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Old 02-19-2013, 06:05 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,665 posts, read 29,540,339 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thelionofmali View Post
I own a 2006 ford focus, stripped down
$150/yr
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Old 02-19-2013, 07:28 PM
 
24 posts, read 31,770 times
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Waneroo, one of my bigger worries is that awkward resume like you said. I don't really have a rebuttal for that. I am just worried that if I wait until I have a job secured, how long will I be waiting?

Thank you for the car registration info. $150 is a lot, but not $600 like jazz was saying.

This is a difficult decision and quite a process. I appreciate all the insight everyone has given. I am flying out there there first week of April and will try my luck at the job fair. If prospects look awful, maybe I will have to reconsider.

Do you stay somewhere because its easy financially and career wise? Even if you aren't happy/satisfied?

Or do you try to follow your dreams and take that risk, knowing it could be near-career suicide?

Idk, idk. I've never been one to follow my dreams and say screw the consequences. That's a part of the reason I am considering it so much.

Thanks again everyone.
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Old 02-19-2013, 08:02 PM
 
8,317 posts, read 29,357,988 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wanneroo View Post
Thank you for that honesty Jazz. Most boomers are nowhere near as honest in saying they've partied hard and my generation and those below are screwed and stuck with the bill. Hard times are here and good chance it will get worse before it gets better.

The time is now for us youngsters to earn what we can now and build wealth. That gives you more options and flexibility as you age and don't have the energy you had when young.

My advice to the OP is not to leave their job until they have another. Like I said, this isn't 2005 or 1995 or 1985. It's great to have some savings and no debt, but if you fail to land a teachers job, your resume will look weird with one year of teaching in CT and two years of fiddle faddling around in CO doing whatever.

I moved to Colorado in 1999 with not a lot of money, but also I started my job and moved into my housing on the very first day I was there. I would not have moved without that job and that was in more stable, prosperous times.
Believe me, I am thankful for the many opportunities and good fortune that has shined on this Baby Boomer. I have not had it as easy as some, though--living in Colorado most of my life has meant forgoing a lot of career opportunities that I sometimes wish that I had taken. I can say unequivocally that the best years of my career for income were the years that I spent AWAY from Colorado. I did not come back for idealistic love of Colorado; I came back because of family obligations that demanded that I be here for the benefit of a loved one who was terminally ill. I gave up a great career elsewhere to do it, but family comes first.

That is another facet that the OP and others should be strongly considering before making any relocation move. In the years ahead, the ability to flit back and forth across the country to see family and friends is going to get much more financially and logistically difficult. I already know lots of people who no longer can afford to travel cross-country to see family, even for what would be considered essential or emergency situations. That reality is only going to get a lot worse as the material standard of living declines for the middle class--and decline it will.

The closest parallel for today's 20-somethings would be those 20-somethings who lived in the Great Depression of the 1930's. The world for them was so different than their counterparts from the 1920's as to be nearly unrecognizable. Those Depression-era 20-somethings had to endure the Depression and a World War before they could even really start to realize their dreams. We're there again, only in what may be a much more protracted era of difficulty.
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Old 02-19-2013, 08:34 PM
 
24 posts, read 31,770 times
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Jazz, I value your insight on Colorado, but I really think you are being over dramatic about the state of the economy. I suppose that you do this for a living and know more than me, but our 10% unemployment does not really compare with the great depressions 25%.
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Old 02-19-2013, 08:48 PM
 
Location: Na'alehu Hawaii/Buena Vista Colorado
5,529 posts, read 12,570,446 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thelionofmali View Post

Do you stay somewhere because its easy financially and career wise? Even if you aren't happy/satisfied?

Or do you try to follow your dreams and take that risk, knowing it could be near-career suicide?

Idk, idk. I've never been one to follow my dreams and say screw the consequences. That's a part of the reason I am considering it so much.

Thanks again everyone.
Looking back from my mature age of 65, I can say that I am really glad that both my husband and I followed our career path and we were able to retire in comfort.

I was able to "follow my dreams" when I was just out of college. I spent the summer after graduation hitchhiking around Europe and staying in youth hostels. Then I spent the next three years as a ski bum in Colorado. THEN I settled down and spent the next 35+ years working at jobs that I enjoyed in my chosen field and building up a retirement nest egg. My husband went into the Peace Corps after college, then went into teaching for the next 40 years. So he has a very comfortable pension.

As you can see by my location, we are able to spend part of the year in Hawaii and part of the year (summers of course) in Colorado. So, I followed my dreams early on in my working life and now I have a chance to follow new dreams for the next thirty years.

Last edited by Dreaming of Hawaii; 02-19-2013 at 08:49 PM.. Reason: added a thought
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Old 02-19-2013, 08:53 PM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
7,841 posts, read 18,925,448 times
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thelionofmali wrote: Jazz, I value your insight on Colorado, but I really think you are being over dramatic about the state of the economy. I suppose that you do this for a living and know more than me, but our 10% unemployment does not really compare with the great depressions 25%.


BUT....that 10% sleight-of-hand is derived via government math and creative bookkeeping. The government number crunchers all have extensive training in voodoo economics. The real unemployment number probably approaches 20%. The current economic climate is alot closer to the depression era than most people are willing to acknowledge. The duct tape holding it together is better hidden than it was during the depression, and the media's job is to paint a rosy picture and never show us the duct tape.
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Old 02-19-2013, 09:01 PM
 
24 posts, read 31,770 times
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Did they cook the books back then too?

Last edited by thelionofmali; 02-19-2013 at 09:16 PM..
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Old 02-19-2013, 09:04 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,548 posts, read 57,460,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thelionofmali View Post
...This is a difficult decision and quite a process. I appreciate all the insight everyone has given. I am flying out there there first week of April and will try my luck at the job fair. If prospects look awful, maybe I will have to reconsider.

