What the Heck People? Moving to the Triangle without a Job?!?!
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Matt - I realize your post is around 2 years old, but it sure is inspirational.
My wife and I are planning to relocate to the Raleigh-Durham area in about 6 weeks. Hunting for jobs while not living in the area is quite difficult and the results have been less than stellar so far. I am a Quality Assurance/Software Tester with 10 years experience, so I feel like the RTP area will be a good fit for someone with my skill set. In addition, it is very possible that my current employer will allow me to work remotely for a few months, which would be very helpful, but not something I want to do long-term. (I'm popping that question to my boss on July 1st). We also have about 6 months of living expenses in savings, so we are somewhat prepared. (Is anyone ever 100% prepared?)
Anyway, your optimism and can-do approach is refreshing and will be something that I will fall back on when faced with any upcoming challenges. Thank you for your original post.
Just keep in mind that QA folks are a dime a dozen around here. Not that your resume won't be a standout. It's just something to consider. Best of luck to you.
I fall somewhere in between having a job when I moved and not.
I had family support and plenty of money in retirement savings when I sold my house in NY (plus lot of equity from that house) But I did not have guarantee of a job when I came here. HOWEVER, I had to sell that house because my unemployment was running out, my cash reserves were dry, and and there was no temporary work to be had in my town. I needed that equity to live on. I was down to asking my neighbor who was the manager of Walmart for a job. I doubt I could have paid the bills on that income. So: once the for sale sign went up, I felt I was free to go wherever I wanted.
Raleigh has a MUCH better job market than where I came from, I downsized substantially from what I left so my monthly bills are more manageable. Here I could find temp or part time work and have more family support. LUCKILY I found a job in my field right away so I was able to buy a house.
But for me the bottom line was: It would have been far riskier to stay where I was in a rental and be unemployed than to move here to a rental and be unemployed. If I had waited for a guarantee of employment, I would have further drained my resources. Long distance job hunting is really difficult.
Sometimes you just have nothing left to lose...so you jump.
Just keep in mind that QA folks are a dime a dozen around here. Not that your resume won't be a standout. It's just something to consider. Best of luck to you.
Thank you for your comments. In such a tech-heavy area, I'm sure anyone working in computer software has a lot of competition for jobs.
I fall somewhere in between having a job when I moved and not.
I had family support and plenty of money in retirement savings when I sold my house in NY (plus lot of equity from that house) But I did not have guarantee of a job when I came here. HOWEVER, I had to sell that house because my unemployment was running out, my cash reserves were dry, and and there was no temporary work to be had in my town. I needed that equity to live on. I was down to asking my neighbor who was the manager of Walmart for a job. I doubt I could have paid the bills on that income. So: once the for sale sign went up, I felt I was free to go wherever I wanted.
Raleigh has a MUCH better job market than where I came from, I downsized substantially from what I left so my monthly bills are more manageable. Here I could find temp or part time work and have more family support. LUCKILY I found a job in my field right away so I was able to buy a house.
But for me the bottom line was: It would have been far riskier to stay where I was in a rental and be unemployed than to move here to a rental and be unemployed. If I had waited for a guarantee of employment, I would have further drained my resources. Long distance job hunting is really difficult.
Sometimes you just have nothing left to lose...so you jump.
My only regret is not doing it sooner.
You say "luckily" you found a job right away. I bet it was more than just luck. You have to be good to be lucky.
I expect there were some rough patches for you, which is pretty standard.
I'm glad you took the chance. It's not always easy to take a calculated risk.
I also agree that replying to a old post is not as relevant today as it was then, but while I not only found
the post inspiring, I found the quote just fantastic. I bet it was a cool scene.
But as to the subject....SURE, if you have funds, this kind of move is not bad, especially since you have the
skill set for the RTP. But we get a lot of hipster dandelion seeds here, " I think the vibe is so great out in
City X....Do you think it is a good idea to move there? Are there jobs? Is it expensive?" I have one thing
and one thing only to tell that crowd. WHY ON EARTH would you move out there? Are you more skilled than
the other 50,000 young kids with minimal life skills and psychology majors and theater majors that can't find
a job there?
Harsh, I know. And if you have a support system that is a little soft on you, fly little bird, spread those wings.
After all, what's a bus ticket home going for these days? I'd be lying if I said I never did this. I always did this.
I have lived in NC, SC, AL, MS, LA, TN....but I am the kind of person that can work in a week no matter where I go.
I can cook, I can make electronic media, I can do voice overs, I can do yard work, I can do nearly anything you
ask me to in a general sense, I give good interview and have a long history of working and contributing to society.
I have never been out of a job more than a month in a new town. Of course times are tougher now....
I just try to steer young college graduates out of moving everything they own across country to a place they know
no one and ending up at the rescue mission.
This is a similar thread to which I see in many other forums. It certainly is interesting to see the different perspectives depending on which shoes you are in. There is no way I can tell someone they should or should not move anywhere. Circumstances are vastly different for so many.
What I can do is provide information from a hiring manager's point of view and you can do with it what you will. When we are in the hiring process, we receive hundreds of resumes for each position. The very first thing we do is make two piles. One is for local applicants and one is for out of state applicants. We then sift through the local pile to see what we can find. If there are enough qualified candidates, we schedule interviews and usually hire within that pool. If we cannot find what we want, then and only then do we look at the out of state pool.
It is so much easier and more beneficial for all involved when we hire local talent. Do what you will with this tidbit.
Late to the party as usual. Have my masters. Made good and damn sure I had employment before I moved here. I've dodged several layoff bullets over the last several years, and it sounds like there may be another coming my way. I am already hunting and it's very tough going. My brother got laid off from the same company, he's a talented and educated individual, and it took him a year to find a new job and not for lack of trying.
I'm an optimist, I believe you get out of life what you put into it, but by no means would I move somewhere new without a job lined up, or was prepared to spend a large chunk of my nest egg, which I'm not gonna do.
I'm now retired from Federal IT and came here after a 6 month layoff in New Orleans from a public utility in 1989. Got a job with a subsidiary of First Citizens Bank at a 30% cut in salary.
Took the offer because it was that or a homeless shelter in Louisiana. We were even considering mutual suicide at that point and decided against it after finding how little Louisiana would care about our 2 children.
Be very careful. NC has about as much of a safety net as Louisiana. If you run out of money here, you will wind up in a mission (if you are lucky enough to find space).
The household survey is the one that showed strong gains in May, both in North Carolina and across the nation. By that measure, North Carolina saw nearly 7,000 people added to the ranks of the employed and the unemployment rate dipped sharply to 5.1 percent, the lowest rate since February 2008.
It was the third consecutive month in which the Triangle jobs report significantly outperformed both the nation and state as the unemployment rate in the Triangle headed toward levels not seen since before the recession.
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