Banking jobs in SALEM and the surrounding areas (Boston, Lynn: apartment, rental)

[Nyse]

Hi everyone! For the past year I have been contemplating a move. One place I have seriously considered is Massachusetts. While my dream would be to live on the Cape, my girlfriend needs to finish her education degree. There are few places for her to do this in the state, and Salem is looking like the best bet.

I have a Finance degree from the University of Tennessee with limited, but successful experience managing an investment portfolio through the University. I would imagine jobs in my field are limited to banking in this area, with the exception of Boston. Im not at all excluding Boston as an option, but would prefer to stay in a small town.

Can anyone tell me how feasible it would be to seriously consider Salem for relocation?
Are there jobs in the area, and how difficult is it to obtain them? Are these jobs given out like in my hometown where you have to go to church with the President to be considered? Unfortunately Im not kidding, that’s literally how it really works here. One bank hires exclusively Church of Christ and the other Baptist. The only exception being that you are related to a mover and shaker. Being Catholic doesn’t help my situation either.

Apart from the job situation, can anyone tell me about the cost of living for the area? Would it be impossible to find a person renting a portion of a house or apartment?

We are planning a trip next month to visit and consider the college. Should I be looking elsewhere?

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks.

[lrmsd]

Have you checked craig's list for rental ideas/options/price ranges?
There is a commuter rail from Salem to Boston, so if you worked in Boston, it would take you less than an hour to commute by train, and you would not have to drive/park/deal with traffic.
You may also find work somewhere else on the Northshore-ie,Newburyport, Ipswich, Gloucester, and these commutes can be done by train or car.
In addition to Craig's List, (which you can also check for job ideas, along with the usual suspects such as hot jobs, etc), check out the MBTA, which is the Boston/MA transit site, to see how public transit works.

I think the cape, unless you telecommuted, would not be ideal, even if your GF did not need to go to school. And there are very few jobs located on the cape itself.

No, you will not find, probably ever, any companies hiring solely based on religion of any kind, let alone which church one belongs to. (Except, of course, for religious based schools or non-profits, who may attract folks from said groups as applicants.)

Good luck to you.

[gf2020]

Plenty of companies are located outside of Boston, within easy commuting distance of Salem. Putnam Investments is in Andover, Eastern Bank is in Lynn. Many of the medical equipment and biotech companies have offices north of Boston and could have opportunities for a recent graduate with a Finance degree.

I don't think you will run in to any religious discrimination, it is beneficial, however, to use a tool like linkedin.com to build your personal professional network. The vast majority of jobs are secured through personal contacts, not job sites like monster.com.