Moving to Austin from Las Vegas (Round Rock: insurance, find a job, living in)

[bepell]

I have a family of 4 and my wife is in the medical office field and I am in the tech field (help desk, webdesign, graphic design etc...) We are planning to move to Austin, however, the economy is putting a doubt in the plans. Many of the media outlets suggest that you should hold on to your job because finding a new one is difficult, however, If I were to lose my job here in Las Vegas, it would take forever to find one similar to it, however, I feel I can find a job faster in Austin once I move down there.
Question
1. What would most of you do if in my situation: move or stay?

2. How are the tech and medical jobs there in Austin?

[love roses]

I think the chance to find medical jobs around here is great. I think at least 4-5 new hospitals have been built in the last year or two, mainly North of Austin, but there is a new Children's Hospital in East Austin near the Meuller Development. I know nothing about tech, but there are lots on here who do

[crazy8s]

1. What would most of you do if in my situation: move or stay? I just moved from Vegas to Round Rock(North of Austin) in the tech field 2 weeks ago I can tell you one thing...its the best thing we could have done for our kids. I am sorry but no matter how many people say there are things for kids to do...the enviroment still sucks. I can't tell you how many times we see 10-14 year olds hanging at 24 hour places at 12:00AM. We saw so many friends leave who had kids so they could give them a better life.

My thoughts...Move.

2. How are the tech and medical jobs there in Austin? Depending on what pay scale you are looking for there are tons of jobs. Check craigslist.com and see what they are offering. I found someday companies were listing 10 different IT jobs. As for medical...from what I have read and what my wife says medical will be the only thing that will not be affected by the economy. She says there are tons of jobs out here if she ever decided to go back to work.

If you want more info PM me. Yes, I have only been here 2 weeks but I had the same thoughts and I am in the same shoes moving from Vegas.

[DennyCrane]

Originally Posted by bepell

I have a family of 4 and my wife is in the medical office field and I am in the tech field (help desk, webdesign, graphic design etc...) We are planning to move to Austin, however, the economy is putting a doubt in the plans. Many of the media outlets suggest that you should hold on to your job because finding a new one is difficult, however, If I were to lose my job here in Las Vegas, it would take forever to find one similar to it, however, I feel I can find a job faster in Austin once I move down there.
Question
1. What would most of you do if in my situation: move or stay?

2. How are the tech and medical jobs there in Austin?

If I understand your question correctly, it sounds like you want to move to Austin before landing a job. Am I right? If so, that's pretty risky. I'm currently looking for jobs in Austin as well, but I haven't moved there yet. It's a lot easier to look for a job when you still have one. If you move down there without one, how long can you go without work? It won't look good on the resume to have significant gaps and the longer you're out of work, the more desperate you might become. There's no question Austin has a better IT market than Vegas. But in this economy, I would play it safe. I was in a similar situation to you 2 years ago. I was living in KC and worried about my career prospects there. So I made the decision to someplace with a better IT market, Chicago. That turned out to be a mistake, but the point is that I didn't move to Chicago until after I landed a job here. I can understand being anxious to move. I know I certainly am. But in this economy, I would play it safe. Hold onto the job you have while you search for jobs in Austin. If employers know you're out of work, they can give you a low offer. Better to negotiate from a position of strength.

[gawlaw2]

I too left Las vegas in June of last year,My wife is severly disabled and required me to take off work on a regular basis for Dr. appointments and some emergency situations. After I was let go from my second employer for the same reason, we just had had enough of the place,And we decided to move to Austin. I did not have a job lined up, just an interview and a place to stay for a few months while searching.

Since I was basically let go from my employer for due to my spouses disabilities I was able to collect nevada unemployment insurance until I found work here.
I did not land the job with the company I first interviewed with but within 3 weeks I had been hired by and engineering/architectural firm. I still believe there is good job opportunities availible just be diligent. I had also placed my resume on Monster.com and making it viewable to employers in the Austin area which really helped with getting interviews.
Yes it is a risky proposition to just pack up and leave without a job lined up. Since we had nothing but problems in La Vegas our choice was easy with the fact we had a place to stay when we got here. If I can help you with any specific items let me know, Good luck to you and yours