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If you want to stay in warmer climates, the IT market is very strong in Tampa and Orlando. I work in IT in Tampa and am making almost twice as much as i did in Ohio, plus the no state income tax is pretty nice. Work with a recruiter like i did and they'll get you what you want
I recently graduated from college back in May of this year for Management of Information Systems. I decided to move out of state and go where I thought there would be plenty of IT jobs and good money to be made. I honestly lived in Marion, Ohio for most of my life and moved to Bowling Green to finish my degree, I then moved to Toledo, Ohio (Maumee, Ohio to be exact) it was nice but job growth was very limited, I felt and job growth in Marion, Ohio was very limited, I felt to get the most bang for my buck for my degree that I had to move out of state.
So I decided to move to Austin, Texas. At first jobs were very promising, and many promises were made to me, I was doing a job that I loved, the bad part I was only a contractor which means they can end your contract at any moment. I was hired on for a project, the staffing agency and Dell made it sound like that if we did a good job and did what we were suppose to do then we would get extensions (all of us that were hired) and we could stay there for quite a long time , 4-5 weeks later after our current project was almost done they let every single one of the contractors they hired go. I was very disappointed in both Dell and the staffing agency especially after they had promised us so much. The pay wasn't that great for IT in fact it is quite low for IT only $14.00/hr. So this was only the beginning, it seemed like every where I turned no one would no one would tell the truth or stick to their word, I mean I honestly never had this happen to this degree in Ohio. Anyhow what they call IT technical support down here really means call center jobs, I started to work these jobs as this is what I needed to do to survive. They don't seem to pay very well here for entry to mid-level IT people, I even have 2-3 years of experience in IT, down here, they act like this is no experience. The only way people make decent money down here is if they have a niche in what they are very good at or they have tons of experience and they are making 6 figures, however the rest of the IT people here are not making it. I currently have a co-worker of mine who is from Idaho and he has 10 years of experience and he isn't making any decent money here either, we are both talking about moving out of Austin very soon. I just wish I knew how it really was down here before I moved here, career wise. Any IT jobs here are HIGHLY competitive to get into and the market is saturated with IT people.
The cost of living here is ridiculous, the min ave rent is around $1000.00, I currently pay $1100.00 a month. Food is higher, Pizza on average costs $20.00 where back in Ohio, I could get the same pizza for less than $10.00. Everything here is so spread out and the traffic is horrendous, that it takes a long time just to go do basic things, like grocery shopping and etc.
I honestly thought that with the cost of living being higher that the market would support that cost of living, that just isn't the case at all here.
I tried to do as much research as I possibly could before I moved to Texas and filled out tons of applications too before I moved too. I read many relocation guides and fortune, wsj, usa today, none of what I read about IT jobs seems to be true at all or the predictions, what I should of done is see how many national or international companies were here before I moved here and it might have given me a better indication before I moved of how good the job market honestly would have been. I even believed all of the low unemployment numbers they have here too, but those numbers are skewed, because after talking to locals they try to kick anyone on unemployment off as soon as they can and thus in doing so they can keep their unemployment rates very low that way and make it seem like there are tons of jobs here, when that is anything furthest from the truth. There are tons of homeless people here, which should raise some eyebrows.
What I should have done is look very heavily into the Columbus market for IT jobs, in fact I know I had better jobs even before I graduated college, I had better job offers in Ohio than what I did here in Austin, Texas. I will admit, that I particularity didn't enjoy living in Toledo. Although Columbus is a very nice area and I should have tried way harder getting into good jobs there in Columbus than here in Austin.
So where do I go from here? Do I move back to Ohio? Do I try to get jobs in Houston, where I here locally that there are way more jobs there than there is here. Do I move to San Antonio? Which I actually do like a lot, I mean a huge amount, but the problem there is jobs are very low wages and the economy isn't that great, but what I do love about San Antonio is the amount of trails they have where I can get out in nature and through enjoy nature, the RiverWalk (not just downtown) is amazing and very well done, their Greenway trails are extremely nice too, Austin has none of this, most of the trails around Austin are dirt trails and heavily over grown.
I will have to say another thing I noticed is how dirty the streets and roads seem to be here in Texas in General, Ohio seems to take care of their roadways (as a whole) way better than Texas does, and I don't remember tons of trash on the road, like they have here.
The overall education here is very low, which if anyone does a search you will find that Texas is one of the worst in the Union as far as education goes, it is very disappointing, to be honest I really feel like I went back in time moving here, like everything here is so far behind compared to anything in Columbus.
