Should I look for an apartment or a job first? (relocating, rentals)

[GloryB]

I went through the same thing when I first moved to Orlando. Consider renting in an extended stay motel. With the current economy, there are some really good deals to be found. After you get a job, then you can find a place to live close by or with an easier commute. I've driven though Atlanta a time or two.....I would think a good commute would be VERY important considering the traffic there.

[Pearl14256]

I would never move without guaranteed income, unless you have at least 8 months saved up if not more. Especially depending on what the unemployment %age is where you're trying to move to, cause you could get really screwed over without a job! Who cares if you found an apartment but have no income to pay for it.

[LookinForMayberry]

Dear Help Want Out;

I was in a similar "place" years ago, with a few exceptions. The two biggest obstacle you may face are your finances, and your "employability."

If you are working now in a clerical position for $12/hr, you don't have the luxury of being flown in for interviews; there is too much local competition.
I was flown in for a opportunity once, and once had a local interview for an out of town position -- didn't get either. When we moved to Seattle from Tucson, we'd applied to EVERY likely position that came available for the 18 months before we moved -- never got ONE response. At the time, we'd both had two years of college and were working in lower management positions.

We went where we wanted to go, with savings calculated to last two years in our new location. We stayed in a hotel for the first week, found an affordable apartment, and went to every business with (or without) jobs that even closely matched our fields of expertise.

I was working within six weeks, my husband took a series of temp jobs for over a year, until he found a place he wanted to stay.

In your present situation, I would:

1. Look closely at my resume, and determine where I was most competitive.
2. Do national job searches on those key skills. (My personal favorite is CareerBuilder.com, but there are many from which to choose.)
3. Check out the locations where there are the most opportunities, and research the locations to see which are the most attractive to my personal criteria. (I love Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed for that purpose, espcially their Comparison utility.)
4. Calculate at least six months of the target area's cost of living, using the target area's anticipated monthly earnings (in your skill set), and make sure you have that much saved before you go.
5. Contact a temporary employment service, in addition to applying to each of the opportunities in your selected area, informing them of your intent to move there.
6. Save, save, save.
7. Watch the jobs, rents, prices in general -- online, daily, until you are ready to go.
8. When you've got your money saved, line up a place to stay -- at least places to go look at so when you get there you know where you are going.
9. Have a safe trip.

[helpwantout]

Thank you for your wonderful advice. I'd never heard of Sperling's, so I will check out their site as well as Career Builders. I'm glad everything worked out for you. I've been saving over the past few years and just opened a savings instead of continuing to deposit into my stocks/bonds as I'd get penalized upon withdrawing money when I'm ready to move. I'm going on vacation to NJ and plan to stop in Cary, NC on the way back as friends have suggested I check it out. They used to live there before being transferred. I lived in NC decades ago and loved it. So, I'll keep investigating so that I don't make a sudden move and throw away money. Thanks again!

[JustT&Me]

Help Want Out...

Me too! I'm in a similar situation although not with quite the savings (having needed to use this the last two years after a lay-off). I'm also looking SE US... KY area. I've read the other posts - just a few thoughts...

Each person's tolerability is different regarding "security". If you really cannot stand where you currently live and really need a break, measure your own sense and base your decision on that. Sure it's easier with money "in the bank" so to speak, but ... I read a book in the last couple of years, "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat." It was a faith-type book but the message was that to follow what's driving us or calling us, sometimes we just have to take a leap of faith. I believe if you do some "homework" on your areas of interest, then you'll be much better off - and all from where you are now from home without having to invest more than time in the process. I'm not recommending to do anything sporadic, but a little well-planned "spontaneity" sometimes just is just what you need when you're in a place you really don't want to be. I know I've been here longer than I'd like to be, and I had calculated what I believed I might need to comfortably relocate (finance-wise), but recently, I decided that even if I had enough to last even one month, that I'd rather make what connections I can and just "go for it" rather than remain where I am ... not looking for greener grass but simply a clean slate - a fresh perspective. Who you are now, you'll take with you wherever you go, so a new place doesn't necessarily make a new life, but... sometimes it helps give you just the "life" lift you need to get you from where you are, to where you're meant to be. Best of everything to you... you're already on the right track, simply asking for others thoughts on the matter. I'm sure whatever decision you make, it will be the right one for your situation.

[LookinForMayberry]

Originally Posted by JustT&Me

...I decided that even if I had enough to last even one month, that I'd rather make what connections I can and just "go for it" rather than remain where I am ... not looking for greener grass but simply a clean slate - a fresh perspective.

