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I posted this in another forum, but thought I'd put it on here for possibly a different perspective.
Long story short: My boyfriend and I will be relocating to New York City later this year. He's an attorney, I'm a clinical therapist. He's taking the bar exam in July and should have results in November. We're both in our late 20's.
Anyway... ideally, we'd love for one of us (or both) to have jobs lined up before we leave. However, we know that despite being professionals, there is a ton of competition in NYC. We're going to try to find jobs before we leave, but if we can't, we're really thinking about just going without jobs. If we go without jobs, we would plan on subletting for a few months and we have a decent amount already saved up (about $40k.) We would take temporary/retail/hospitality jobs until we could find something in our fields, as neither one of us are expecting to find a job the second we can change our address on our resumes. We wouldn't have any car payments and our debt is minimal.
My questions are... how many of you have made the decision to move without a job? Did it work out? Did it not work out? When is the right time to go? Is there ever a "perfect time" to move?
Keeping in mind I currently live in Fort Lauderdale and pay about $2k for an apartment, I'm used to rents being high. I know I'll be paying a lot more for a much smaller space in NYC, but I have no problem with that. Everyone is saying moving without a job is irresponsible and we'll end up broke and failures.
But what happens if you want to move, look for jobs, but can't find anything out of state... do you never move? Do you never leave the comfort of what you know? I've been reading posts in this section and people seem to be a bit more... positive and optimistic. I have a tendency to question my decisions and I think we have a solid plan (if we can't find jobs.) So, I'm curious what you all think about how to plan for a move.
I really appreciate all the feedback and suggestions and need to do if this is me being crazy, or if this is something doable, with some hard work and sacrifices.
My boyfriend and I will be relocating to New York City later this year. He's an attorney, I'm a clinical therapist.
Do you plan on working in a hospital? Are there hiring freezes? Will you have problems transferring your license? If you don't have your license, yet, stay in FL and get it and a year's experience. If you do, study the open positions and contact them. Are they real positions or ghost positions? Sometimes ads are posted to make the facility look good but there aren't really jobs.
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He's taking the bar exam in July and should have results in November.
What's the pass rate for the bar exam for grads from his law school? If it's low and he didn't take the best bar review course possible, he may need to re-take it. He also needs 5 years experience before moving, to apply for reciprocity (so he doesn't need to re-take the NY bar -- see dashed area below for link and more details).
He should also be interning or working at a law firm now and building up contacts. It is very, very hard to jump states, unless he is in a specialized area, like tax attorney (already has both a CPA and law degree) or patent law (requires an undergraduate engineering degree). A lot of hiring these days at decent firms is people they know or can make a quick phone call to one of their buddies to find out about him. Of course, there are some garbage law jobs out there that will tarnish his career if he takes one just to get hired in NYC.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- New York Bar Reciprocity, Admission on Motion | BarReciprocity.com
New York Bar Reciprocity
Rule 520.10 of the New York Court Rules for Admission of Attorneys and Counselors of Law governs admission to the New York Bar for attorneys licensed in other jurisdictions. The process in New York is called Admission on Motion/Reciprocity. Attorneys must be admitted to a reciprocal jurisdiction and have practiced for five of the preceding seven years of the application for admission.
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Sorry, but in your case, it isn't a good choice to relocate to NYC at this point. If you truly hate your city, look for another FL city that might have more opportunities, but plan on staying in FL for at least the next 5 years or so if he wants to build a career in law. You stand the better chance of moving sooner, as your career is more portable. However, consider the impacts of Obamacare when it kicks in during 2016. You may find yourself working for less pay.
Added: if you truly wanted to move now, he would've needed to take the NY bar review (and study NY state law) and then sit for the NY bar. It's too late.
Don't feel too badly, OP. I know lots of gals in PT and nursing who are leaving NYC as fast as they can for the Midwest, where hours and salaries are better.
PS: Pamper him during the bar exam! Feed him well and don't give him any bad news. Wish him luck for me. That's a really, really tough three days.
My question was really more long the lines of is there a right time to move, more than about my specific situation. I was curious what other people have done... if they've moved without jobs and how it works out for them. I just wanted to give some background information so it made some sense as to why I was asking. Maybe I'm delusional, but I feel like we'll be okay if we move. Worst case scenario is we are out money and have to return to Florida.
I should be more specific though: I've been working for 5 years as a clinical therapist, and I'm a licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of New York already (which I'm hoping helps my chances at getting some interviews from out of state.) My boyfriend has been working for 2 years as a forclosure attorney and will be taking the NY bar in July (he has already signed up and reviewing, so it's not too late for that.)
There are a ton of jobs in my field. I'm not too picky with where I would work (hospital, shelter, substance abuse treatment center, a clinic, office, etc.) I've done it all and open to any job (minus working in client's homes.) I know there are a lot of jobs, but I also know that applying out of state does not work in my favor no matter what.
Staying in Florida for another 5 years seems crazy to me. I initially wanted to move a few years ago, but didn't because of everything you (and a lot of other people) said to me. I feel like now is the right time (well, in a few months when he gets his results back.) Sometimes we have to take risks in life, right?
My boyfriend has been working for 2 years as a forclosure attorney and will be taking the NY bar in July
Well, that puts a different spin on it. I thought he was taking the FL bar.
You can start applying for jobs after Labor Day and move when he passes the bar. If he doesn't, stay in FL.
One of you needs to have a firm job offer before you move, or you're going to have an awful time renting anything other than a dive apartment in NYC.
As for "taking a chance," no, not in this economy, for NYC. If you were 18 with a van and moving to Williston, ND to work in the oil fields and didn't mind sleeping in your van, that could work, but it sounds like you are used to "civilized" surroundings, and NYC is not the place for nice people to sleep on the streets.
We plan on subleasing an apartment for a few months, because we know that even if we do have jobs already lined up, it will still be difficult to get an apartment. Plus, this would allow us to find an area that we actually like instead of moving somewhere because it's trendy or something like that. We're open to different areas and would rather sublet instead of being locked in for a year.
I agree, we definitely want a plan and do not want to get up broke with nothing. I'll be 30 this year, so yeah, you're right, priorities are a bit different at this point in life. We also don't have a set time on going... we're shooting for November, but open to going earlier/later depending on a job. I haven't applied anywhere just yet, because I wanted to wait until after he finishes the bar so it doesn't cause more stress for him. But I'm hoping something will work out.
Thanks for the feedback though. It always helps to have someone other than my parents and friends give me suggestions.
The only time I ever moved without a job, was when I first left home at age 19 (in 1968). That was disastrous! I finally found a job but it took me several months, I ran out of money, and overall it was an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. After that, I moved numerous times throughout my life but only to follow definite job offers.
If you *DO* decide to move without a job, I think it would be smart to have enough spending money for six months of job seeking, plus an additional amount that will ensure that you can afford to move back to someplace where you know people who will help you (relatives maybe?).
Probably you won't need all that, with your skills and qualifications! But life is full of surprises and sometimes they can be pretty nasty ones.
Thanks guys for the feedback. I've only ever moved from the suburbs of Fort Lauderdale to downtown Fort Lauderdale, so this move is much scarier. I'm trying to prepare and plan as much as I can (of course, life is full of surprises like you said... and some things you just can't plan for.) It always helps to hear both the good and the bad from other people's experiences, so that I can learn from them. So thanks again!
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