Considering a move. (Austin: find a job, taxation, land)

[cBach]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

Moving to Austin with no job and only $2000 is a recipe for disaster. The cost of housing here is significantly higher, and it's a landlord's market so we can be particular. Wages, in relation to cost of living, are stagnant because people are willing to take less to live here. Public transportation sucks. The humid heat is stifiling and not comparable to the monsoon season. It also gets significantly colder in the winter than you're used to. Running away to a city you don't know without any preparation in order to flee your current problems will not solve them. It will only make things worse. A lot worse.

I know a young woman that fled Kingman, AZ and came here. Same thing, no job, no nothing but she did have a relative to stay with. She adjusted to the humidity here okay but shivered during the winter cold fronts. It gets cold at night in Kingman but usually warms up in the day under sunny skies.

The OP has marketable skills, sometimes you've gotta take a risk.

[Cyber Surfer]

Originally Posted by grad_student200

The role of a graphic designer is very important in development and testing. I have worked with process evolution to include the graphic design artifacts early in the test review process so that test automation design could begin. Typically, the graphic designer would create a "lo fi" wireframe then a "high fi" wireframe that is more dynamic. The tool was Axure. Then the tester would figure out the page layout for the UI and start coding Java classes that map to the UI elements. These Java classes were "Page Objects".

I worked with graphic designers in Austin, TX. They were very well respected and the main chief architect was also a graphic designer. He hired two junior level assistants just out of college at UT. It was working out well for them. The UI "wireframes" are usually part of the user stories in an Agile development process.

In regards to work, I am currently in Scottsdale, AZ. If you are not happy in AZ then Colorado may be better. The IT job market is strong there right now. Austin is great for a job market too, but it is also hot there much like Tucson in the summer. I know because I worked there the summer of 2011. I lived right downtown and took a bus to my job or commuted with coworkers just south of the lake off of route 1.
In regards to a public transit, Austin is creepy. I was on a bus one day and sat near these UT students. I noticed a drunk middle aged man get onboard after a few stops. He sat right next to the UT students and started glaring at them. Then he started verbally abusing them. They just got off the next stop. The middle aged guy seemed drunk and verbally abusive. It doesn't seem like a safe commute for a female.

Denver has a much better commute with RTD. They are located throughout the city and have many nearby parking spots. When I was a summer intern I took the RTD daily to work. They have low cost living options on the north and east side or near downtown. Boulder would be too expensive for you though. Westminster might be within financial reach - maybe.

So I recommend Denver in IT. I think Austin would be too hot. It's just like Tucson. As for me, I lived in Florida for 15 years and am absolutely euphoric in being home in AZ. I got a job as a data warehouse tester in Scottsdale. I left the field of UI test automation and switched to database testing. UI test automation is where I got to understand the role of the graphic designer. You could try test automation and learn Python or Java with UI-based testing. Python is easy. Java is a little more complex but not that difficult either.
Selenium - Web Browser Automation

Thank you, this is very helpful. Maybe Austin would be a bad idea for my situation.

Maybe I said what I said about AZ out of sheer frustration, but I live in the northern part, not very many job opportunities (if at all) up here from Kingman to Sedona for the kind of work I went to school for. Ironically, I started in Phoenix but had to move back to take care of my mom in her declining years and sister who became an addict and unemployed, this crippled my career until 2011, but I've found the graphic design field to be limited until recent. I finished my degree online, but I've found work to be... stagnant, at least until after 2013 when web development and UI just exploded. Sadly, I didn't keep up much with the tools of the trade so I feel behind (I graduated in 08.) I've built a website and maintained it until 2010, and deployed a couple videogames on android and Steam, graphics done by myself so I have the experience and willingness to learn, just getting a job will be tough.

I could, I'd give AZ another shot, just couldn't stand the heat in Phoenix as much as I enjoyed living there. I lived in Kingman for a long time and we can get temps that soar to 109 and it was manageable. I'll check into Scottsdale for work, I've heard lots of good things about it but didn't consider it because the impression that it's an old people town like where I'm at so I assumed it'd be service jobs and medical practices.

