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All these philosophies about life being too short and finding happiness in a new place sound great and all, but the problem is that the OP simply doesn't have enough savings to make such a risky move. Heck, $9K is an emergency fund, really. Why put it at risk of being blown down to $0?! The OP is now 31 years old. He's still young, but it would be a total shame to **** away that money. It's not a lot of money, to be honest. And I believe that if he blew through that money, he would be even more depressed in his new city, because he would be nearly broke, if not totally broke. What good is that?!
I urge the OP to conduct a job search while continuing to live and work in OKC. At least TRY IT! God forbid, what if after 2-3 months into the job search, some employer actually makes a leap of faith and makes a job offer?! Then, the OP will be able to relocate WITH a job lined up! If that doesn't work and 6 months go by and the OP is still unhappy, THEN maybe we can talk again about moving with no job lined up. But I would at least give it a chance. It worked for me before. It worked for my brother, too, when he relocated for a job in Wisconsin two years ago, from CT. It can be done, despite the challenges.
I wouldn't rush, either. There's no guarantee that a new city is going to be better than OKC. If it's not one problem, it's another problem, in the new city.
I still owe a little over $18,000 on the car. Placing the $9,000 on it would only get me half way to payoff. Last time I tried to sell it/trade it in to CarMax (who actually offered me the best deal on it), they offered me a little over $10k for it. I have since had a fender bender that caused a dent that I haven't fixed so that probably knocks another $2k off of it.
On the flipside, if I could get rid of the negative equity, I wonder if I could trade it for something with a much lower monthly payment.
Ouch! Well... I agree it is worth a try to even get a lower monthly payment. Anything that will get you to where you want to be faster.
If you absolutely face a delay of around 2 years before relocating, this at least provides more time to plan and to network. You can even explore the options in more than one city, which might be an interesting avenue to explore. Why not? Send out resumes and get onto job forums for more than one possible destination, just to check out the prospects.
This is a rather pathetic thread, with so much a majority saying a 31 year old, capable American
with nine thousand dollars in his pocket should be afraid of moving !
This is a rather pathetic thread, with so much a majority saying a 31 year old, capable American
with nine thousand dollars in his pocket should be afraid of moving !
What does that say about our country ?
A lot.
It says a lot about class issues, mostly...
When blue collar folks find themselves out of work because of a slowdown in the economy, or in an industry, or due to businesses closing down in their hometown... they often have no choice but to relocate just to find work. They have to find a way to move even when they're flat broke. Some people even go into debt to relocate. Lots of people go through that in America and elsewhere.
Now, if you're in already in a safe, well-paid, comfortable white collar job, and you also aren't experienced with or inclined to take menial jobs to survive, and you want a seamless transition to a new city... the motivation is not the same.
Ouch! Well... I agree it is worth a try to even get a lower monthly payment. Anything that will get you to where you want to be faster.
Yes, the car was a monumental mistake that there just isn't a simple way out of. All of the usual suggestions i.e. trade it in, sell it, etc don't apply because of the negative equity. It's a lesson learned, albeit an extremely painful one.
I will never purchase a new car in my life again. There are so many better investments one can make than a new car. Even if I was fine with living in OKC, that money would be much better spent on something like furthering my education, buying a home (which actually retains its value), or simply saving. Almost anything would be a better investment than the car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottawa2011
It says a lot about class issues, mostly...
When blue collar folks find themselves out of work because of a slowdown in the economy, or in an industry, or due to businesses closing down in their hometown... they often have no choice but to relocate just to find work. They have to find a way to move even when they're flat broke. Some people even go into debt to relocate. Lots of people go through that in America and elsewhere.
Now, if you're in already in a safe, well-paid, comfortable white collar job, and you also aren't experienced with or inclined to take menial jobs to survive, and you want a seamless transition to a new city... the motivation is not the same.
100% this.
This also fits right in with the thread that Nep posted on this issue.
Yes, the car was a monumental mistake that there just isn't a simple way out of. All of the usual suggestions i.e. trade it in, sell it, etc don't apply because of the negative equity. It's a lesson learned, albeit an extremely painful one.
I will never purchase a new car in my life again. There are so many better investments one can make than a new car. Even if I was fine with living in OKC, that money would be much better spent on something like furthering my education, buying a home (which actually retains its value), or simply saving. Almost anything would be a better investment than the car.
I missed it - Why is the car such an issue? Clearly you must have a pretty sizable payment. But you mentioned that if you sold it you'd be upside down AND you'd also have to buy a used one anyway, which tells me that you're not planning to move to a city where you couldn't keep the car but in fact to a city where you'd probably have to have a car. So clearly the best idea then is to keep the car. Having $500/mo payments is much more preferable to selling it and having $18k due immediately. I would absolutely NOT put your $9k into the car right now - it gets you absolutely nothing but takes your best source of options away. Cash is your best friend when you need flexibility, as you do right now. It will accomplish a lot for you that you otherwise couldn't accomplish (such as helping you secure a place to live when you don't yet have a job - you get to the city you want to be in, get a cheap apartment, pay 6 months up front, and all you have to worry about is feeding yourself and keeping your clothes clean enough for job interviews.) After you've made the move and are better established somewhere else - that's the time to consider putting whatever savings you have leftover, if any, into the car (which would arguably be a better use of the money, unless you're earning more in interest than your car is costing you in interest.) But yeah, honestly I fail to see any problem here. If you're unhappy in OKC and you honestly want to leave, this is what you do, spelled out:
Pack up your bags yesterday (OK, OK, put in 2 weeks notice and say goodbyes. NEVER burn bridges with people!!) Use the 2 weeks to research job markets and cost of living for cities you'd probably like. Make a choice. Honestly - have that stuff in mind before you put in two weeks, many employers will not want you to keep working once they know you're leaving. Regardless, let them know on a monday at the beginning of a pay period though. And subtly research ahead of time about cashing out any vacation and sick time too.
