How do we do this?!? (Atlanta, Savannah: rent, house, find a job)

[wordzgirl]

Hi, I've been off and on the forum and wondered what others' experiences have been like.

The Reader's Digest edition: My husband recently graduated with a teaching degree in Pittsburgh. NO JOBS. I've got a good job in the legal field, I've been with the same employer 15 years, we own a house, have two kids.

We've been wanting to make a move south because of family and more teaching jobs. I think we've narrowed it down to NC or GA. Not quite sure what to do next. The school year in GA starts at the end of July, which would be next to impossible for us to sell our house and both of us get jobs and uproot everybody in a month.

Has anybody dealt with anything like this before? I'm thinking if we wait until the fall and he applies to school districts for the following fall that may work. That way we could sell the house (and if it sells before school is out I guess we could rent) and get settled in before school starts up again. I also could obtain employment. Or do I jump on the first legal job I see in my field and move without my family? Will our house take forever to sell? I know you probably can't answer that, but your own personal experiences would be great to hear.

Anybody out there who's faced anything like this, PLEASE let me know how you did it. The logistics are driving me mad, and I sure could use some positive thinking and solutions.

Thanks!

[lastminutemom]

Prime hiring season actually begins in the Spring of the school year before, not the Fall.

So, if he could start hunting in say February that would be good. What is his field? If it is a high demand, he could probably get a good job anytime -- though not at the school of his choosing. I think you need to make sure you understand the certification rules in Georgia -- I don't -- because uncertified educators are having a hard time getting jobs.

I can't help you with selling your house -- the market is slow here -- guessing it is slow in Pittsburgh too. I think you need to consider looking for a job yourself, getting your house on the market and ready to sell... you could always rent if you need to fill a gap.

[wordzgirl]

He's certified in elementary ed and has had a couple counties call him. We've heard time and time again that GA and NC both need teachers. Not sure of the certification thing, but I'm pretty sure that both states have reciprocity with PA. I'll let him handle those details, since my head is about to explode from all this uncertainty

The February timeline is much more appealing - that way we'd have some money saved up and hopefully the spring housing market will be booming (or at least improved somewhat). That way we'd be able to really plan and have some concrete ideas and possibly some serious job offers.

Thanks for your reply. If anyone else wants to chime it, I'd be happy to hear it.

[sweettea1]

Sounds like you're pretty stressed out and I can understand why! Logistics can drive a person nuts. If you're really committed to moving here, then I would put your house on the market ASAP just so you don't have that hanging over your head. Maybe you'll get lucky and someone who wants to start the new school year will come by. But it's just one less thing to worry about once you make the move.
Re jobs, make sure you find out all about necessary certification and docs for teachers. Sounds like you could probably find a job fairly easily. May be worth making a few calls too.
Once all this happens, you can let us know where you'll be working and we can help you find a nice area to live! Worst case scenario, could you move down with the kids and start working before your DH? Rent a place while you look around? Can you afford to have one of you not work while you're looking? Housing is a lot cheaper here than the northeast (tho I don't know specifically about Pittsburgh) so you may be able to take a few months and adjust.

But all in all, if you take things one step at a time instead of looking at it all at once, it makes it just a little easier. You'll love it here. It's really nice and the weather is great in the winter.

[TakeAhike]

I would start Googling--for employment in the legal field and then try to pick an area to look for housing.

For instance--if your DH gets a teaching job in Gwinnett and you need to work downtown --then you need the easiest possible commute and of course good schools for your children.

It will take some time to become familiar with the options that may be available to you--hopefully you can visit Atlanta and get some sense of what life is like here.

It's a good place to live but the traffic is horrible.

take care

sls

GA Dept of Education>>> if your husband needs this.
Georgia Department of Education

[wordzgirl]

Thanks, everybody, for all the suggestions and the positive wishes. I've made several calls and actually talked to people in both GA and NC as far as employment for me and have been assured by all that there is plenty of work in my field and that with my experience and qualifications, they'd all love to have me , so that's a nice boost. I'd do much better working in or near a large city, so we're kind of concentrating on Atlanta, Raleigh, and possibly Charlotte or Savannah.

As far as teaching in both states, GA teachers make much more than they do in NC. I've never been to GA, but would love to make a trip down to see it. I've heard nothing but great things about Asheville, but I've also been told that it's hard for teachers to get employment and housing is expensive. What's funny is there is a work-related seminar there in the fall where there will be people from both NC and GA, so what I think I'm going to do is head down there for a long weekend and network like crazy.

What we'll probably do is start the ball really rolling in the fall here, and hopefully we can put the house up maybe in March or April, both of us secure employment, and then see what happens. I definitely need to take everything one little step at a time so I don't totally lose it.

[TakeAhike]

I hope you and your DH can visit Atlanta (and/or) the other cities soon.

Sounds like you have some major choices to make.

sls