Retired Veteran - I need help to decide - money or family? (sales, how much)

[Tony1790]

Hi all,

I retired from the milityary last year and used to come on this forum and ask alot of questions about TN (my mom lives in Jonesboro). I was so close to moving to TN a few months ago but could not line up a job prior to the move. I took a job with the railroad in Kansas City, MO for $52k per yr instead of moving to TN with no job.

Problem is my family is still in WA state, this a training assignment and then I get transferred to a location that the railroad decides in Dec 07. They said that i can expect to get transferred again in 2 years (dec 09). The job is pretty stressful, no weekends off, work whatever shift they want me to, it's a salary job with expectations of 60-80 hours with no overtime. There is alot of room for advancement upwards, but my boss works 10 hours a day also and comes in on the weekends as well. That's what I have to look forward to (she's 2 steps up the food chain) so lots of hours for good pay, but still??

So my question boils back to what it was before I took this job, which is more important, making good money for my family or making far less money in TN ($25k versus $52k) or is family stability more important?? I need a decent job to support my family, but I'm not seeing them right now and my youngest is starting 9th grade this year and is looking at least 2 schools during his first year and perhaps 1 more move prior to graduation.

Am I just being a wuss and complaining about having to work or should I settle down and make do with less cash and thereby less ability to provide a good home to my wife and kid??

ANY advice is appreciated!!!!

Ugh, I think I've become lazy, I can't believe that I'm considering quitting this job. But school starts in August, so I need to decide something as soon as possible.

Tony

[mbmouse]

Hi Tony, Welcome back. I see from your posts your kinda looking all over the place, but I see you are thinking about TN again, hard to forget ain't it? hahhahaha
Check your PM, can't remember your qualifications but the Company hubby works for is hiring a Maintenance Purchasing agent. I'll PM you the details, maybe it would work for you?

[SolorzanoAssociates]

As a woman of a husband who had a similar position in Miami FL, I can say that family should always come 1st. I knwo many might frown on what I am going to say, but life is to short, bills come and they go (money too) LOL... But making sure your children grow up in a stable home 1 home vs financial stability is much more important to me. I am an AirForce brat and bounced around and then some. As a parent now, we made 1 major move from Florida to Tennessee. Thats it. Mind you mine are little still 10, 8, and 5... but I personally think family should always be first, and what is the point of making a million dollars if your not able to enjoy it with the ones you love the most. Good Luck on your soul searching. Keep in mind TN is quite inexpensive therefore you would not have to make much to afford housing here. Best of Luck...

[Bones]

Tony, do you get a pension ¿ $$$ is not everything. Enjoy life and family while you are able to....

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by Bones

Tony, do you get a pension ¿ $$$ is not everything. Enjoy life and family while you are able to....

I get about $20,000 annually as a pension before taxes are taken out, that combined with even a half way decent job should be enough to live on. But there is a difference between surviving and thriving, it's nice to make enough money to be able to take the family out to eat or go to a ball game and not have to think can we afford that? I don't need to be rich, but I don't want my family to be borderline poverty either. Look at how much it costs to fill up the car, heat the house and buy groceries, just the basics eat up about every penny people make these days. I just want to do what's best for my family and yet be able to be around them once in a while and not at work all of the time. Am I making sense at all?

Tony

[hiknapster]

Housing has come down here, but jobs have gone from bad to worse. At my job, everyday, now, the waiting room is full of people vying for $10 an hour jobs.

Prices here are not that much cheaper. I think gas is cheaper than a lot of places. Groceries are about the same as anywhere else, but there is a HUGE sales tax added on to that.

Bottom line, once again, make sure you have a job before you decide to move here. Try that job lead that MBMouse gave you and see what happens.

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Bottom line, once again, make sure you have a job before you decide to move here. Try that job lead that MBMouse gave you and see what happens.

Thanks for the reply, your previous advice as well as others lead me to take the job vice moving to TN without one. That's good advice, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get to TN that way Right now I'm seperated from the wife and kid's due to this job I have, I'm not sure if it's worth it or not.

I make about $10 an hour for sitting at home doing nothing, so if I can find a job around $15 that would be fine. I can also go to college with my VA college benefits to help improve my marketability.

BTW, are you still trying to buy a house? How's that going? If the prices are coming down are you sure you want to buy one, seems like you could wait until the prices come down further.

Tony

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Hi Tony, Welcome back. I see from your posts your kinda looking all over the place, but I see you are thinking about TN again, hard to forget ain't it? hahhahaha
Check your PM, can't remember your qualifications but the Company hubby works for is hiring a Maintenance Purchasing agent. I'll PM you the details, maybe it would work for you?

Thanks

Tony

[hiknapster]

Good luck finding a job around here for $15 an hour. That's going to be tough. Perhaps you could have gone the construction route, but that's slowed down, too.

You are right. THANK GOD we didn't buy a house last winter. We are holding steady. I'm watching the MLS like a hawk. I won't leap until prices stabilize. WE did not have a housing bubble here, but prices went up a lot in the two years that we have been here. Now, they are coming down. There's a radio ad going here right now, declaring it a buyer's market and claiming they have slashed lot prices by $50,000. They may be full of it, but it does speak to the current situation.

On the job market situation, my husband got another job offer, but instead was given another raise by his current employer. He is now making $90 more take home per week than he was a couple of months ago.

But he's been an auto mechanic for 20 years, and he is very good. Bear in mind, though, he had a very hard time finding a job here. No one wanted to give him a chance. AT one point, he was making $10 an hour. That is ridiculous pay for an auto mechanic.

Right now, I'm paying off some hospital bills that I had prior to being insured. I have about half paid off and the rest will be done in about two months. At that point, we start saving for a house!

Thanks for asking, Tony! Good luck with that job lead!

[Bones]

Right now I'm seperated from the wife and kid's due to this job I have, I'm not sure if it's worth it or not.

Tony[/quote]

I think you have answered your own question with this statement. You do have some income.
Life is short......