Who has recently relocated to the DFW area here? (to live, relocation)

[jdub2447]

Originally Posted by dlmoore

....The job market is tough here. You need to think long and hard if you want to move to this area. There are jobs posted but there are hundreds of people applying for the same jobs....

Believe me, this isn't a process where I'm renting the U-Haul and packing my things right now. I can't leave quickly, I've got a wife, 3 kids and 2 dogs. There's a pack of us involved. I'm not going to move anywhere without a job lined up. I've been applying to many different cities. There are far less offers for someone with my abilities/experience(and far less offers, period) in every other city I've checked than what I'm seeing in the DFW area. I know it's a tough market with lots of competition for every available position. I also think it's worth it to be persistant to land a job in that area though since I feel that it would be an excellent place to live and raise my children.

I know it's not some utopian fiscal safe haven in DFW, but I feel that the area may not get hit as bad, or stay down as low as many other areas. Especially compared to where I'm at right now in Fort Myers.

Originally Posted by dlmoore

....They say it is low cost of living here but it is a lot more expensive than where I came from.

Wow, I'd love to know where you came from. The cost of living estimator I've been using has Dallas/Fort Worth well below where I'm at now. It's also been the lowest out of all the major cities I've looked at. That's a surprising statement to me.

[ApraiseMom]

Originally Posted by sunnysky

I think employers need to know you're serious about relocating and will be doing so at your own cost.

1. Can you get a local address? Maybe one of these people you mentioned would let you put their local address on your resume?


I already had a friend here so I used her address on my resume/cover letter. In my cover letter, I let employers know I would be moving to that address on xx date (even though my actual plan was to move close to wherever I wound up working).

2. Can you visit for a week?

Also in my cover letter, I let employers know I would be in town doing some preliminary moving between xx-xy and would appreciate them taking time out of their schedule to interview me between those dates.

That got me interviews at 3 of 5 employers I contacted. I didn't get hired at any of those 3 places, but one actually recommended me to another company that was hiring and I started my job within 2 weeks of moving here, which was about a month and a half after my interviews.

FYI I moved here in April 2008 and I work in journalism.

Thank you so much for your very needed info. Just what I needed to hear. I too am considering moving to the Dallas area. I'm a medical assistant hoping to find an apartment and job in the North Dallas area. Good schools are most important since I do have a twelve year old. I'm from chicago and lived in Duncanville, Texas eight years ago which is about a half hour south of Dallas and loved it. I hope you are enjoying your new home. If you dont mind sharing the town you now live in, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

[ApraiseMom]

Originally Posted by laurasrn

My boyfriend and I moved here in mid-December, and he has put in AT LEAST 100 applications for a job (all over the metroplex) and nobody has called him yet. He has experience in clerical work, both office and medical. He did not get much work in FL either. We thought for sure that the Dallas area would be a "better economy" and that he would be able to get work. We are finding that the economy is going downhill here, too.
So, he has about decided that he needs to go back to school to get a degree. It also seems that employers are very reluctant to hire a male for a clerical job.
As for me, I'm an RN and got a job offering me $5.00 more an hour than what I was making in FL. I thank my lucky stars that I stayed in Nursing.

I'ts great you are getting paid more than you were in FL. I hope your job is all you want it to be. I am a Cerified Medical Assistant and moved to the Dallas area in 1998 but moved back to Chicago in 2001 after my mother became ill. I'm considering moving back in July 2009, and wanted to know if there are many medical offices that you know of that hire MA's. The north Dallas area is where I'm considering. Thanks in advance for your input.

[sunnysky]

Originally Posted by ApraiseMom

Thank you so much for your very needed info. Just what I needed to hear. I too am considering moving to the Dallas area. I'm a medical assistant hoping to find an apartment and job in the North Dallas area. Good schools are most important since I do have a twelve year old. I'm from chicago and lived in Duncanville, Texas eight years ago which is about a half hour south of Dallas and loved it. I hope you are enjoying your new home. If you dont mind sharing the town you now live in, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

I live in Carrollton, but I don't know much about the schools since I don't have children. Good luck in your move.

[jdub2447]

Have any of us job hunters (especially out of state job hunters) got a break yet since this was originally posted? If you're originally out of state, and have landed a job in DFW recently, I would love to hear how you did it.

I've been applying to all sorts of jobs in the DFW area for almost 3 months now and haven't had a bite. I've had quite a few that indicated interest, and quite a few that have "advanced" me to the mythical "Round 2" of the application process only to drop me like a bad habit after that and ignore my follow-up calls and emails. One of these companies, a Fortune 100 company not to be named, even had an HR rep call me and find out how serious I was about moving to Dallas. When I told him I would only take as long as it took to load the truck and drive there, he was thrilled. He was especially pleased, and didn't attempt to hide the fact that he was pleased, when I said that I would move at my own expense. He then told me to expect a call from his supervisor. Nada. Days later, I left 2 voice mails 2 days apart, and 2 emails 3 days apart. Nothing. I wish he could've just told me they weren't pursuing me any more. I get my hopes up every time I get contacted, only to have them dashed when they don't respond after being the ones to initially contact me.