I'll also check into Denver, having a reliable transit system will help if my car decides to die or I sell it and take a plane.

Many thanks!

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by cBach

she did have a relative to stay with.

Critical difference. The OP has no one here and $2000. This is how people become homeless.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Cyber Surfer

I passed through there a couple times I think, I remember lots of trees, parks, and lakes in Aug. People seemed to be pretty friendly and not the "walmart variety" I'm used to here in Kingman (plus I don't get stared down, that's always a plus!). Humidity don't bother me, as a matter of fact Kingman gets very humid around monsoon. Downside is many homes still have evap coolers which don't work at all during that time of year.

I'm already scouring indeed and monster.com and flinging out my resume and CV. I have to be discreet since out of state hirees tend to get overlooked. That's why I was asking if there were places I could stay until finding work since many places would rather hire locally.

I dont know if that is really the case. People are desperate for good employees. If I were in your shoes I would look for contract work, even via odesk, or try to work remotely from your current job.

[mtta]

Originally Posted by Cyber Surfer

I could, I'd give AZ another shot, just couldn't stand the heat in Phoenix as much as I enjoyed living there. I lived in Kingman for a long time and we can get temps that soar to 109 and it was manageable. I'll check into Scottsdale for work, I've heard lots of good things about it but didn't consider it because the impression that it's an old people town like where I'm at so I assumed it'd be service jobs and medical practices.

I'll also check into Denver, having a reliable transit system will help if my car decides to die or I sell it and take a plane.

Many thanks!

What I would recommend is dealing with your career in the nearest big city (Phoenix) until you have 1-2 years of good experience on a resume. You can find affordable apartments there and some degree of part-time or temp work in your field. Once you have qualifications, and have saved more money, you will be able to progress to wherever you would like to live.

Aside, if you don't like heat, Texas will not offer much of a solution.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by cBach

I know a young woman that fled Kingman, AZ and came here. Same thing, no job, no nothing but she did have a relative to stay with. She adjusted to the humidity here okay but shivered during the winter cold fronts. It gets cold at night in Kingman but usually warms up in the day under sunny skies.

The OP has marketable skills, sometimes you've gotta take a risk.

Yes. You can take risks when you're young with no encumbrances. Many people do it. While I'm not saying the OP's situation is ideal, but he is "free and clear" to move and move again if things don't work out. If he has marketable skills, he'll find a job.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by riaelise

Yes. You can take risks when you're young with no encumbrances. Many people do it. While I'm not saying the OP's situation is ideal, but he is "free and clear" to move and move again if things don't work out. If he has marketable skills, he'll find a job.

Yup.

The fact is, if the OP is to get out of AZ, now's the time. It ain't gonna get easier that's fo' sure!

[Cyber Surfer]

Thanks for the replies by the way. I'm pretty much single

As crazy as it sounds, the heat and humidity doesn't bother me, I prefer heat to the cold. I've survived triple digits in Kingman before for the last 30 years, I've even lived in Phoenix for a short time around summer, but tend to stay indoors.

I'm getting in touch with recruiters in the areas that I'm interested in, I'd like to have even a help desk job lined up just until I can apply locally to web developing or branch out further into IT (This Comp Sci degree has to be of SOME use).

[ppp38]

Originally Posted by Cyber Surfer

Thanks for the replies by the way. I'm pretty much single

As crazy as it sounds, the heat and humidity doesn't bother me, I prefer heat to the cold. I've survived triple digits in Kingman before for the last 30 years, I've even lived in Phoenix for a short time around summer, but tend to stay indoors.

I'm getting in touch with recruiters in the areas that I'm interested in, I'd like to have even a help desk job lined up just until I can apply locally to web developing or branch out further into IT (This Comp Sci degree has to be of SOME use).

Why dont you try silicon valley? With a computer science degree and experience as a developer, seems like you could easily secure a 6 figure job.

[Cyber Surfer]

Originally Posted by ppp38

Why dont you try silicon valley? With a computer science degree and experience as a developer, seems like you could easily secure a 6 figure job.

I'm avoiding CA because of the high COL and crazy taxation, Silicon Valley is next to impossible to land entry level work.