Maybe it comes from years of living in Seattle and seeing homeless people on an hourly basis, but I think you need to take a few deep breaths, JustT, and re-think that strategy. Does the sign: "Homeless, will work for food," conjure up any images for you? Have you heard the term "tent city"?

When we went to Seattle the economy was good, I had an excellent resume, and it STILL took six weeks to find a job. Had I taken your route, I would be living in my Toyota those last two weeks. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a bathroom to even brush your teeth for an interview, let alone take a shower?

I don't think that's the perspective on life you want, anywhere.

Please, reconsider.

[dreamofmonterey]

Good advice here, ill just add that, I moved 2x when there was a life transition not job...and it worked out...just write out what is important to you, know yourself and then visit the place for a week or so to get acclimated.

I am making a drastic change as well, it can be scary but also exciting. Good luck

[Nique]

I'd save up everything I could, sell any belongings I could for cash, and then go to whatever city I wanted. There, I would couch-surf, camp, stay in hostels, etc. while looking for a job. Maybe even get a retail gig or something while you look for more. Then get an apartment near wherever you find work.

Or pick the city based on where you have friends, friends of friends, etc. so yo uknow you've got places to crash if need be.

[JustT&Me]

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

Maybe it comes from years of living in Seattle and seeing homeless people on an hourly basis,...

Maybe it does, Mayberry, maybe it does. I wouldn't know... since I'm not you. My perspectives are apparently much different than your own. Seattle is an incredible place! What are you doing keeping an hourly eye on homeless people? Have you ever tried reaching out a hand to house or feed any of them? Then perhaps they would not be hungry or homeless, and you would be looking at them as humans first rather than as homeless people which is more based on what they have not instead of who they are.

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

...but I think you need to take a few deep breaths, JustT, and re-think that strategy.

My breathing is just fine, Mayberry, but it seems you've put yourself out! (Slow down, you move too fast... you've got to make the morning last...!) Those who make it their aim to live lighter quite often find life much less stressful while they make the most of the moments they've been given, taking nothing for granted in life - including life itself. But thank you for your seeming concern!

My "strategy" is multi-level - I purpose, plan, & proceed. My strategies are well-planned and of great faith, Mayberry! Faith in my God who guides & provides - who has never failed me yet and whom I know without a doubt, never will. Confidence in both the "gifts"/talents/abilities with which I was born as well as those I've been taught. Resourcefulness which makes the most of every opportunity and takes nothing for granted (waste not, want not), and a contented sense for simpler living. The breathing is much easier that way, and not only is it the perspective I have and want, but the one I aim to keep and cultivate in life - not only anywhere, but everywhere I go!

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

Does the sign: "Homeless, will work for food," conjure up any images for you? Have you heard the term "tent city"?

Yes, & thank you for asking! It reminds me of a man whom I saw on a busy, multi-laned intersection one hot afternoon - with just that sign! I'd just stopped for a quick bite somewhere and had half my meal still in the bag. The light was timed just right for me to roll down my window and converse with the man, letting him know I'd just picked up some lunch, and if he didn't mind sharing, I wouldn't mind either. He happily accepted the other half of my lunch, and I drove away a happier human.

There was also the time I was traveling in NY from TOR - and heard some banging from a dumpster near a Perkins. A 30s-ish man was there digging for cans to redeem for money for food. I invited him to lunch where a friend joined me. He ate a full brunch with a second-return trip and was very grateful to receive the offer of a dinner-to-go.

Btw, "Homeless will work for food" is a more positive perspective than "Homeless and waiting for never-ending handouts". Anyone who's willing to stand on a busy intersection with a sign - if they're hungry and will accept my drive-thru I just picked up - it's their's for the eating. There's a sacred reading that challenges, "...what man is there among you who, ...asks for a loaf, will (you) give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, (you) will not give him a snake, will (you)? "

At some point of life, Mayberry, we all come to those crossroads of humility... hum(an) i lit-tle... and it is not the situations in which we find ourselves but how we approach and handle those situations - and how we view & treat others in the process of their own - which reflects the nature of our character (or the lack thereof or builds it). It has been said to be careful how you judge another - or you might find yourself later walking in their shoes greatly humbled.

Btw, from all the traveling and living I've encountered, tent-dwellers are some of the most contented and appreciative "folk" I've ever met! And those resorting to living in/at "tent-city" at least have taken it upon themselves to set up some sort of home-base in an, albeit, temporary community where those in a similar situation can relate, communicate, confide, & encourage one another, until they can finally move forward. Some communities, in fact, never move-on from such settings... have you heard of "nomadic" ppl? For them, "tent city" is a way of life.

