hotels. I have no desires to travel, vacation, move to exotic locales anymore. A nice trip to a camp ground or water park makes my family happy. Sadly even that is more than I really want to do anymore. I will be very pleased when this house is paid for and I can spend my nights, all of them, here. I do understand the urge though I’ve spent 38 years traveling and it’s almost out of my system.

Though I haven’t put in the miles you have, I can relate.

Life is funny and mine never goes how I expect.

The knowledge that we could never move off the island when I chose the path of professional musician assured me that I was a permanent resident. How or why would I start from ground zero trying to establish connections and gigs in a new locale?

Not even two years later Life grabbed me by the ear and dragged me kicking and screaming from Hawaii.

Then I was convinced that our lot was to just keep moving and follow the money. Staying put was not paying the bills.

I used to love the idea of moving to new places. It was exciting to show up someplace where you have a whole new daily experience. Even routines like going to the store are unfamiliar and interesting. Driving around the area to see the points of interest and surrounding attractions.

Severe case of wanderlust is in my heart. As Yoda summed it up “Never his mind on where he is, what he is doing”.

When we moved here to Savannah we had no intentions of staying. This was basically a stepping stone on the way up the ladder of my former company. There was always a location coming up where they were desperate enough to pay someone a lot more to come in and fix things. That never happened if you stayed put.

Something strange happened here. We met the most amazing and welcoming people. Our kids made close friends quickly and started to thrive. We found our surroundings comfortable and the culture felt like home. Strange for me from the West Coast but even more unlikely for my wife raised in Hawaii.

Now the thought of moving is not really very exciting at all. It sounds like a big hassle. I like my job. I like my friends. I like my neighborhood. I like my church.

My folks finally left Vegas last year and moved up to Southern Oregon. Probably the area dearest to my heart in all of my wandering. They talked about finding a piece of property big enough for us to build on.

I would have moved had that happened so that my kids could grow up with grandma and grandpa in their lives. They ultimately did not buy a property like that.

So I have no plans to leave here. I tell myself I’m content to find a house and stay in it til I curl up and die.

Still working on the house and curling. Hopefully I have a few more NGD’s to share with y’all before that happens.

 

[Bertotti]

Though I haven’t put in the miles you have, I can relate.

Life is funny and mine never goes how I expect.

The knowledge that we could never move off the island when I chose the path of professional musician assured me that I was a permanent resident. How or why would I start from ground zero trying to establish connections and gigs in a new locale?

Not even two years later Life grabbed me by the ear and dragged me kicking and screaming from Hawaii.

Then I was convinced that our lot was to just keep moving and follow the money. Staying put was not paying the bills.

I used to love the idea of moving to new places. It was exciting to show up someplace where you have a whole new daily experience. Even routines like going to the store are unfamiliar and interesting. Driving around the area to see the points of interest and surrounding attractions.

Severe case of wanderlust is in my heart. As Yoda summed it up “Never his mind on where he is, what he is doing”.

When we moved here to Savannah we had no intentions of staying. This was basically a stepping stone on the way up the ladder of my former company. There was always a location coming up where they were desperate enough to pay someone a lot more to come in and fix things. That never happened if you stayed put.

Something strange happened here. We met the most amazing and welcoming people. Our kids made close friends quickly and started to thrive. We found our surroundings comfortable and the culture felt like home. Strange for me from the West Coast but even more unlikely for my wife raised in Hawaii.

Now the thought of moving is not really very exciting at all. It sounds like a big hassle. I like my job. I like my friends. I like my neighborhood. I like my church.

My folks finally left Vegas last year and moved up to Southern Oregon. Probably the area dearest to my heart in all of my wandering. They talked about finding a piece of property big enough for us to build on.

I would have moved had that happened so that my kids could grow up with grandma and grandpa in their lives. They ultimately did not buy a property like that.

So I have no plans to leave here. I tell myself I’m content to find a house and stay in it til I curl up and die.

Still working on the house and curling. Hopefully I have a few more NGD’s to share with y’all before that happens.

Wanderlust is exactly it. Other than the Marines and jobs as field service techs I never was able to stay in one place more than a year to year and a half. Your line about wanderlust got in my memory. In seventh grade we had to write reports. A girl in my class wrote it on hand writing analysis. She had a friend or relative who did this professionally and was trying to learn some of it. If they could give retroactive grades she would have a 100% from me. I wrote my paragraph as did everyone in tue class. Everyone was jealous when they heard mine. One big fist sentence The Last if the Great Wanders, cursed with a desire to go and explore I would never be happy in just one place and should try to find a career that would allow my desire to me on the move or I would be destined to change jobs frequently. She absolutely nailed it. I don’t know if handwriting analysis is still a thing but I have had a new respect for what she claimed could be done with it back then. This would have been 1977-1978. Was it just a wierd coincidence? Who knows. Funny thing is once I am not traveling anymore I will probably still hope on my bike and wander around the Dakotas Wyoming and Montana. Death will most likely be the only thing to keep this body still. but at the moment I really would like it all to just slow way way down. I want more time with my kids. My oldest is a senior this year. Funny thing is both my kids tell me that want to live here so I will make it a three family house to help them out if I have to. The other funny thing is now that I’m not traveling this week and unable to do anything really because everything I do involves working with and lifting way more than I am currently allowed is driving me absolutely bat-****-crazy! Well more so than normal!

