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Buy a house? Well, we are currently renting.....last night we had a bad hail storm, and I thought there goes the roof. then, I realized it wouldn't be MY problem, its the owner's roof. As opposed to several years ago, when we owned our home, and there was a hail storm, our roof suffered damage and we had to replace it. Of course, we had insurance, but we still ended up paying about $2000 for deductibles, etc. Just my observations, being on both sides!
Buy a house? Well, we are currently renting.....last night we had a bad hail storm, and I thought there goes the roof. then, I realized it wouldn't be MY problem, its the owner's roof. As opposed to several years ago, when we owned our home, and there was a hail storm, our roof suffered damage and we had to replace it. Of course, we had insurance, but we still ended up paying about $2000 for deductibles, etc. Just my observations, being on both sides!
But if you were that single person renting a studio apartment (as another poster suggests), your car might have been damaged by the hail, because you don't have a garage. Maybe that poster also suggests that a single person forego a car also.
OP, what kind of work do you do? It's not the size of the town. It's more the industries and companies in your area.
That's a tough question to answer. My husband and I have a business which I work at part time, but I am really looking for something that I can make some money at.
I have a BS in English with a minor in Business Marketing. I have also completed an online degree in Tourism and Hotel Management. You would think, living in Branson that but, alas, that is not the case. 90 percent of the jobs are things like front desk clerk, guest services, etc which pay only about $8 or $9 per hour.
I interviewed with one LARGE hotel chain and it was pretty depressing. The person who interviewed me was probably 24 years old and did not make eye contact more than one or two times, going down a list of questions, checking them off as they went along. Obviously, they were not looking for someone in their 50s who they perceive as having a "short work life" with the company.
I'm in my early 40s, look much younger, and in NYC. These 20 year olds all act dumb and standoffish when they are the ones interviewing me. I have pretty much resigned myself to the documented fact, for me, that anytime a millenial is interviewing me, I'm finished. Done. Wasted my time..and money. It's a generational attitude that many of them have. They're intimidated by older experienced people. They fear you will take their job or get them let go. They want drinking and Facebook buddies to work with. Maybe he's the son slacker of the owner or some other employee; nepotism. It's a combination of some or any of these things. Go figure! LOL
Location: Olde English District, SC (look it up on Wikipedia)
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My husband fits this and he is in finance for a large manufacturing company that happpens to be located in a small SC town (~10K). That town itself is very affordable, but remote from large cities. We live in a very small town about 25 or 30 miles from the town where my husband works. You could probably get a couple of acres of land and build a new 3,000 sq. ft. house in my area or near the town where my husband's job is for 200k. A 50K income also goes a long way here.
However, other than that one particular company, there are very few places to get a decent full-time job (there is a hospital and a small college). I work online from home because after my last job relocated I was unable to find anything worthwhile. Husband got his job by applying for tons of jobs after a layoff. It took him nearly a year to get his job, and he started at a lower level. He got promoted to where he is now about a year after hire.
I think it is harder for older workers to get hired through the typical interview process unless the hiring company's demographic is older.
Ideas for jobs that don't require the typical interview, would work in a small town, and might pay acceptably:
- Trades
- Home care/senior service business
- Freelancing online
I think it is harder for older workers to get hired through the typical interview process unless the hiring company's demographic is older.
Ideas for jobs that don't require the typical interview, would work in a small town, and might pay acceptably:
- Trades
- Home care/senior service business
- Freelancing online
Absolutely. Not only where the company's workers demo is older but maybe even where the clients/consumers of services are older too. I think that goes for no matter where you live;in a small town or in a major city.
I live in a town of around 10,000, have a primary office in a town of about 30,000, and a satellite office in one of the top 10 largest cities in the U.S. Total commute from my house, to my satellite office (furtherest location away from my home), depending on traffic ranges from 40-60 minutes, depending.
As for career - I'm an Assistant Vice President / Middle Manager for a major financial services corporation. I could take my job pretty much anywhere there's at least some form of built-up operation (not just branches, mind you) and take my salary with me.
I'm currently in the process of a possible promotion to Vice President in the Portland Area. You can easily buy a great home for $200k there and live easily on $50k per year.
As to how I got my job...
I've always wanted to be in banking. Not like a Teller, but actually manage a portion of our financial system. So, while in college (officially, at 20), I got a gig with a major U.S. financial services company as a Personal Relationship Manager - I wowed the interviewing manager by knowing more about banking than some people he interviewed who worked in banking.
I moved up quickly to Assistant Officer of the location, and then became a Regional Representative (not a Regional Manager, to make that clear). I oversaw associate engagement, satisfaction, worked on organization of monthly/quarterly calls, trainings, etc.
Nearing the completion of my Bachelors (Business Management / Finance) earlier last year, I applied online with the company I now work for, as Corporate Officer (Operations, Management, etc). Did well with the interview process and again wowing the hiring managers.
Did that for 9 months, and was promoted to Assistant Vice President for my local area, overseeing sales management, operations, terminations, etc. Currently working on my next promotion (which would be 9 months since my last one) to the aforementioned Vice President position in Portland.
In terms of the success of moving up quickly, acquiring the jobs, etc: I applied online to my banking jobs, externally. I didn't have "connections" or recommendations from those within the company. I included a compelling Cover Letter that stated why I was their best choice, why they'd not regret it, and why I thought all of this. In terms of the interviews, I remained cool, calm, and respectfully confident.
I've assisted many friends, family, and colleagues with resume/cover letter tips, interview coaching, etc, and I seem to have a knack for knowing how to best read and appeal to hiring managers - even before I had become a manager with hiring responsibilities.
I will say that anyone can quickly rise the latter, whether in a small company, or a major corporation. I've been in the working world roughly 8 years, and have increased my annual income by 2,500% since starting. I don't state that as a gloating notion, or a "oooh, look at me." I state it in hopes it'll spark at least one person to have that fire within them to do everything it takes (within ethical boundaries) to be successful.
Hope this helps.
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