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

When we went to Seattle the economy was good, I had an excellent resume, and it STILL took six weeks to find a job. Had I taken your route, I would be living in my Toyota those last two weeks.

First, I cannot imagine from what you have shared, Mayberry, that you would have ever taken my route. Amazing since of the three cars I've owned, two were Toyotas (which are generally driven by sensibly-minded ppl). And six weeks is nothing compared to the amount of time some very well-qualified ppl invest looking for work, esp. in these times. Your perspectives are quite unrealistic, esp. considering the times - such judgments of others. Hopefully, you'll never find yourself truly homeless without your mate on whom to lean. It would serve you well to spend a few hours each week in your local food pantry or soup kitchen. Nonetheless...

While one's resume might be fine, my life has been finer for stepping out into it rather than simply walking the well-tread path. There are all walks of life, and a well-written resume does not guarantee the character of it's owner - or the person they might have paid to write it. I'd rather have a perspective which honorably assigns others value based on their being of humankind whether they have a resume or not. We all have our place & purposes in this world, and if each of us made it a point to see the best in others and to encourage them in that way, then I'm guessing we'd be seeing fewer who are homeless & hungry and more who are healthy & happy. And some of the homelessness in our country at this time is actually spurring ppl to actually step out in those leaps of faith to follow their dreams, creating new lives for themselves from their temporary chaos.

There's nothing wrong with living out of one's Toyota for two weeks, or even much longer. If you don't like the thought of living in your Toyota, ... how about giving it to a homeless person? In a storm, blizzard, or hot summer sun, living under a car roof for most would be better than living under no roof at all.

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a bathroom to even brush your teeth for an interview, let alone take a shower?

Actually, Mayberry, I don't. I've always been very resourceful - a product of a Mother raised by a widowed Mom of eight during the Depression. Who needs a bathroom to brush their teeth? If you can drink water from a bottle or fountain and spit, the task is an easy one. And I've washed my (quite long) hair and washed off in more than one fuel station restroom stop, in spring-fed creeks, and simply over the ground using a couple of bottled waters. Just pack some extra socks & "undies", and you'll be fine.

Regarding showering, maybe you haven't heard of "wet wipes"? They come in many varieties, thickneses, scents, & purposes - and make for easier traveling for just such occasions. As far as a bathroom for sake of using the "bathroom", ... I'm guessing you've never camped? Or traveled to another country where the toilet is literally only a hole in the ground? Or peed between parked cars in the same paper cup from which you were just drinking in a woodsy tourist spot where no restrooms were installed to be found? Survival is a great skill that most folks won't find on a resume.

It would seem while your academia and job history might be in order, that you could use a lesson or two in Survival Skills 101 from those "homeless people" on whom you've been keeping an hourly eye!

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

I don't think that's the perspective on life you want, anywhere.

I'd rather be a resourceful, happy, traveling tourist - even in my own hometown (which btw, I am not) - than an possibly disgruntled troll on a public communication board of which the aim is to provide a platform for the exchange of helpful information, encouragement to those who seek it (as the original poster had rightfully & resourcefully done), and an exchange of opinions whether those reading your's (or not) might disagree (or not). Apparently, we do not, and I prefer my more positive perspectives to your own.

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

Please, reconsider.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Hm... reconsidering... you're right about that Toyota thing, Mayberry. Had you taken "my route", you would have been sitting in Seattle parked for two weeks stranded in your Toyota, while I would have made it across the country, met many new ppl, made a few new friends, eaten in some incredible restaurants and most likely at some toasty warm & friendly campfires, taken probably a couple thousand photos, and been working on my 10th or 12th travel tale by now.

Mayberry was a ficticious made-for-TV town - not a real place with real ppl with real life experiences. So as long as you're "Lookin" for a place that doesn't really exist, you're going to miss out in life on what's real. So please, Mayberry, for your own sake, "reconsider." Life is and becomes... what you have made of it.

[MaggieZ]

think it through and try to not get carried away with daydreams and promises but if you do decide to go anyplace, try to get as much money as you can and if you know someone where you're going, you'll need them..definitly when you are alone, it gets tougher and of course it has two sides...you don't need to consider anyone else but at the same time, in this world of two incomes being needed, you end up broke real quick out there. So I would try to keep a clear head but don't let this ruin your dreams, the choice is yours

I moved last year, saved as much as I could, had about 6 weeks worth of money and ended up homeless and it took me months to get up off the ground but having said that...I still would try again if the opportunity came up...you only live once ...so I know I'm saying different/maybe contradicting things here but there are several sides to everything and everyone has to decide what's important and what they're willing to risk and everyone's comfortlevel is different too. But had I waited till I had more money, I never would have went at all and would still be wondering...