Seriously considering moving to SD (San Diego, San Jose: condo, job market, transfer)

[Loganblade]

Hi,

firstly, I'd like to say : this might be a rather silly post to begin with.

But..........what the hell? It's something I've been thinking about, so here goes

I'm currently residing in Finland. Been here for quite a while (10 years, actually)

Got a great job (I work in IT)........my own condo, fully-paid for (as in, no outstanding debts), etc, etc

Why am I going into such detail? Well, one would think that I have a great life here...........and, I would be crazy to contemplate leaving it.

Well, as it so happens, that's what I'm doing.

For one simple, and yet absurd reason : the weather.

I have had just about enough of the long, cold and dark winters. I want out.

I have been looking at a few places, and SD is at the top of my list (if for no other reason than, it does not snow there...........at least, not much)

Of course, there are a million such places with warmer weather. But, I visited SD a couple of years back, and kinda liked it there.

The job market seems pretty..........er.............tough, though. Hard enough for people who reside there. Even harder (almost impossible) for anyone willing to relocate.

And, with the IT field becoming more and more competitive, my chances of finding a job there seem to be almost nil

[AGS17]

I have found some good options for work in the SD (I'm web-designer). I'm too want move to SD in future.

[sfosyd]

Any chance you work for Nokia? One of their largest US facilities is in San Diego. Maybe you could transfer?

It doesn't snow at all in SD proper and usual winter temperatures are 20 degrees Celsius.

[Loganblade]

Wow. 20 degrees in winter??

Now...........where did I put my passport and plane-ticket? I'm on my way

[Loganblade]

Seriously though..........

yes, I have thought about Nokia. But, Nokia is going down the drain pretty fast. They are firing thousands each year, closing down major factories, (two Nokia factories shut down in Finland last year), and all jobs are being outsourced to India and Bangladesh

Most IT guys I know are leaving Nokia and seeking jobs in other companies

Yeah........Nokia would have been a good bet, being international and all. But, no such luck

I also tried Fujitsu, but they are not hiring.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

As far as factories in Salo and Tampere, yes the closed as well as in Germany and several other countries. All for good reason and not much different than what everyone else is doing to streamline the costs of manufacturing (no surprise there).

IT is a in weird spot in terms of large mega companies. I certainly wouldnt call Nokia a player in that by any stretch. Logablade, you might have better luck working with an IT partner like Accenture, Pactera or Infosys etc. Far more mobility around the globe and deep client bases. Unless you have Govt clearance to work for a Govt subcontractor, IT jobs that pay well here might be slim.

sfosyd, the SD campus 'used to be' one of the largest in the world. Not sure if you have been out here lately as they have moved a little over two years ago ( from that fortress on the hill east of the 15 in Scripps.)

[Bluefox]

Are you a US citizen? If not, you need to look at your immigration situation first. The good news is that you are in one of the better fields for employment-based immigration. The bad news it that there's a lot more competition in SD for those kinds of jobs, and you'd have to find an employer to sponsor you (which can and does happen in San Diego), unless you have some other way of immigrating. Your written English is good other than perhaps overgenerous use of ellipses , which makes me wonder if maybe you are already a US citizen? Either way, to be honest you'd probably have the best luck in the Bay Area, though I don't know if that's an option if you are just wanting to come for the weather. Some parts of the Bay Area have warmer/sunnier weather than others, and it's definitely warmer than Finland, but it's not the same as Southern California. But IT jobs are more plentiful there and I'd be willing to bet they pay more.

[Loganblade]

English is my native language. And I'm a Finnish citizen.

Hmm...........the Bay Area, eh? I'll look into that

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by Loganblade

English is my native language. And I'm a Finnish citizen.

Hmm...........the Bay Area, eh? I'll look into that

Yeah, it's the tech capital of the US. It can be pricey there compared to SD, especially in San Francisco which I think at this point is the most expensive city in the country. But like I said salaries are higher generally speaking and there are just more overall IT job opportunities. Maybe someone in the field can chime in with more info in that regard.

I will say that though the Bay Area isn't as warm as So Cal I think most consider it still really good weather by US standards and snowfall there is exceptionally rare. On the flipside, summers don't really get that warm in a lot of areas. Parts of San Francisco and other cities on or near the coast can get really foggy/cold even in the middle of summer which I personally couldn't deal with. But other places like San Jose are much warmer and sunnier (winter highs around 15 celsius, 300 sunny days a year). Definitely don't rule SD out because like I said it's doable, but if you are open to other places I'd definitely put the Bay Area on the list.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

Yeah, it's the tech capital of the US. It can be pricey there compared to SD, especially in San Francisco which I think at this point is the most expensive city in the country. But like I said salaries are higher generally speaking and there are just more overall IT job opportunities. Maybe someone in the field can chime in with more info in that regard.

I will say that though the Bay Area isn't as warm as So Cal I think most consider it still really good weather by US standards and snowfall there is exceptionally rare. On the flipside, summers don't really get that warm in a lot of areas. Parts of San Francisco and other cities on or near the coast can get really foggy/cold even in the middle of summer which I personally couldn't deal with. I much prefer warmer summers. Definitely don't rule SD out because like I said it's doable, but if you are open to other places I'd definitely put the Bay Area on the list.

I would also put Charlotte and Austin on that list of IT focused cities that you can probably get paid pretty well and the COL is MUCH MUCH lower than SF.