I think I'm going to change the address on my resume to the address of my uncle that lives in Colleyville. I wonder if that will generate more concrete responses. I'm afraid that it would pose a problem if someone then wanted to interview me, and I didn't have enough time to get out there. I don't know. It's not that I haven't had any interest yet....I just feel that my location is playing a huge factor against me.

If any of you are prospective employers or recruiters, please see my original post in this thread for my skills and experience. I know I'm not over-qualified for every application I've completed, and I know I'm not under-qualified for every one as well.

I'm just a little frustrated. I want to live in Texas so bad, I can practically taste it. My wife has recently wanted me to start applying to other cities, up to this point it's been 99% Dallas. I don't want to live in those other cities, but I'm applying there as well now anyway. (Atlanta, Raleigh/Durham, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix) Just needed to rant a little bit. I'm still plugging away though and holding out for Dallas. I'm still spending time every morning and night searching Dallas jobs before I look elsewhere. Still praying and hoping to call Dallas home...

[the_hollywoodian]

It seems like Dallas is growing exponentially, and with it's lower cost of living is a very desirable place to look. It's a big enough city that it still has the things that you look for in a bigger city, that's why I'm moving from LA.

[PhenomenalWoman]

Originally Posted by jdub2447

Have any of us job hunters (especially out of state job hunters) got a break yet since this was originally posted? If you're originally out of state, and have landed a job in DFW recently, I would love to hear how you did it.

I've been applying to all sorts of jobs in the DFW area for almost 3 months now and haven't had a bite. I've had quite a few that indicated interest, and quite a few that have "advanced" me to the mythical "Round 2" of the application process only to drop me like a bad habit after that and ignore my follow-up calls and emails. One of these companies, a Fortune 100 company not to be named, even had an HR rep call me and find out how serious I was about moving to Dallas. When I told him I would only take as long as it took to load the truck and drive there, he was thrilled. He was especially pleased, and didn't attempt to hide the fact that he was pleased, when I said that I would move at my own expense. He then told me to expect a call from his supervisor. Nada. Days later, I left 2 voice mails 2 days apart, and 2 emails 3 days apart. Nothing. I wish he could've just told me they weren't pursuing me any more. I get my hopes up every time I get contacted, only to have them dashed when they don't respond after being the ones to initially contact me.

I think I'm going to change the address on my resume to the address of my uncle that lives in Colleyville. I wonder if that will generate more concrete responses. I'm afraid that it would pose a problem if someone then wanted to interview me, and I didn't have enough time to get out there. I don't know. It's not that I haven't had any interest yet....I just feel that my location is playing a huge factor against me.

If any of you are prospective employers or recruiters, please see my original post in this thread for my skills and experience. I know I'm not over-qualified for every application I've completed, and I know I'm not under-qualified for every one as well.

I'm just a little frustrated. I want to live in Texas so bad, I can practically taste it. My wife has recently wanted me to start applying to other cities, up to this point it's been 99% Dallas. I don't want to live in those other cities, but I'm applying there as well now anyway. (Atlanta, Raleigh/Durham, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix) Just needed to rant a little bit. I'm still plugging away though and holding out for Dallas. I'm still spending time every morning and night searching Dallas jobs before I look elsewhere. Still praying and hoping to call Dallas home...

Google "Texas Workforce Commission" and sign up for a free account, you will be allowed to setup an electronic resume for several employers to view through their sight. You can search for jobs, email your resume, and get emails from potential employers. Give It A Try!

[jdub2447]

Thank you!

[dlmoore]

Sorry, it is hard not to be negative when you have been out of work for months. I am in the graphics business and I specialize in production art for the corrugation industry. I am from Wichita, Kansas and I am paying $200 more a month on my rent here in the Mid Cities but the pay in my field is about the same as it was in Wichita. I must say the winter months are much better here.

[OneShinyface]

Good luck to all who are searching!

I moved here in October from Michigan with a new job in hand. It took months of searching as well. Fortunately, I signed my employment papers with my employer a week before they stopped paying to relocate people.

I can tell you that using a local address was VERY NECESSARY to help my husband get bites on his resume. As soon as I knew I was moving, I started sending resumes out for him, stating that he was moving as his wife had already relocated. Nothing happened until I put the address of my corporate apartment on his resume and cover letter.

Thank God. I moved in October and by end of February, he had a job offer with a great company.

I can say that we've both taken pay cuts, but I think that's indicative of the overall economy and the often-inflated auto industry salaries. I'm confident that we'll re-gain what we lost soon.

Best of luck to you all...or should I say y'all.