I will have to say that in my opinion the people in Ohio seem to be way nicer than the people here in Texas. Plus I think the people in Ohio in general is waaaaaaaaay more honest than the people in Austin are. The people here are very shifty, it's literally like one moment they are trying to be your friend then the next minute their completely gone, literally. Everything here feels very superficial when it comes to the people here in Austin, like there is no real friendships. I've had deeper friendships in Ohio than I've had here.
Sorry for the really long post, but I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar situation. I also want to say that certain parts of Ohio are not that bad at all. I honestly miss people actually being honest and trustworthy compared to here.
As a recent college graduate I understand the struggle of the job search and the uncertainty that comes with not knowing exactly where you will be in one year.
Unfortunately I cannot offer you any insight in to Columbus as an IT market but if you would like to know more about the city or my experiences living here as a young professional/recent graduate feel free to message me!
Best of luck going forward, I am sure you will you do great in the long run once you get settled
FWIW, I remember going back and forth with you and your bashing of Toledo and it is funny to me that you felt Toledo was so crappy yet you would have been better off staying in Toledo and just looking for a job in Columbus from Maumee. And like I told you, places here aren't as bad as they are in other areas. I also thought the area was crappy until I moved away and now I am very happy to be back and value the amenities and affordability of this area.
I know a lot of people who work in IT in Columbus and in your situation, if you have a network of friends there, I'd contact them and see about moving back to Ohio if that is what you really want. I'll also note that I used to live in the metro Atlanta area for many years and they have a growing IT industry in metro Atlanta as well.
In regards to the rest of your post, you actually remind me of myself and the many years that I spent living in the south. It is why, unlike yourself, I don't have a negative view of Toledo. I lived away for nearly 20 years and feel refreshed to be "back home" since people don't lie as much as in the south (IMO a part of "southern hospitality" is basically lying in a nice way). You also get paid more in Ohio versus many areas of the south and even in metro Atlanta if you start in IT you have high odds of starting off as a contractor. I personally worked with many IT contractors there at organizations of which I was employed as I managed our sourcing needs, of which IT services was included.
But I think it is good that you are still young. You have your whole life in front of you so take your journeys as a lesson learned in regards to being much more diligent in what you want. I'd also not listen to anyone's promises about a job. If you are a contractor, get that information put into your contract so if it doesn't turn out the way you thought it would, you will at least have a legal means of possibly recouping your financial losses. If you like San Antonio and have some good leads, I'd look into them since it won't involve a big move like from Ohio to TX. But if you have family/friends in Ohio and it won't be a burden, I'd probably move back to OH and seriously look into Columbus, Cleveland or Cincinnatti since you want a more "big city" experience without the high, overpriced price tag of many of the "hot" areas of the south.
FWIW, I remember going back and forth with you and your bashing of Toledo and it is funny to me that you felt Toledo was so crappy yet you would have been better off staying in Toledo and just looking for a job in Columbus from Maumee. And like I told you, places here aren't as bad as they are in other areas. I also thought the area was crappy until I moved away and now I am very happy to be back and value the amenities and affordability of this area.
I know a lot of people who work in IT in Columbus and in your situation, if you have a network of friends there, I'd contact them and see about moving back to Ohio if that is what you really want. I'll also note that I used to live in the metro Atlanta area for many years and they have a growing IT industry in metro Atlanta as well.
In regards to the rest of your post, you actually remind me of myself and the many years that I spent living in the south. It is why, unlike yourself, I don't have a negative view of Toledo. I lived away for nearly 20 years and feel refreshed to be "back home" since people don't lie as much as in the south (IMO a part of "southern hospitality" is basically lying in a nice way). You also get paid more in Ohio versus many areas of the south and even in metro Atlanta if you start in IT you have high odds of starting off as a contractor. I personally worked with many IT contractors there at organizations of which I was employed as I managed our sourcing needs, of which IT services was included.
But I think it is good that you are still young. You have your whole life in front of you so take your journeys as a lesson learned in regards to being much more diligent in what you want. I'd also not listen to anyone's promises about a job. If you are a contractor, get that information put into your contract so if it doesn't turn out the way you thought it would, you will at least have a legal means of possibly recouping your financial losses. If you like San Antonio and have some good leads, I'd look into them since it won't involve a big move like from Ohio to TX. But if you have family/friends in Ohio and it won't be a burden, I'd probably move back to OH and seriously look into Columbus, Cleveland or Cincinnatti since you want a more "big city" experience without the high, overpriced price tag of many of the "hot" areas of the south.
