Give it to me straight about work (crime rates, home)

[eggrookie]

Looking to relocate June of 15. Everything in the Spokane, CDA area as far as size, weather, amenities etc looks perfect for us. The biggie: is there work? Hubby will find work before we make the final push but EVERY thread I read on ID says there is no work and they would'nt hire a CA transplant if there was. Im not seeing anything on employment in the Spokane area. He is in banking. Not sure what I would do as I am self employed and work from home now and the same job isnt a possibility there. We successfully live on a net of about $50k a year with 2 school age boys. CA is a living hell on every level and we need to leave it in the dust bowl/cess pool it has become. Input?

[banjomike]

Since I don't live in the panhandle, I won't comment on how the job situation is there.

But from everything that has been reported this year, the overall job picture in the state isn't very good. The only bright spots, which are not all that bright in comparison to some other states, seem to all be in southern Idaho.

This is typical, as Idaho has always been a state where recovery from a recession has always been much slower than most of the nation. Recessions here are always slow to arrive and slower to set in, but once they set, Idaho is always much slower to pull out of them. Since the southern end of the state has the most population and the most agriculture and industry, it always comes back sooner than the north.

Right now, I would not ever leave a stable and secure job anywhere unless I had a solid job waiting for me on the other end of the move. Even then, the expenses of moving and re-settlement must bee very carefully considered. I made an impulsive move from Idaho to Montana 12 years ago, and had a secure job waiting for me there, but I under estimated the financial aspects of the Montana job and didn't do any better there than here. I ended up making no more there than I was making here, and when I decided to return to Idaho, I had a very hard time selling the home I purchased there. My mistake nearly wiped me out, and it took 5 years for me to become stable in my finances again.

I'm single. All my kids are grown, and were off on their own when I moved. If I had a family with school age kids, it would have been a financial nightmare, and that was before the Great Recession hit.

Basically, I romanced myself into the move, and it was a very bitter lesson for me. At the time, I was dissatisfied with the way things were going here in my home state, much like you are, but found everything I didn't like here was even worse there, even though I had previously been quite happy 10 years earlier when I worked for the same company in the same town for a year.

I suggest you take a very hard and careful look before relocating at your finances and your present discontent. The grass was not greener for me, and I have since realized that there were other places than Montana that I should have looked at much more closely before I packed up.

For sure, there is much more to life than only money, but a person can't eat the scenery, even if it's beautiful, and hard times are just as hard in a scenic paradise as they are in a hell hole.

Take your time- all the time you need- and consider as many other places as possible. If you must move, do so with full confidence that is based on the realities, not just the desires, of your life. I will always regret being impetuously eager to turn my life upside down.

Best of luck to you and your family!

[eggrookie]

If nothing else the lack of water here has us packing. We have to get out of here before our well is dry and our home is worthless. Trying to drill a new well is like putting another straw in an empty glass and hoping to get a drink. The aquifer is depleted. Wells in our area are going dry with folks trucking in water just to drink and they cant so much as shower at home. Lakes and rivers are bone dry too. Farm land is fallow, old growth trees are turning brown and dying. Im in a widfire zone and due to lack of water they let it burn. If the smoke doesnt choke us it is the smog with worst air quality in state. We have the highest unemployment in the state in my county, some of the highest tax rates in the country, highest crime rates, highest number of people on gov. assistance, I think it is the 4th highest power rates, highest gas fuel costs in the nation and getting hit with a new gas tax on 1/15 that is 16-76 cents PER GALLON...almost $5 a GALLON. Property taxes are high, income tax is high. A good example: registering our truck here is almost $400 a year. Same truck in WA is $123 and in ID $38. Cost of living is way less there. WA and ID also have the 2 lowest electricity rates in nation. It is a financial nightmare to stay and a dis service to my children. Our 50k a year-with the cost of living here actually qualifies the kids to have reduced lunch at school and a discount on electricity! When the kids are ready to leave our home all CA will have to offer them is debt.

[LionFamily]

If Spokane is an option for your family, you may want to ask about the job market in that forum. Commuting from CDA would not be a problem if you wanted to live in Idaho. HTH.

[eggrookie]

We are not opposed to Spokane. Do you still love it there Lion Family? Im sure are well aware of the woes in CA. I owe it to my kids to get them out before they leave my house. All CA will have to offer them is debt.

[LionFamily]

You couldn't get me out with a pry bar! We are also Central California refugees, so I think I know how you feel. Our goal was to get our daughter out before she hit junior high age and we beat the goal by three years. BOY are we glad. We're up in Bonner County (work was not an issue; Daddy Lion is retired and I work part-time in a web-based job) and couldn't be happier that we made the move.

[eggrookie]

I love that report. Im praying for a successful move/adventure. We have horses and cant even ride them all summer cause its too hot!

[Sagle Sam]

Originally Posted by eggrookie

If nothing else the lack of water here has us packing. We have to get out of here before our well is dry and our home is worthless. Trying to drill a new well is like putting another straw in an empty glass and hoping to get a drink. The aquifer is depleted. Wells in our area are going dry with folks trucking in water just to drink and they cant so much as shower at home. Lakes and rivers are bone dry too. Farm land is fallow, old growth trees are turning brown and dying. Im in a widfire zone and due to lack of water they let it burn. If the smoke doesnt choke us it is the smog with worst air quality in state. We have the highest unemployment in the state in my county, some of the highest tax rates in the country, highest crime rates, highest number of people on gov. assistance, I think it is the 4th highest power rates, highest gas fuel costs in the nation and getting hit with a new gas tax on 1/15 that is 16-76 cents PER GALLON...almost $5 a GALLON. Property taxes are high, income tax is high. A good example: registering our truck here is almost $400 a year. Same truck in WA is $123 and in ID $38. Cost of living is way less there. WA and ID also have the 2 lowest electricity rates in nation. It is a financial nightmare to stay and a dis service to my children. Our 50k a year-with the cost of living here actually qualifies the kids to have reduced lunch at school and a discount on electricity! When the kids are ready to leave our home all CA will have to offer them is debt.

Move to Houston, TX where jobs are a plenty and the cost of living is low!

[eggrookie]

Sam if my husband had his way we would already be there! He has kin in the Bonham and Sherman areas. He actually bought a piece of property there a few years ago and sold it. It doesnt seem like there is much water there and it is so HOT like where we are now. Do you see much difference in your...demographics with the border issue?

[DagnyT63]

Originally Posted by Sagle Sam

Move to Houston, TX where jobs are a plenty and the cost of living is low!

you can't ride horses in the summer in Houston, either! LOL, oh not really, people do it but I think those people are crazy.