Do you stay somewhere because its easy financially and career wise? Even if you aren't happy/satisfied?

Or do you try to follow your dreams and take that risk, knowing it could be near-career suicide?
....
The decision seems a bit more LARGE to you, given your age and experience... after you do this for a lifetime, it will just be another blip in the radar of life.

Sometimes you need to settle with less than ideal jobs, but not at age 22 (unless serving an apprenticeship, or job leading to certifications you can ONLY get while there).

We (USA) are NOT a concentration camp (yet), so explore your options, make a reasonable plan, run it by a few folks for a 'reality' check, and make a reasonable decision. They are never easy or sure things, BUT there are ways to mitigate / make WISE choices, tho unlikely PERFECT choices.

I still would head to the hills and make a gallant effort to survive there and live your dream.

For me... that would NOT include living or working in Denver metro area.

Colorado is MUCH bigger and MUCH better than Denver. (which can be really miserable for living / working / commuting arrangements).

Imagine yourself living and working in a mtn community, vs living 7,000 hrs / yr in the rat race and TRYING to enjoy QUIET / PEACEFUL in the 1700 hrs of remaining Free time (minus your commute time to FIND a peaceful area accompanied by HERDS of others from the Metroplex). I have BTDT in both situations, and you WILL NOT get to your dream by going part way. Nor can you assess your progress in the few weeks you get to spend searching for your dream (if working / living in Metro).

Estes Park is VERY close to your Greeley job fair. Go enjoy Estes on a winter / spring weekday Go visit the schools, set up some informational interviews there and R2J (Loveland / Thompson) and Poudre (Ft Collins). All are VERY close and can be done in a day and give you a flavor. If you have time (drive at night) do the same in Eagle County, then circle back through Buena Vista and Colorado Springs and try there. All this can be done easily within a week, and your toolbox will be filled with choices / experiences to help in your decision

When I chose to leave Colorado, I took a 2 week, 3,000 mile road trip and interviewed at over 15 places in various locations NONE of which had openings at the time. 5 months later I had a choice of several places that offered me GREAT jobs based on the time I had invested to learn about them.

My choice has been good but not PERFECT, but I have had LOTS of valuable experiences. I daily enjoy (?) the journey. (Tho not perfect).

Do consider the other states I have mentioned. In your position, I would do WY, SD, ID, UT, MT, WA, or AK in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, the great places in WY and SD are no so easy to get to FAST from DEN. Billings is a better choice of Base camp to explore WY and SD, and EZ to get to there from CT. You are best to explore WY, SD, MT, ID in June (after YOUR school...due to unexpected snow delays). Likely, they may be running school later there, so you can jet out west while they are still in session and have a few more interviews.

Good luck, THINK broad, as your dream need not be narrow. For Best BUCKS, Experience, and Quality of life consider places beyond Colorado (but close enough to visit!). Keep your tabs on IFLYSWA.com and kayak and travel out west as thoroughly as possible. It is a BIG country. (I get my $12 unlimited mileage rental cars on Priceline, BUT with you under 25, you might be forced to rent at Enterprise (which has $9.95 weekend rates many places). I STILL travel every chance I get (7 trips since Christmas).

Have a blast,

Last edited by StealthRabbit; 02-19-2013 at 09:13 PM..
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Old 02-19-2013, 09:15 PM
 
24 posts, read 31,770 times
Reputation: 17
Wow, that was a great post stealthrabbit. Full of lots of things to think about and chew on over the next few weeks. Thank you so much.
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Old 02-19-2013, 09:19 PM
 
2,253 posts, read 6,957,630 times
Reputation: 2653
Wink Sinking on the Titanic

Most citizens in this nation may not realize how fragile this and our greater global economy are. The official unemployment figures are nothing but bad fiction. Not one senior member on Wall Street has been so much as indicted for widespread, systemic financial fraud that came very close to collapsing the global economy. They likely never will be, and although these huge banks have had to retrench, they have not fundamentally changed their ways. Indeed with even less oversight, as now our government (paid for and bought) allows that they are too large to fail, or in effect regulate. As internationally the economy of various nations have stabilized (Iceland, for one) and others have struggling recoveries with some hope—at basis these have never been more perilous times. Not helped at all by a rapaciously ever larger human population which is unsustainable, and yet another factor in this noxious brew.

So perhaps a fine time to move to Colorado.

Take this with a grain of salt, but the OP seems to be in a better position, and have thought various angles out more thoroughly, than most aspirational Coloradoans continually popping up in this forum. And while the prudent thing might be to hunker down at home with a (supposedly) secure job at hand, what fun is there in that? Not to mention, what security? This world of ours is changing ever so fast, and it should be no surprise to anyone by now of how fortune does not favor the weak-hearted. Look at all the many of the last few decades who clung to theoretically secure positions, good, solid hard work, and yet had job, pensions and all else ripped out from underneath them. In that light, maybe the worst move would be to hinder one's growth in clinging to anything. Far better enhance oneself and their resume by branching out, all the more as a dream involved.

Just do have an exit plan on hand in the event all blows up. But with that in hand, and already having figured for about the worst possible scenario, what indeed could go wrong? Or so much possibly right? And if some sanctimonious employer down the line questions a year's gap in the resume because all did not work out, then the answer is easy: because I went for it and tried something, what have you ever done besides collect a paycheck?

Anymore, it may be that somehow, it turns out, all the lifeboats have developed dry rot and unfortunately sank when deployed. So we are all on the Titanic looking out at the cold North Atlantic, wondering what we might do.
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