Toss said bags in your nice new car that you're overpaying for
Drive your nice new car to wherever you think is gonna be the dream. Do not pay for extra junk on the way. You sleep at rest stops and walmart.
Once you get there, stay in a hotel the first night (Cheap, but not too cheap. Don't get bedbugs or diseased, that would be disaster. Just keep it under $100 though - you don't need to stay IN the city and pay for parking too, just within range of the city.)
In the morning, clean yourself up from your travels then head out to start driving neighborhoods in search of 'for rent' signs and making calls. Spend an hour or two in a totally decent neighborhood, an hour or two in a less decent neighborhood, and keep going down the line until by 3pm you're making calls to places you'd just barely consider living for a month or two. Bear in mind when looking that unless this is an affordable city - you're not looking for somewhere you'd love living, you're looking for somewhere CHEAP. As absolutely cheap as you can get it without a high confidence that you'll be shot or have your car stolen in the next couple months.
When talking to landlords, you need to sell yourself just like you would at a job interview. As you progress later into the day you're an increasingly good option to these landlords: you may not have a job, sure, but who cares if you're gonna pay a 6 month lease up front - half their tenants don't have jobs anyway.
At the end of the first day, head to a gym and get a trial membership. This is your shower until you get an apartment. It's also a place to be active so you're not compulsively out spending money. It's also a place to network a little hopefully.
Hopefully you get a bite on a place to live. Do not pay more than $5-6k for the 6 months unless its somewhere you feel comfortable for the whole term. You may decide to just abandon the apartment once you have a job, so obviously you wouldn't be getting a refund. If you don't get a bite on an apartment, repeat it for a day or two. Stay at nearby rest stop or walmart (make sure you alternate locations each night.) If you feel like you're exhausting options, it might be time to try another city. I really can't imagine you'd be looking more than a week though, especially if you're willing to try different cities. I don't think this has ever taken us more than a day or two. Just speak with people, humans are understanding and humanitary and such - just explain that you couldn't stand where you were and had to try something different. You know it's a huge risk coming somewhere without a job, but you've got positive job references you can show them and cash up front - you're not a risky choice of tenant.
Once you have an apartment, get a drivers license and change your car insurance to the new address. Once you have a temporary license and in-state insurance, sign up for Uber.
Start job hunting immediately and fiercely. After business hours, drive for Uber.
Start new job. Once you've been there a while and it's clear that you like it and they like you, then consider changing apartments. If you're somewhere that's very borderline safe, you probably want to move. If you're somewhere that's safe but just not terribly desirable, stick it out since you've paid for it anyway. Take the next couple months to get to know the city and where you'd really like to find an apartment when your lease is up.
An optional alternative to the apartment hunt detailed above, that's much easier to explain and probably a better option for most cities: Just find a weekly hotel rental. In most cities these are about $250/wk and rarely go over $300/wk. Find someone on craigslist who's willing to sign a letter saying you're their roommate - you'll need this to get a drivers license in the state, since you won't have utility bills or anything. Pay them $250 to stay the night so it's legit at time of signing, and for their services in texting you when your license arrives in their mailbox for pickup.
This really isn't terribly hard. You have to make some sacrifices, and only can decide if those temporary sacrifices outweigh the lifestyle you're living in OKC. It's a risk/reward thing. If it were me, I'd absolutely spend a month or two living an alternative lifestyle if it means I can end up happy somewhere. You have more than enough resources to do this!
I'm the same age as you. Normally I would say no but hell, if you are single, have enough $$$ saved, don't care about whatever job you get first, and have no kids why not? Life is short to not take risks. You will have problems renting though without current paystubs or a cosigner. I've never encountered a landlord who was okay with me just showing that I have a decent amount of $$$in savings.
I would not recommend moving without a job. I have done it with family. We were willing to do what ever it took to get by. 26 years later we are well established.
I just feel like most of the people who are advising the OP to just quit his job and relocate with no job secured are people who have no concept of white collar job security. These people are probably people in the lower income class who have no problem being able to relocate with no job lined up, because low paying jobs are plentiful everywhere.
The people in this thread who are financially responsible and have well paying jobs are advising the OP to NOT relocate with no job lined up, including myself.
The OP certainly can relocate with a job lined up if he looks in multiple metropolitan areas and gives it a good 3-6 months of searching. I'm sure SOMETHING will happen.
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