 

[MrWookiee]

Lived in Kentucky, Tennessee, Utah and California. Nowhere is perfect there will always be something that isn’t right in some manner or another.
Sadly I ended up in California, Orange County. Reading the other posts the writers are spot on. Knowledge is power.
When it comes to Ca…
+pros. This is where the money is depending on your skill sets
Trends and new tech originate here.
Weather
Things to do.

Negs: It’s California.
Politics and current laws
It’s stupid expensive. All of it.
Not good bang for your $
Liberal mindset in the extreme
Starter jobs don’t support you or a family
Drivers that don’t know how to drive

Ok maybe some sarcasm about Ca, but it did give me a long well paying job with good benefits. With that…Now me and my pension are outta here. Feel free to take my place.
Good luck to all who have to make a big change like this. There is good/ bad everywhere. Hopefully all will find the good place there were meant to find!

I've lived in CA since my parents moved here when I was an infant (I'm 60 now). Moved from Sillycon Valley to high desert in '08. Love the county and small-town vibe, but CA pretty much just sucks. We're stuck here for the time being due to some family stuff. No idea where we'll retire but it won't be in Cali.

 

[RagnarHairybreeks]

Born in London. Grew up in Chicago, then Syracuse NY. Back to the poshest bit of London (South Kensington) for university. Then up country to an armpit called Stevenage where I met my wife.
Too many years followed in the valleys of South Wales (sheep shagging jokes may be inserted here) before a move to Gloucester seven years ago where I intend to stay until they put me out in the trash.

 

[stiv]

I came close to relocating from the UK to Boston on the late 90s, I love that place, but pulled the plug at the last moment.

Same here, same period ('00). My (then girlfriend, now) wife never bonded with the american lifestyle, and to be honest I had some difficulty as well nonethless I spent most of my young age summers in the US. One thing is having a vacation, another is living in a place. Also Boston was super expensive at the time and the workaholic career wasn't for me. I don't mind working hard but I have a life that worth more than any job it could be offered me, and that clashed with living in a town where all you could do was work 12 hours a day just to make it to the end of the month. Living in a smaller town was out of the picture as I wouldn't want to cross the ocean to switch from Smalltown Italy to Smalltown USA, so I came back in June '01.
I ended up moving to super expensive Florence, where I usually work 12 hours a day and basically gave up on all my favorite things (music/sports/nightlife) because of that.

 

[RagnarHairybreeks]

Same here, same period ('00). My (then girlfriend, now) wife never bonded with the american lifestyle, and to be honest I had some difficulty as well nonethless I spent most of my young age summers in the US. One thing is having a vacation, another is living in a place. Also Boston was super expensive at the time and the workaholic career wasn't for me. I don't mind working hard but I have a life that worth more than any job it could be offered me, and that clashed with living in a town where all you could do was work 12 hours a day just to make it to the end of the month. Living in a smaller town was out of the picture as I wouldn't want to cross the ocean to switch from Smalltown Italy to Smalltown USA, so I came back in June '01.
I ended up moving to super expensive Florence, where I usually work 12 hours a day and basically gave up on all my favorite things (music/sports/nightlife) because of that.

Yeah, but you have the Uffizi.

 

[Sanchito]

Several times I have moved. Once into an apartment complex in Victorville. Got along great with the people there but found out it was the worst apartment complex in town. Hookers and drug dealers for neighbors. Hardcore gangbangers and well it was enlightening talking to a cop. So when ever I think I am moving I always talke to a couple local cops City Police Sheriff and Highway Patrol. It’s amazing what their insights are into the area. I also visited the local schools and stopped into the office to talk to the principle and get a feel for the place. I also talk to some of the local kids. Maybe I’m the odd guy out but having lived all over the place this has turned into the way I decide where to live. That and the normal things like checking prices at grocery stores and housing prices has prices and taxes! A 30 mile shift west saved me thousands in state income tax! Iowa and Mn were High SD didn’t have one! Winner SD! And don’t forget property tax.

When my dad was looking for a house in a new city, he called the admissions office at his old college to ask where they recruited, and chose that neighborhood. Worked out for us, all very young at the time.

 

[Highroller]

New Jersey to Iowa? Wow - that's gonna take some getting used to! Good luck with it!

I've done the "big move" a few times. Bi-coastal stuff. East to West, West to East, then back to the West again. I highly recommend it - it can open your eyes about how other parts of the country live.

If you have the time to do it at a leisurely pace, it's fun to do it as a road trip. Some of the best memories of my life were things I stumbled into while on a long road trip - unexpected delights, so to speak.

And with your trip, you'll be passing right thru Chicago. If you've never been there, set aside a few days to check it out. Fun town - lots of history, great music, and great food!