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Old 06-19-2007, 02:41 PM
 
9 posts, read 54,121 times
Reputation: 32

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We are in Illinois and we have had it with this state. We are seriously looking at making a permanent move to Kentucky. My husband is a carpenter, and we both work in the construction industry. Problem is, there is no work in Illinois anymore for the unions. I know kentucky is not union and the wages would be lower, but so is the housing. It is ridiculous here in Illinois. Is there a part of Kentucky where they are building a lot of new homes? We like the Benton area alot. I have been there in the past several times. What other cities/towns are around the Benton area that maybe we could drive a max of 45 minutes to work. Right now he is driving 2 and 1/2 hours to work each way, because work is so tight here that is the only place he can work for the union at. Any help, thoughts, input, info will be greatly appreciated. We have a house to sell, and in Illinois it is basically "good luck", it will probably be on the market for a year, so we are researching now and making our plans for next summer to be out of Illinois permanently. Thanks much for your time and help!
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Old 06-19-2007, 06:15 PM
 
Location: Far Western KY
1,833 posts, read 6,425,000 times
Reputation: 866
Quote:
Originally Posted by nitebird View Post
We are in Illinois and we have had it with this state. We are seriously looking at making a permanent move to Kentucky. My husband is a carpenter, and we both work in the construction industry. Problem is, there is no work in Illinois anymore for the unions. I know kentucky is not union and the wages would be lower, but so is the housing. It is ridiculous here in Illinois. Is there a part of Kentucky where they are building a lot of new homes? We like the Benton area alot. I have been there in the past several times. What other cities/towns are around the Benton area that maybe we could drive a max of 45 minutes to work. Right now he is driving 2 and 1/2 hours to work each way, because work is so tight here that is the only place he can work for the union at. Any help, thoughts, input, info will be greatly appreciated. We have a house to sell, and in Illinois it is basically "good luck", it will probably be on the market for a year, so we are researching now and making our plans for next summer to be out of Illinois permanently. Thanks much for your time and help!

Benton is a nice area, you can find some work there and in Murray or Paducah, HOWEVER as a carpenter you'll likely have to check the "union" at the door. Unions have cost this area lots of jobs, there are still union shops here and strong union supporters. But many many companies pass this area over because of it. It's caused much debate here. A lot of places want nothing to do with the union. As a result we don't have as many jobs as we could have. Just telling you this as purely FYI, personally I'm indifferent.
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Old 06-19-2007, 06:33 PM
 
9 posts, read 54,121 times
Reputation: 32
Believe me, we are all prepared to check the union at the door. We can't wait to. Up until 2 weeks ago my husband was laid off for 13 months, without those union "hours" in the union bank, you have no health insurance, no benefits, and quite honestly, we realize the unions have caused a lot of the problems with home sales, because the builders don't make as big of a bottom line having to pay union wages, so therefore, let's up the price of the house. Well then the houses don't sell and the guys get laid off. Are there homes being built around the Benton area where he could get a non-union carpentry job? Would appreciate any input
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Old 06-19-2007, 06:48 PM
 
Location: Far Western KY
1,833 posts, read 6,425,000 times
Reputation: 866
Quote:
Originally Posted by nitebird View Post
Believe me, we are all prepared to check the union at the door. We can't wait to. Up until 2 weeks ago my husband was laid off for 13 months, without those union "hours" in the union bank, you have no health insurance, no benefits, and quite honestly, we realize the unions have caused a lot of the problems with home sales, because the builders don't make as big of a bottom line having to pay union wages, so therefore, let's up the price of the house. Well then the houses don't sell and the guys get laid off. Are there homes being built around the Benton area where he could get a non-union carpentry job? Would appreciate any input
Most of your new construction in the area is in Paducah and Murray respectively. There are also a few cabinet shops and other carpentry skilled jobs, there is also people looking for custom work, if he is handy in that area. There is a lot of old home renovation going on in Paducah and finding people that do that kind of work is hard. I do that kind of work but I don't fool with Paducah since it's a bit of a drive.
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Old 06-19-2007, 06:54 PM
 
9 posts, read 54,121 times
Reputation: 32
much appreciated, as a matter of fact, he works solely in carpentry trim on the big custom homes. He has done a lot of specialty renovation and fabrication of trim to match missing trim in vintage homes. If I remember from the last time I was there about 8 years ago, Paducah is not that far from Benton, I really liked that area. I wondered if it would even be a feasible idea to start a carpentry trim business in that area. I know you are in that line of work as well, so you would know if it is in demand. In Illinois, no one wants to pay for skilled trade, it's all about the "cheapest bid".
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Old 06-19-2007, 07:19 PM
 
Location: Far Western KY
1,833 posts, read 6,425,000 times
Reputation: 866
Well this is not the area to get rich, which is not my goal ... I just like keeping the bills paid and a little left over to fish on, LOL. Paducah is a larger town ... now while the population is small because no body live in Paducah do to city rules, taxes and others thing. The metro area has about 150K in the surrounding area, the money is in McCracken Co around Paducah, Marshall Co and Calloway Co. There might be a need for his skills in those areas, in my area I'd say not, only because it's mostly farm and rural homes, nothing fancy. I work mainly on old houses because most people just don't want to fool with them. Old plumbing, old wiring, old construction, a half a dozen add-ons and lots of problems.
I hear request for custom molding and woodworking occasionally but I really couldn't say if it's enough to open a business.

Here is a link to an area that is always needing work ...
Paducah Artist Relocation Program - (http://paducaharts.com/properties_list.php - broken link)

Oh Paducah is about 25 miles from Benton ... Everything this side of the lake is kinda of thought of as it's own little independent state. The areas is the Jackson Purchase Region.
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