Should I move to San Antonio (from the northeast)? (Pittsburg: fit in, sales)

[IIIXIII]

I've recently been given an option to live (and drive) for free from an estranged family member who lives in a large house in gated community in San Antonio. I've visited a couple of times and found the area quite nice, spread out, clean... but obviosuly a very different vibe than what I am used to in the northeast.

About me: I'm 25, female, alternative lifestyle. I've spent the past 7 years between Philadelphia and NYC, currently paying $1500-1700 per month on rent/expenses on a 65k per year pharmaceutical sales job (with a company car/free gas and heath insurance). With that salary, it has been difficult to get ahead the past couple of years paying the amount of rent/loans that I do. I work in sales and would love to do real estate, but it is pretty much impossible in my current state given it's a commission only job. I would also take another pharma/medical sales job, but am ultimately looking to get out of that business and build a career in marketing, real estate, or as a higher up in a large company. I don't like the micromanagement that comes with certain sales jobs.

My stay in San Antonio would be as long as I needed it to be (I keep telling myself it will only be for a couple of months). The goal would be to save as much money as I can with the end game of moving back to the northeast and putting money down to buy property.

Bottom line: I have zero savings right now and am living paycheck to paycheck like most of my peers, so the opportunity is something I've finally started to take seriously. I've pushed it to the back of my head the past year or so because I feel like I should try to "make it" on my own. Now I'm wondering if I'm just being naive. What kind of jobs can someone with my experience expect to land in SA and for what salary? Any questions I have on will I fit in/what is there to do for fun/etc. I think may be irrelevant at this point as the main cause for my stay is financial.

Thanks!

[Pancho-Villa]

Plenty of call center and medical field jobs (think more hospital and facilities type jobs..not so much sales) . All over the place. Retail will always be there, of course. In what field do you have your degree? Bilingual Spanish?
We have plenty of Yanks here...some love it...some hate it. People around here like to say "it's what you make of it".

[IIIXIII]

I don't speak Spanish and my degree is in art. They said I'd never land a pharma job with that degree, but I was the youngest person in my training class of 250ppl. I'd like to think I'm quite resourceful.

[TexasRedneck]

There's any number of pharma sales jobs available - but you're going to be job-hopping down here, then back up there - never a good thing. If your intention is to reside in the NE long term, then you're better off staying there and finding new opportunities. Lots of folks have transitioned into RE from other fields by doing the RE nights/weekends while they build their client base. Even a modest sale per month would do miracles for your bottom line and allow you to get debt-free and build a savings account for when you're ready to make the switch.

[Chaka]

Loads of pharma jobs here. They've cut back like everywhere but I know plenty of people in pharma sales. As a "25 yo with an alternative lifestyle" I suspect you'll find the gated community very boring, but for the short term, could be a useful way to save money, provided you can get a job here.

While I sort of agree that if your plan is to be in the NE, you need to establish contacts there, I also strongly believe that as a 25 yo single person now is your time to try something new. You may love it here and decide to stay. You may not but may meet someone/something that sends you to another place you love. I think every young person should spend some time out of their comfort zone, living away from their home town/home area and experiencing something new.

[ashbeeigh]

Finding a job should not be a problem. But what do you mean by "alternative lifestyle?" We're an accepting city but only to an extent.

[TXStrat]

The way the City of San Antonio government is going with their aggressive annexation plans, chances are you could stay put in Philly/NYC, and San Antonio will come to you in a few years...

[unintentionallyfunny]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Finding a job should not be a problem. But what do you mean by "alternative lifestyle?" We're an accepting city but only to an extent.

Huh? What?

[theone33]

Alternative lifestyle can mean all sorts of things.....LOTS of things. Thats what they mean.

[jadedstoic]

Hey IIIXIII,

I've been in SA for about a month after living the last few years in Philadelphia. I lived in center city and worked in Philly/South Jersey and traveled to Boston/New York/Pittsburgh pretty often. I'm actually a Texas native but have never considered myself a Texan.

I came down here for similar reasons. It's hard to make it up in Philly/NY on a $60k salary. It goes a lot further down here. That said, I miss the world up there quite a bit. I felt much more alive in Philly, but I was always stressed trying to make ends meet. Everything is much cheaper down here. You can get a nice one bedroom in a nice area for $800, whereas up there you're paying nearly twice that. Though, I assume you're already well aware of the financial perks.

If you plan to come down you should probably commit for a year and see if it's actually a fit. If you're coming down with full intention of going back up to that area (like me) then map out some goals and really focus on them. I know that personally I can accomplish more down here in a shorter period of time than I could up there. It'll help not having as many distractions and not having to deal with the depressing winter.

Good luck on your decision and feel free to PM if you have any questions.