Moving advice from New Orleans to ATL or DC area... (Atlanta: home, job market)

[shanedyra]

Hello everyone,
I am new to this but I've been reading posts for several months and decided to seek some advice for myself. I currently live in New Orleans and I am planning to relocate next summer to Atlanta or the DC Metro area. I have a B.A. in Political Science and a post B.A. certificate in Paralegal studies but I have less than 1 year of working experience in my field. I also have two small kids (5 and 2 years old) that will be moving with me...not to mention that I am a single parent.
I feel that I will have a better chance of landing a job in my field in DC but it's so expensive and moving with two kids, my income is limited. If I move to Atlanta, It's cheaper but there isn't a lot of entry level legal work.
I need help...how is living in DC or ATL compared to visiting? Is the job market hard? I've done a lot research but you never know.
Should I relocate to a place with any family and no job to try to better my kids and my life? ( I would have enough money to last about 6 months without working.) There's nothing in New Orleans for me beside my family and I need to get out FAST!!!
Any help would be helpful. Thanks.

[bornjacksonian]

First off you have enough time between now and next summer to have a job in place. I would recomment not moving (especially with kids) without a job in place. The job market is hard in both areas however I would strongly suggest relocating to Metro Atlanta first because cost of living outside the city is far more cheaper than DC/VA/Baltimore. My partner has a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a Masters in Criminology and landed a job with State Farm about a month after moving up here with me from MS. He was working as a Paralegal as well before moving. The only difference was he does not have any kids and no spouse. Make sure you register on the Dept of Labor site for GA and check out a couple more sites and you shouldn't have a problem. Please note I was unemployed for about 7 mths before I was able to get back right on a salary level. Good luck to you and your family on whatever decision you make.

[muxBuppie]

You will find more involving your career in DC. Better job market too but it is pricey.

[tonygeorgia]

Dc if you have a job.with a ts clearance. If not Atlanta.

You will probably get a job in dc quicker and dc will be better career wise but its so damn expensive especially since u have 2 kids. Your standard of living will be Hell In dc. That money u saved for work for last longer here

[shanedyra]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I was thinking that I would have a better chance of landing a job in DC but I don't want to take the chance of moving out there with my kids and no family to nothing. Not to mention, the cost of living is very expensive. That's why my next choice was Atlanta...close to home,family, cheaper...but not a lot of entry level jobs. It's very confussing and I don't want to make the wrong decision and wind up struggling with my family.
I've been to Atlanta plenty of times but I will be visiting DC/MD/VA in April for the first time to get the feel of it. It's going to be very different from home but that's the reason why I want to move. I just hope I can handle the winter months (since New Orleans rarely have cold weather).
Feel free to give more advice and thank you very much.

[lastminutemom]

There is virtually no social service safety net in GA. You must have a job first and while the cost of living is lower here than in DC, you need to make sure you can afford a safe neighborhood for your kids. The cost of living is deceiving in ATL I think, because some of the most affordable areas that are close to job centers aren't particularly safe.

[tonygeorgia]

If u could send out resumes using local addresses first to get a feel of the jobs in that area