[MegB]

A few years ago, my husband and I left the great wolverine state and moved to Oregon. It's been a great few years. But we want to move back. I have a job interview in two weeks, that I am hoping turns into our way back home, and I hoping that this chance to be with family and friends again won't backfire. 30,000 people left Michigan last year. And in the field my husband and I are in, the market for jobs looks a lot better than it did two years ago. This leads us to thinking that people in our field left, leaving openings galore.

Thinking of moving west? Think it's better out here? Let me tell you a few things before you make that jump. Though Oregon has been good to us, within the last 6 months, it has not been so friendly to others.

With everyone in California migrating here, it has drastically changed the landscape. Friendly and small towny, it is no more. We make a great living here, but cannot afford a house as the housing market here is 300,000-1,000,000 for a house that would equal 150,000-180,000 in Michigan. Throwing thousands of dollars of rent away a month. The prices of everything here went up -- gas, food even --, and traffic -- Oh you think Detroit is bad??!? -- is horrible.

The employment landscape is here is also turned for the worse. People that moved here within the last 6 months are sleeping on the streets, or working jobs in which their Bachelors or Mastes degrees don't matter. Too many people are moving West looking for a better life, everything is saturated. And this is just starting. The recession is spreading here too.

We are looking forward to the struggle. Because, making alot of money and being away from those you love, and not being able to settle down -- It's not worth it. Not worth it at all.

[odinloki1]

I agree wholeheartedly. My fiance and I hope to move back to MI as soon as a job can be found.

[MegB]

Originally Posted by odinloki1

I agree wholeheartedly. My fiance and I hope to move back to MI as soon as a job can be found.

May I suggest some online help?

Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed is wonderful.
Put your resume on Monster and Careerbuilder. I have been contacted by recruiters 15-20 times within the last month.

Goodluck to you and your fiance!

[t39g2t]

Just because parts of the west is not what you hoped for does not mean Michigan is the place to be.There are many other parts of the country that have low cost of housing and are far better for winter weather.
The recession is catching up every where and we will have an offical recession across the country soon.
Michigan will be on the very front line of this march and will take many of the first casualtys.
Yes you can buy a nice home for a really good price in Michigan right now but that good price now will be a hard sell in a year.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by t39g2t

Just because parts of the west is not what you hoped for does not mean Michigan is the place to be.There are many other parts of the country that have low cost of housing and are far better for winter weather.
The recession is catching up every where and we will have an offical recession across the country soon.
Michigan will be on the very front line of this march and will take many of the first casualtys.
Yes you can buy a nice home for a really good price in Michigan right now but that good price now will be a hard sell in a year.

There are very few markets where you can buy a home and then sell in a year and not lose money. Especially once you figure in sales commissions, closing costs and other moving expenses. Good advice, but it applies everywhere.

[malamute]

I think it's wise to look before you leap. At least for most people.

You have to consider that much of the country may be heading into recession, and you have to realize you may be too tied to family or your childhood neighborhood to leave. Also -- if times get hard -- do you have family to fall back on that would not be there if you went someplace else?

And if you deep down don't wish to leave, or you will be forever homesick -- then money might not be everything -- and that can depend on your job category, your job skills and so on.

Some people will do just fine but it depends on a number of factors. One's sense of adventure, personal needs, financial situation and so on. For some going without a job would be too traumatic and trying new places would not be, but for others -- they will not end up happy.

[MegB]

Originally Posted by t39g2t

Just because parts of the west is not what you hoped for does not mean Michigan is the place to be.There are many other parts of the country that have low cost of housing and are far better for winter weather.
The recession is catching up every where and we will have an offical recession across the country soon.
Michigan will be on the very front line of this march and will take many of the first casualtys.
Yes you can buy a nice home for a really good price in Michigan right now but that good price now will be a hard sell in a year.

Is it the winter weather that makes people want to leave Michigan? No.
I am not ill informed of the economic situation in Michigan. I am a Flint native and lived in it for three years before doing what I had to do. I know what we are going back to. Except this time, I have the right skills to find a job, and thrive. Plus, who says that we would buy a home and want to sell in a year? Who says we want to sell ever?

We are not engineers, we are not health care workers, and we are not manufacturers looking for jobs. There is an untapped technology market out there that many people do not have the skills to get the jobs available (AKA Google moving into Ann Arbor and creating jobs) The same is with Pittsburg, Cleveland and other parts of Ohio, and Chicago. We moved away and got the experience and education we needed, and instead of staying in Michigan and complaining we did something about our situation.

