Help from all wonderful Wisconsinites (Milwaukee, Green Bay: real estate, apartment, rentals)

[mistyseaocean]

Hello all! I am humbly laying at your feet hoping for help. I have posted before and gotten very helpful responses and so now I am trying again. My husband and I (and our 2 boys) are from Delaware, yes Dela-where? The tiny state on the East Coast. My husband grew up in Waukesha and went to college in Sheboygan, so he considers himself "from Wisconsin." Our dilemma is this: he keeps losing interviews and job opportunities due to our not living there. We have offered to relocate ourselves, he has offered to fly himself in for face-to-face interviews, but no luck. Several HR people have blatantly said that if we are not living there already, he will not be hired. We have had our hearts set on moving there and enjoying a much better quality of life, especially for our boys. We have been going full steam ahead for about 6 months with trying and are out of ideas. His background is banking/lending/new home sales. We have already submitted his resume to countless places with no success. I can easily find a job as a nurse, but we need his income too in order to buy a house. We have also tried temp agencies who say he is overqualified for their jobs!! Is there anyone out there who may be able to help?? We are willing to listen to any and all advisements. In advance, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

[DaBears]

would he be willing to go over by himself & rent an apt (if possible) to get a job? is it feasable? i know how hard it is...not quite as bad as you but ran into the same thing when I moved from WI to Tampa...started to send resumes before I moved and got 'welll, if you were down here' sort of deal.

i feel bad for you!!

[mistyseaocean]

Thanks for your reply! He needs a job before he can even rent an apartment. I don't think anyone would rent us anything without a letter or confirmation from an employer. Guess we are hoping someone either is or knows of an employer who will give him a chance-he's willing to do just about anything for 30K a year, ANYTHING!!!!

[BacktoNE]

We moved to Appleton without jobs, for the same reason you are experiencing, nobody will talk to you unless you are already here. We were able to rent a nice apartment because we were willing to pay a full 6 months in advance.

My husband found a job in 3 weeks once we got here.

If you want the name of the management company, please PM me and I will send it to you. They have properties all over the Fox Valley.

[115db]

Originally Posted by mistyseaocean

Hello all! I am humbly laying at your feet hoping for help. I have posted before and gotten very helpful responses and so now I am trying again. My husband and I (and our 2 boys) are from Delaware, yes Dela-where? The tiny state on the East Coast. My husband grew up in Waukesha and went to college in Sheboygan, so he considers himself "from Wisconsin." Our dilemma is this: he keeps losing interviews and job opportunities due to our not living there. We have offered to relocate ourselves, he has offered to fly himself in for face-to-face interviews, but no luck. Several HR people have blatantly said that if we are not living there already, he will not be hired. We have had our hearts set on moving there and enjoying a much better quality of life, especially for our boys. We have been going full steam ahead for about 6 months with trying and are out of ideas. His background is banking/lending/new home sales. We have already submitted his resume to countless places with no success. I can easily find a job as a nurse, but we need his income too in order to buy a house. We have also tried temp agencies who say he is overqualified for their jobs!! Is there anyone out there who may be able to help?? We are willing to listen to any and all advisements. In advance, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Wow I would think that 'over-qualified' might mean a bigger salary, but who knows.
I was noticing you were from Delaware. What part? I lived there very shortly and loved it in Dover. Its an air force town but it was still nice.

[EnjoyEP]

Do some google searches for "tips for applying for out-of-town jobs" or something similar. There are plenty of tips out there, but yes, it is harder.

I was fortunate...I recently relocated to Milwaukee from New Mexico, and my out-of-town job search, while daunting, ended up being fortunately easier than I feared it would be. But I frankly got lucky with the right place at the right time.

I guess I was thinking that as a nurse...I know nurses make in excess of $30 per hour...perhaps you guys could just kind of suck it up for a few months, rent here somewhat lean (and maybe with a hare of debt)? Just a thought. I am sure on a nurses' wage many places would be willing to rent to you. Just do a 6-month rental, and in that time, your husband would likely have a pretty easy time finding a job hopefully. Also, you could use that time to settle into the area, look for a house, etc.

It is a big pain to do it all and there are some financial headaches and time/money sacrifices to make, but look at the bright side...at least you have a job as the co-spouse that could keep you afloat financially in the transition.

Good luck to you!!

[dreamcoat]

I live in Green Bay area and work at one of the local hospitals. I know they are always looking for nurses. I would suggest looking in the Green Bay-Appleton area I think the economy is relatively good, housing reasonable and schools very good.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by mistyseaocean

Thanks for your reply! He needs a job before he can even rent an apartment. I don't think anyone would rent us anything without a letter or confirmation from an employer. Guess we are hoping someone either is or knows of an employer who will give him a chance-he's willing to do just about anything for 30K a year, ANYTHING!!!!

Oh wow, well, the problem is not that he's looking for a high paying job... the problem is that people THINK he is worth three times the money!

I was a hiring manager/IT exec in Washington DC metro and Milwaukee for the same company, a very large and very undesirable employer. I'd hire and move people from anywhere. Don't make him undercut his current salary. If anything, either ask for $20k more than he makes, or just move him out there and he will find a $30k job.

$30,000/yr isn't anything anymore. These jobs are everywhere. Milwaukee, suburbs, etc. The problem is, people sometimes wonder why someone wants to make $14/hr when they are making $88k/yr. That would definitely raise the "overqualified" flag for me, or other potential employers.

If you want to move, just move. Live cheaply, live in rentals, whatever. The problem with Milwaukee is that there are a lot of people who never have lived elsewhere, and never intend to leave. It leads to the "small mind" atmosphere where people are almost skeptical of others who have lived elsewhere, because "who would ever leave?".

Stupid theory, but that's how it works in Milwaukee. So, move, or just ask what your husband is worth. Also it is not a good time for looking for a job in anything that has to do with real estate (many jobs do currently).

Try Arizona. Not any better for real estate or mortgage jobs.

Don't make him work for $30k. Ask $70k and work down. Seriously. At $30k, people will wonder why he's willing to work so hard. I mean that.

[Wi_Girl]

I just want to say good luck with your adventure! I hope it works out for you. My husband and I live in VA and we hate it here and we're looking to move back to WI in about 3 years or so. I was already wondering if we're going to run into the same problem that you have. Not being there and trying to find a job. I am thinking we may have to move in with my parents for a while but I'm really hoping that wont be the case. We may have to rent as well. Hope you can find something! Let us know how it works out!

[sammyjane]

have you tried headhunters? also, since you are a nurse (as am i) you should look into travelling. most contracts are 13 wks and they will pay your housing. that gives you a lot of time to find a house you want and for him to find a job.

it's what i'm hoping to do when my contract ends next year and we try to decide where to settle down.