Moving to Dallas without securing employment? (apartment, lease, hotel)

[Vagabond Chick]

Just how bad is the economy down there in Dallas? Would I be crazy to relocate down there and not have secured a job first? I'm searching for the following: an office management position, fundraising, administrative assistant, exec assistant, personal assistant, bartendering, food serving at an upscale restaurant. I have a diverse resume and have no problems working a few different jobs to get out of my current situation. I have 6k saved up.

Open to advice. Thank you for reading.

[skids929]

The advantage you will have is that you are there, and have an address that is there. Alot of employers throw resumes aside from out of staters, especially these days.

I know I am having a little difficulty in that regard, but relying more on contacts.

[Vagabond Chick]

That's what I've been hearing too. I figure I have a better chance of just being in the city than to try endlessly from this end. Thank you for your comment.

[Matt2010]

Originally Posted by Vagabond Chick

Would I be crazy to relocate down there and not have secured a job first?

If I were you;
Option 1: If I have a secure job in my current location and there is no external reason for me to leave my current place; but wanted to move to Dallas because Dalals offers better life with comparable CoL advantage then:
- I will stay in my current location and try to contact all my resources in Dallas to see if I can line-up some interviews all around the same time frame
- I will try to get in contacts with Job placement companies (I don't know whether they exist in DFW)
- I will get a Dallas virtual telephone number (from VOIP telephone service comapnies) and Dallas address (from your friends) so that potential companies doesn't feel that I am from out of state.

Option 2: Either I don't have a secure job in my current location or I have an external reason that I wanted to leave my current place no matter what then:
- Fix a place a stay either in a friends place or by sharing an apartment;
- Use that contact address and send resumes to potential companies even before starting from my old place
- I will try to minimize my move cost to a bare minimum
- I will try to live here in DFW thinking I don't have any savings; so that I can take even a small job that I get first to keep my show running until I find a suitable job
- Until I secure a suitable job I will keep my recurring cost to bare minimum

( Personally I have done the Option 2 before and the tension or pressure I had until securing a stable job was much less compared to the reason why I left my previous place )

Best of luck!!!

[Winter2010]

Originally Posted by Vagabond Chick

That's what I've been hearing too. I figure I have a better chance of just being in the city than to try endlessly from this end. Thank you for your comment.

If I were you, I would look for a room to rent, it usuallly cost around $400 to $600 a month. Make sure whomever lives there is not some weirdo. In your case I would rent it from a family, a single middle aged lady, or just a single girl. Make sure there is no lease and rent it on a month to month basis. Stay in the Dallas area for two months and look for a job. If it doesn't work out, you leave. What have you lost? Just the two months of rent without breaking any lease and your time.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Winter2010

If I were you, I would look for a room to rent, it usuallly cost around $400 to $600 a month. Make sure whomever lives there is not some weirdo. In your case I would rent it from a family, a single middle aged lady, or just a single girl. Make sure there is no lease and rent it on a month to month basis. Stay in the Dallas area for two months and look for a job. If it doesn't work out, you leave. What have you lost? Just the two months of rent without breaking any lease and your time.

What has she lost?? Her current employment in her current city (assuming she is employed). That's a big gamble.

Dallas is doing better than many places, but unemployment rate is still 8.5% here. I know several people with college degrees and even masters who have needed 6-12 months to find a job in Dallas after being laid off.

Can you find a waitress job? Sure, probably. But is it going to give you a better standard of living? Maybe, maybe not.

[lovely40]

Originally Posted by Vagabond Chick

Just how bad is the economy down there in Dallas? Would I be crazy to relocate down there and not have secured a job first? I'm searching for the following: an office management position, fundraising, administrative assistant, exec assistant, personal assistant, bartendering, food serving at an upscale restaurant. I have a diverse resume and have no problems working a few different jobs to get out of my current situation. I have 6k saved up.

Open to advice. Thank you for reading.

I don't think you are crazy at all. Risky? Yes. But you know your situation better than anyone else. By chance could you save a bit more before you head out? I would imagine 6k will go pretty quickly depending on your expenses.

I am about to embark on the same adventure as you at the beginning of the year (April 2011). My situation is that I have a year's worth of savings, am an MBA, oil & gas professional, several connections in DFW and I am a power networker. With that, I do have recruiters looking out for me now but they always ask "when do you think you'll be in the area permanently". The goal is to relocate first, secure employment on a contract basis initially. Then, I'll just hit the job scene pretty hard once I get to Dallas. I totally agree that being in the area will help your job hunting efforts. These days unless you are in the executive category or have a resume that's in 3D or something, employers are giving local resumes priority, plain and simple. Honestly, I can't say that I disagree with that. My advice is to go for it. Just know what you are getting into (which it sounds like you do), have a contingency plan, and be willing to sacrifice. You'll be fine.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by Winter2010

If I were you, I would look for a room to rent, it usuallly cost around $400 to $600 a month. Make sure whomever lives there is not some weirdo. In your case I would rent it from a family, a single middle aged lady, or just a single girl. Make sure there is no lease and rent it on a month to month basis. Stay in the Dallas area for two months and look for a job. If it doesn't work out, you leave. What have you lost? Just the two months of rent without breaking any lease and your time.

This advice stinks...And what is wrong with renting a room from a male..Notice that wasn't a question.

[Winter2010]

Originally Posted by skids929

This advice stinks...And what is wrong with renting a room from a male..Notice that wasn't a question.

What's wrong with a single girl going to a hotel room and hang out with a married business man? What's wrong with a married woman going to have coffee with some stranger single guy? What's wrong with man booty dancing with a married woman?

"Yes" answers to the above questions are totally okay for some people, but not so much for the ones with morals.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by Winter2010

What's wrong with a single girl going to a hotel room and hang out with a married business man? What's wrong with a married woman going to have coffee with some stranger single guy? What's wrong with man booty dancing with a married woman?

"Yes" answers to the above questions are totally okay for some people, but not so much for the ones with morals.

I think you forgot to fill your prescription.