No way in the world would I move back to Toledo. Columbus, yes and I would even argue that Columbus has way more to do in Austin, but don't tell that to an Austinite. I just don't get their being so prideful, like they think Austin is like the best city ever invented or something, I've traveled quite a bit and I've never seen a city so prideful that it lacks the unwillingness to improve upon itself. I honestly living down by Columbus for most of my life, know now that Columbus has a lot to offer. The healthcare and education system in Ohio is ten times better than here in Texas. I just feel like Texas is skewing their numbers so much so to get people here in Texas, then when people get here they are disappointed and they will leave, because the gov won't do any improvements to anything here. I literally mean everything here is like I traveled back in time by about 50 years and being in Tech, its not that great. However I will say San Antonio is a great little gem, but I worry about their economy, and the illegals there are driving down the wages. So I'm not sure what the right path to take is.
Plus on top of this I met a girl here and that could complicate things even more as she is a native here.
As someone that grew up in and lives in and likes Columbus I'm really racking my brain as to how you think there is more to do in Columbus.
~50 live music choices daily? nope
Be on the lakes 9-10 months of the year? nope
Food scene? nope
Golf pretty much year round? nope
Co-eds in skimpy clothing 9-10 months out of the year? nope
Nothing close to the 6th St and West 4th warehouse district nightlife.
I loved to know were Columbus is hiding those kinds of activities.
As someone that grew up in and lives in and likes Columbus I'm really racking my brain as to how you think there is more to do in Columbus.
~50 live music choices daily? nope
Be on the lakes 9-10 months of the year? nope
Food scene? nope
Golf pretty much year round? nope
Co-eds in skimpy clothing 9-10 months out of the year? nope
Nothing close to the 6th St and West 4th warehouse district nightlife.
I loved to know were Columbus is hiding those kinds of activities.
Columbus actually has two pro sports teams and 3 other major stadiums, which means Columbus has 5 major stadiums, and Austin is lucky to have 2.
And I could go on and on. Plus all of the FREE state parks you have around Columbus, which I hate about Texas is you have to pay to go into state parks here.
Btw sorry for the late reply I've actually been sick for the past week or so.
Why isn't Cleveland on your list? If you are going to live somewhere that has Winter, yea...I am a CLE snob.
We have everything COL has... and more. Like a Lake.
The only places I would live in Ohio are CLE and CINCY.
Don't get all bent Columbusians. You know I hate you.
Yea, they may have a great stadium, but wow do I get burned out of all the OSU crap after being there for just a long weekend.
(Just friendly bashing, don't get bent).
I grew up in Dayton and I can confirm that people in Ohio are much nicer. I realize that most people are transplants in Austin but I used to work out in the Canyon Lake-Borne area and people were still very rude and I would be surprised if there are many transplants in that area. When it comes to hospitality and friendlyness Texans have nothing on midwesterners.
I live in Austin right now, but I only hold a temporary position. Overall I really like it here but I am not sold. If I can't find another job down here I'll be ready to move..but hopefully not back to Ohio. As much as I like Ohio I'd rather do some more exploring before I settle down, or at least stay in Texas for a few more years.
I've always had a negative view of Columbus (too cookie cutter and flat) If I was to move back to Ohio I'd much rather be in Cincy or -especially Cleveland
I think Austin has a lot to do--but only if you're into drinking, eating, and music..That being said I don't think Columbus is any better in any of those categories. I miss the dark green broad-leaf forest, and the occasional snowstorm, but that's about it, Pretty much everything else is better down here.
My only advice would be to follow your career and your purpose. If that takes you out of Austin that's perfectly fine. Like others have said, go with your gut. BTW, I'd try San Antonio or Houston before going back to Ohio. Heck, I would apply anywhere and everywhere in the US just for the sake of expanding your horizons.
Yea, they may have a great stadium, but wow do I get burned out of all the OSU crap after being there for just a long weekend.
(Just friendly bashing, don't get bent).
THE BEST DAMN STADIUM IN THE LAND & THE BEST DAMN BAND IN THE LAND.
If that's anyone's motivation for moving to Columbus they need to re-evaluate their priorities. Unfortunately a lot of people in Ohio think that way.
Luckily the Longhorns haven't been good in a while so there's less of that crap floating around Austin
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