The west was everything we hoped for and more when we moved out here two years ago. We both have great employment, and are basically rolling in it. But that is not the only point of moving away. Friends and family are a huge factor of us wanting to move back. And if we have to go back into survival mode -- so be it -- but right now with all of the interviews we have lined up, we know it's not going to the case. We aren't looking for jobs at Ford, GM or Chrysler (even though we have been contacted, we are not taking those job offers)

If you are unhappy living in Michigan - go out there and do something about it. There is an abundance complainers in Michigan, that aren't taking the right steps to change their situation out there. I know, we were two of them. It only takes a change in attitude and taking the steps needed to change things in your life. I suggest that everyone stop complaining, take a risk and stop making excuses. You are in charge of your life. Not the Michigan government.

[MegB]

Originally Posted by malamute

I think it's wise to look before you leap. At least for most people.

You have to consider that much of the country may be heading into recession, and you have to realize you may be too tied to family or your childhood neighborhood to leave. Also -- if times get hard -- do you have family to fall back on that would not be there if you went someplace else?

And if you deep down don't wish to leave, or you will be forever homesick -- then money might not be everything -- and that can depend on your job category, your job skills and so on.

Some people will do just fine but it depends on a number of factors. One's sense of adventure, personal needs, financial situation and so on. For some going without a job would be too traumatic and trying new places would not be, but for others -- they will not end up happy.

Exactly. As a couple of Michigan natives who are going through that at this moment - I agree. I don't care if we make as much there as we do out here. We'll manage. But we'll have those who love us around us and that will make up for it in abundance.

[wanderer74]

Originally Posted by MegB

I know what we are going back to. Except this time, I have the right skills to find a job, and thrive. Plus, who says that we would buy a home and want to sell in a year? [snip] We moved away and got the experience and education we needed, and instead of staying in Michigan and complaining we did something about our situation.

I had to respond to this because when we left Dallas/Fort Worth almost 6 years ago to return back to Michigan, we had very similar beliefs. We also missed friends and family and strongly yearned to be back home. We honestly believed that with the work experience and skills we'd gained, we would be much more employable when we moved back. It took my husband more than 6 months to find a job, and when he did, it paid about half of what his job paid in Texas - but our cost of living was definitely not comparably reduced. If you've lived in Flint you probably understand very well that when COL comparison calculators say the COL is so much cheaper in places like Flint and Saginaw (we're in the metro Saginaw area) it's only cheap if you're in the ghetto... to get adequate and safe housing is pretty comparable to what you would pay in many other larger cities.

I finished a bachelors degree (even graduating with honors) last summer and am still looking for work. I haven't even gotten an interview. My husband lost his job in February 05 and it took him until December 05 to find any job at all and that one paid $8.50 an hour with no benefits. Mind you he was an Operations Analyst when we left TX, considerably above the range of $8.50/hr type jobs. He overheard the owner of the company paying $8.50/hr saying that the reason they were located here rather than in a different part of the country was because it was so easy to get well educated and experienced people to work for low wages because there are so few other opportunities. My husband has since found a better job that pays "only" about 25 percent less than he was making in Texas and it "only" took him 20 months to find it after losing the job in Feb 05. It's been almost 6 years and we are still well below the standard of living we left behind, and the "friends and family" aspect has not been worth the financial sacrifice to us. Your experience may of course be different, but if I could turn back time I would not have moved back.

I'm not saying that this will be your experience, but I just felt that I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention that we moved back with similar beliefs that things might be different for us based on the experience we'd gained, and that the love of friends and family would make up for any of the financial sacrifices, and we were very wrong. Some people are still doing well in Michigan, but overall I would still be very cautious before assuming that your experiences guarantee you'll be one of them. There are a lot of us out here who are well educated and experienced and under-employed or un-employed.

[firecracker123]

Though I am not in this position moving there I thought about this thread and needed to add...

this underemployed and unemployed holds true just about everywhere I think....in Toronto, though we have yet to hit the economis times currently south of us (though I am sure it will come) there is a problem with recent grads not getting the jobs after they graduate -- yes even with a graduate degree. Many of my friedns have had to wait months - more than a year to find jobs that are in line with what they did in school and/or paid enough to pay the bills. As a past HR management graduate and professional, I aaw way too many people take lower paying jobs to HAVE a job (some were doctors and engineers in - yes even the US - other countries and end up working in a warehouse)....it is the world we live in. Regretfully....competition is hot in the job market, and there are many more applicants than jobs...my son is approaching the high school stage soon and though we have saved for his education since birth, we are firm believers that we would rather have him take an apprenticeship (ever see what a mechanic charges?) than waste 4-6 years in school to come out as educated as everyone else....

Good luck to all of you though