Move to Boulder without a job???? (Denver, Broomfield: home, job market, living in)

[JSGOOFN]

I know in this slow economy it may not be a wise thing to move to a new area without a job, but is the job market in the Boulder area depressed? I work in the IT industry (have 10 years experience with tech support). I see lots of jobs listed but many are filled before I apply. To be realistic, if I was an employer I would not want to hire someone unknown/unseen versus someone they can see and interview. So, it is the chicken or the egg thing for sure. I can't help think that if I get out there, I will find something to hold me until I can get a really good job. So, is it worth the chance? I really do not want to live where I am and just want to settle down in Colorado (preferably the Boulder area) - I live in Upstate NY now. Any honest opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!!

[Neditate]

Honestly... I would not advise anyone to move here without a job. Many companies have laid off a lot of good people in the past 2 years so there are too many very qualified people vying for the same jobs. That's why you are seeing jobs being filled as soon as they are listed. Competition is fierce, and that's the truth.

[JSGOOFN]

Neditate - (love the name....) - thanks for your honest opinion. That is what I was looking for. I guess I will just have to win the lottery before making such a move. I lived in the Broomfield area a couple of years ago and had to move back East for family reasons - I fell in love with Colorado and want so much to get back. Thanks again!!

[Neditate]

You're welcome.
I just hate to dash anyone's dreams but with the way things are now it's not good timing. Keep looking, keep applying for jobs... you just never know when something may come along. Good luck!

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Neditate

Honestly... I would not advise anyone to move here without a job. Many companies have laid off a lot of good people in the past 2 years so there are too many very qualified people vying for the same jobs. That's why you are seeing jobs being filled as soon as they are listed. Competition is fierce, and that's the truth.

I agree with this assessment. My husband works in IT, and is thankfully still employed. We have several neighbors who have been laid off for > 1 yr. now who worked in IT.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

Ditto to what they said.

[paedda]

Here are my 2 cents.

I am currently living in Orlando and I was lucky to
get a job in Boulder via phone interview. But I was ready to move
without having a job lined up because I got almost no
responses on my emails for job postings. I talked to a recruiter
he said that living out of state puts you in a really bad spot because
most employer want to interview you in person and if possible tomorrow.
It is the question if you a willing to take the risk. You can always take on
a temp position (e.g. fast food chains, restaurants, home improvement store, etc.) until you find a job in your field. That would have been my plan.

Good luck!

[Neditate]

Good for you, paedda and congratulations!
You are one of the lucky ones. What field are you in?
I know way too many people who've lost their jobs in the past 2 years. Many have taken jobs far below their experience, expertise, pay, etc. in order to stay here. Some have gone to CA because that's where many companies are headquartered. Some have tried to start their own businesses and failed.
You would not believe how many people with master's degrees are working at the kinds of jobs you mentioned. There is a glut of highly experienced workers here doing what they can to make ends meet. The competition for any job is very tough.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by JSGOOFN

Neditate - (love the name....) - thanks for your honest opinion. That is what I was looking for. I guess I will just have to win the lottery before making such a move. I lived in the Broomfield area a couple of years ago and had to move back East for family reasons - I fell in love with Colorado and want so much to get back. Thanks again!!

By all means, in my view, go back if you love it. Colorado has a fantastic economy compared to the rest of the country, especially Boulder (5.5% unemployment).

As another poster mentioned, you can always work temporarily in a "service" area. And, since Colorado isn't a right to work state, you might get in a union and get benefits.

By moving to Boulder, you're also moving to Colorado. If Boulder doesn't work or you don't like it, there are many other great places in Colorado - Denver, Ft. Collins, Durango, etc.

The Brookings Institution ranks Colorado and neighboring New Mexico as the best states in the SW for the economy:

Mountain Monitor: Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in the Intermountain West̢۪s Metropolitan Areas - Brookings Institution

Originally Posted by Neditate

You would not believe how many people with master's degrees are working at the kinds of jobs you mentioned. There is a glut of highly experienced workers here doing what they can to make ends meet. The competition for any job is very tough.

You can make this generalization about any region. However, when unemployment is 5.5% vs. 13% in Reno-Carson City-Tahoe, that means for any job ad in the paper:

For 1000 unemployed people who read the ad and decide to apply --

130 submitted resumes in Carson City-Reno-Tahoe

just 55 submitted resumes in Boulder

Not to mention that Nevada is a right to work state, so what's the best place to apply?

[Zippy7fo]

I agree with the above posters that employers that if you apply and your out of state you will get passed over in this economy (oh how I miss the 90's)...However, if your passionate about It, then I would travel out for 2-3 weeks and see what you can get. This way your not extending yourself but also not giving up....