Relocating w/o jobs? (Denver, Colorado Springs: car rental, apartment, rental)

[sillygal]

Just curious as to how many of you relocated w/o jobs, and how long it took to get new ones?

[Baltic_Celt]

Hi -

Once I moved after being hired via phone interview, for a software job in Seattle. I was snowed in back east for a few weeks, so couldn't fly out & they decided to conduct the interview long distance. I must say, that was my most comfortable move as I didn't have to scramble for a job once there. And, as I'm a rather uncomfortable interviewee, it was by far, the least painful hiring experience I've had. I didn't last long at the job (less than 1-yr), as there's something to be said for checking out a job face-to-face, but at least it got me out there. And, looking for an apt was far easier than hustling about all day long for a job.

Every other time, I moved after securing an apt first & found a job fairly quickly once there. Nice having a place already set (I got them all long distance, sight unseen & lucked out for the most part). For creative jobs (hairdressing/make-up), I was normally offered jobs on the spot & had alot of choices. But, it often is for lower paying jobs as turnover is great, at least in those fields. For administrative or software jobs, perhaps as my heart's not in it, but I often need the better salary, it takes me 4-6 wks.

You mentioned a job transfer in another post, so perhaps you're all set on that front? In any event, thru my research (books, online sites/newspapers & craigslist, for the most part), it appears there's many jobs in the Denver metro area, depending on which is your field. Unsure of Ft. Collins/CO Springs, but hopefully others will post, as I'd like to know about CO Springs employment, as I'm considering that area, too.

Lastly, I don't visit an area before moving, as I have a strong aversion to spending so much (car/hotel/airfare) for a week-long trip. I did it once & felt that money would have been better put towards several months' rent. I just go by my research & most importantly, my gut feeling. Not suggesting this for any others (particularly when schools/kids/spouses are in the equation), just giving my story on what worked for me.

Hope this helped. Good luck with your research.
Bye... Baltic_Celt

[IL to CO]

I just want to thankyou Baltic Celt for your post. You made me feel so much better! I havent been to CO yet but have decided to move anyways. I was planning a trip but my husband convinced me how much we would save on flight fare, hotal, car rental (hundreds) by not going ahead of time. Also we are moving without jobs set up there. Most people thinks were crazy. But I have been trying to research, and get pre-approved for a loan. I hope everything works out for you.

[Baltic_Celt]

IL to CO -

You're very welcome, I'm glad I could help a bit. You & your husband will do just fine, particularlly as you feel compelled to go & have each other's support. That makes it much easier. Honestly, if you ask around, you'll probably find as many people trying to move out of any area, as in. That's life. We're all different, all looking for different things & have different needs/desires/priorities.

Before I moved to Atlanta, a dozen people over the course of 6-mos told me they *hated* it there. It seemed that folks who strongly dispised that city came out of the woodwork complete with laundry lists of things they disliked. I've lived in many major cities from coast to coast & Atlanta was one of my top 2 favorite places - clean, great weather/sunshine, lots of jobs/recreation, slower/friendlier pace for a huge city, inexpensive (at that time - late 80's/early 90's). Had I listened to others, I wouldn't have gone. But, their personal opinions didn't effect me as I had a burning desire to go.

Do what works best for you both, based on all your research & go with your head & heart. You can always change your mind. The beauty of living in America is our options are endless. I wish you the best of luck in your new home & hope you have a safe, easy move. Thank you for your good wishes, too!

Cheers, then... Baltic_Celt

[MidniteBreeze]

My husband and I moved to Colorado Springs pretty much sight unseen. I had been there once back in H.S. for a choir trip but that was it. But I had just finished college and wanted to get out and see the world for a while...so when he had the opportunity to transfer jobs out there, I talked him into it--he's kind of a homebody so it took some persuading on my part!

I got a job pretty quickly (albiet a pretty low paying one--but being fresh out of college, I was used to being poor) and just worked for a year to get CO residency so I could go to grad school at in-state rates. We stayed another 2 years after I finished school (5 years total) and came to the point where we had to decide what we were going to do now that we were "adults" with "real" jobs--i.e., buying our first home and "settling down", that sort of thing!

After much thought we decided we wanted to move back closer to home and our families. The funny thing is once we made the decision, we just sort of packed up and left, no jobs lined up or anything! Really not a very "adult" thing to do at all, lol. So I can definitely relate to people thinking you're crazy. But fortunately I was only unemployed for a total of 4 days! I did have some interviews lined up and was offered a job on the first one. It took my husband a while to find a job in this area and he's still not doing exactly what he would like to be doing, but all in all it worked out pretty well. We're a perfect distance from our hometown (about 1.5 hours) and are enjoying all the things we (well, at least I) took for granted when we left MN. And yes, we did buy that first home

But I would not trade our experience in CO for the world! We both grew so much during that time that I highly doubt we'd be the people we are today had we stayed around here all our lives. Even my husband, who was relucatant to leave his "comfort zone", will testify to that. And now we have a wonderful place to go "back" to for vacations and wonderful friends to visit!

I say if that's what you want to do, then go for it! As Baltic_Celt alluded to, IL (or wherever you're from) isn't going anywhere...you can always go back--we did My only word of caution is if you start out renting (usually a good idea before you just buy without knowing the city) DO YOUR RESEARCH! We got an apt. online in a building that looked decent, but when we got there we found ourselves in the middle of the ghetto. Thank God we only had a 6 month lease. There are some apartment opinion websites out there that can be a great help (google for apartment opinions or apartment ratings).

Best of luck to you and do let us know how it turns out!

[Baltic_Celt]

MidniteBreeze -

Thank you for sharing your story. And thank you for the apt opinion/ratings idea, as I'd never heard of it before & it will be VERY helpful for me in my relocation research.

Very glad all worked out for you & your family & you've found home! It's lovely & inspirational to hear.

Cheers, then... Baltic_Celt

[MidniteBreeze]

Thanks Baltic_Celt for the kind words. Glad my ramblings can be of some benefit to someone

Good luck to you!

[palmdale]

I'm not sure if this will go in the right column for sillygal, but I moved to CO at the end of July and had a job within two weeks. I sent out resumes in California for 6 months before I decided to sell my home and move to CO. We mostly moved for schools, and only had been here once before. We were considering Idaho and did take a trip there at the end of January, and that was a waste of gas and lodging. My kids love the schools and I really love this area. Good luck to you, I finally made the move and I'm very glad that I did.

[2bindenver]

so where in co are you? and why did you choose there?