Help Me Escape MI

[ggreen]

Check out the Lakeside area of Henrico County. It's a mixed neighborhood and pretty reasonable. Rental houses are now around $900-1000 for something like a 3 bedroom for a family. Chester is also nice -- I teach there. If you keep to yourself and don't mind the rednecks or are a republican, Powhattan and Amelia are nice and rural. We kid that you can get just about anywhere in the Richmond are in 15 minutes. I would avoid Highland Park and Southside, and most of Richmond City -- what's affordable is crime-ridden, and the rest is very expensive.
We kept our stuff in storage and stayed at a hotel-type studio apartment for 5 week until we closed on our house, and agree staying in a place like that until you get to know the neighborhoods you are interested in first is an EXCELLENT idea.
As a transplant, I love Richmond. Lots of jobs, great stuff to do, excellent schools, very family oriented, good restaurants, cheap fun stuff to do, 2 hours to mountains/oceans/DC museums, temperate climate.

[teleblazer]

Originally Posted by MusicNote

Yet, moving there is proving difficult. Why am I escaping or trying to escape from MI you might ask...MI is loathsome. It's cold 9 months out of the year....not cool...not mild...COLD, I can't talk about the snow without getting depressed, it's more segregated a little bit, I expect racism, but this level of racism is ridiculous, highest unemployment rate in the entire US, crooked government, $4,000 yearly car insurance for a $13,000 car based on a good driving record....yep...i've paid for the car twice already.

My problem is not moving, it's not paying for the move ,it's not paying rent, and it's not finding a job. Agencies have responded to my resume and said, "With your qualification, I will have no problem placing you, you just have to get here." Now, here comes the catch 22. The apartments say find a job in VA first, the jobs say find a place to live in VA first. So, what's a girl to do?

I would greatly...GREATLY appreciate any advice.

You could always open a PO Box in the area to give the jobs a local address. Many employers when you work with them directly understand you can't possibly have a home in the new state prior to having a job. This at least gets you past some of HR or headhunter weenies out there demanding a local residence.

You could sell your current place and find a hotel like an extended stay america. That could give you a lot of flexibility in finding where an acceptable commute is and what the traffic patterns are like during peak hours to see if you really want to sign up for that location to live/work.

[Williamsburger]

Maybe rent a room for a month or two? Check the local paper (www.dailypress.com) for room rentals or move in with someone in their house on a temp basis. Just a suggestion. Good luck to you!

[MusicNote]

I arrived in VA August 1, 2006. Put my stuff in storage and found a hotel to stay in. Now!!! I am searching for a jobs. Jobs seem to be plentiful in the clerical/administrative field. I have a degree in I.T...and worked on pc's for the last 5 years, so getting a high paying admin/clerical job is a joke. I am stuck between degree with some experience, but not enough experience for the other I.T. jobs. So, so far, I am experiencing a little difficulty finding what I want....and the pay I want. For some odd reason folks here don't realized that they get paid more than the people in metro Detroit.

I read another post about meeting folks..and yes it's hard. I am not "ghetto" so yeah..it's hard meeting "non-ghetto" folks. I just can't hang out with the folks with a mouth full of gold teeth and girls with viciously long finger nails...htlong suggested joining a baptist church...I am against organized religion, so that could pose a problem.

S.Side ...Westover Hills, Semmes...has it's good and bad part, as so N.Side- Ginter Park, West End and Far West End, Chesterfield are the nicest I've seen so far. Finding a 3 bdrm apt=DIFFICULT!!!

By the way...it's funny downtown richmond is almost identical to downtown Detroit Mi...crazy....almost identical!!!!!

If anyone has any job leads....PLEASE...let a sister know. The sooner I get a job the better.

I am open to emails...jheard7251@yahoo.com

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!