Single Mom Moving To ATL With Pre-Teen In Tow (Atlanta: to rent, house)

[ATL_Aris]

Hello,

Though all are welcome to contribute I am wondering if there are any single mothers in Atlanta who will give me a glimpse into life should we move there in February 2009.

My son's almost 11y/o and has the typical likes of bicycles, ball-playing, and his buddies. We know no one in Georgia and I haven't discussed moving with him because the thought is only 2 days old. I do hope to make a decision by the end of December.

As times have gotten harder for almost everyone I've finally come to my senses to realize that 6mos of looking for a job in my field that pays what I am worth is just not anywhere under my nose. My son and I are accustomed to a certain lifestyle that's not too much to ask for (home, car, family fun, stability...). I've worked hard to achieve these things and don't want to lose any of this because I am waiting on a dream that's just not coming. Sometimes we have to go to the dream.

As I was doing my daily search for jobs to apply for, I was thinking about going towards my dream and Atlanta, GA came to my mind. I typed the city and state into the job search engine, just to see, and where as 1-2 openings might be found in my city, there were over 10 pages found in Atlanta. It was like a jackpot. Each day has produced the same results of recent job postings of less than 5 days old and all with the exact title.

So, my decision to move is based on the high number of jobs for Administrative Assistants in Atlanta and the affordable price to rent a house ($900-1100). I was able to determine that ATL can provide that which would make me happy and so now my concern is about my son's happiness.

Having children to play with is very important to him. We will be moving 10hrs from family and friends, so my son will need to re-establish friendship rather quickly. My wish is for a community that is promising for nurturing such a storng and happy transition for him. Safe, family-oriented, with a blend of single-parent and two parent households.

I don't know if it's the right decision yet. But, I would really like to know what can I expect, tips for making a smooth move, things that were regrettably not pre-thought out, and what your children's likes/dislikes are/were. The good, bad, and ugly as well as the where to move and how to adjusts.

Thank you.

[lastminutemom]

Get the job first-- for each of those openings they have literally 100s of applicants.

[VJP]

^^ Seconded. With layoffs imminent on the daily a lot of those positions are applied for by many overqualified folks looking for work. The worst thing you could do is bring your kid down here, find a place, and possibly run out of money or be out of work for an extended period of time.

You should do a search here and you can find out about schooling for him. In fact you can search for neighborhoods too where families are settled (Too many to list here), and in those neighborhoods and towns your boy shouldn't have any problem meeting other kids, not to mention he will make school friends. Kids are resilient at that age, but most important is that you have a livelihood to provide for him, which means getting hired before making the long move.

[lastminutemom]

I volunteer with an organization that helps families. As you read in the daily paper, almost every week we are getting new clients that use to be donors.

On top of that, for the last few weeks, I have encountered at least one client who recently moved here. They always have the same story -- they thought that getting a job here would be easy and they thought the cost of living is low.

anyway, please proceed with caution.

Even our school systems and local governments are starting to lay off.

[ATL_Aris]

Wow, I know the country is going through a rough patch but I never would have thought that a major city would be almost a no-no. Hopefully things will get better sooner than later.

LastMinuteMom, that's the same story where I live now. Every Admin job posted at least 2-4K views and I can only imagine how many applicants. But, the difference here is that the postings are like less than 10 per week.

I think it's awful that someone has that regret about their expectations for a big move. I wanted to know stories like that. But, one client each week doesn't sound so awful but if the majority are residents and it's a lot then yep that is disturbing.

VJP, you're right, the worse possible outcome is to not be able to provide for my son. It's the one thing that I want to make sure my ducks are all in a row with. I do plan to find the best job for me before moving because I really want to be stable and not wavering. I agree he will eventually be good to go with school chums and community friends and maybe it will be easier than I'm thinking since children are freer spirits.

While things don't sound as horrible as what other cities/states are being hit with in this economy I will definitely take all of this into account as I plan and come to my final decision. Thank you both. :-)