Leaving Boston with no job lined up. Would you do it? (San Diego: sales, vehicle registration)

[jbear182]

You are young, single, a recent collge grad. with limited ties. Why not go for it. What's the worst that can happen? So you move back to the east coast - so what. You don't have kids to worry about. Speaking from experience it could be a truly exciting and wonderful experience.

[noboston]

There are tons of people from Boston who move out to San Diego. Every single one that I've met does nothing but complain about San Diego. If you going to come out here, and then ***** about how wonderful Boston is, do us all a favor and stay there.

[Andromeda76]

I'm like you Opster. I have no kids (unless you count a cat) I currently live in Colorado but I'm originally from Chicago. Although, I came to Colorado on the coat tails of someone else. I took a chance. I'm willing to take that same chance to move to San Diego. As long as you have family to live with if you have to move "back home". Take the chance, use wisdom and say a prayer (well say a prayer first).

I will live in San Diego next year. I'm taking everyone's advice and I'm pounding the pavement looking for a job now while I get my financial house in order here in Colorado. My goal is to be living in San Diego by the end of summer 2010. My thinking is just because its tough for everyone else doesn't mean its going to be tough for YOU. I found a job within 2 months of living in Colorado. I quit that job; took some time off and turned around and found another job in one month of looking. Everything will pan out for you; just start putting feelers out there now.

[DubHaze]

Everyone is going to tell you it is risky. and it is. BUT you will NOT get a job before you move here, with the economy most employers won't even look at you until you have a San Diego zip code. We tried for 6-9 months to find jobs before we moved out here... found jobs within the first month. It all depends on how hireable you are. If you want to move out here, then just do it. BUT CAREFULLY preserve your money and don't rent something completely unaffordable. Also, think about taking a job ANYWHERE you can get one and then look into something in your feild.

I am a newborn baby photographer for a couple hospitals in the area (I actually had my job before moving, because my company is nationwide) but it is only part-time. I got a Nanny position that pays almost $17 per hour almost right away, with a friend's help of course.

My husband had a little harder of a time, he got two part time jobs in retail but now he is working as a self contractor with another friend making decent money. Also we both got jobs doing Promotions for Absolut Vodka which is nice because it is $25 an hour... we have only done about 2 weeks worth of promo's but it brought in a lot of extra income... and nice for xmas

Oooh... and when we moved here there was an audition for a gameshow at seaworld. We got on the show and won 1200 the first month we were here.

So for everyone who says NO... I think they are a bit biased because of there own situations. Life is what you make it. Is it ideal for us right now? No, but we moved here to go to school and so far we have no problem making money. Just don't turn your nose up and wait it out for something in your career, it might take awhile longer before you can find something that fits you. Just roll up your sleeves and get to work

[Balkans2US]

To me it sounds like you are an educated, ambitious person - who is simply ready for a change. Ask your self the question= What do I have to lose? and honestly from what you have made it sound like, the only thing you could "lose" is your 13k that you have saved. So, why not set out on the journey and get a new experience under your belt? You already have a college degree under your belt, you have a little bit of money saved up... go for it man! Even if you have to take a job at a local place, let's say... Gold's Gym.. or anywhere, see it as a temporary job that you are using for Networking until you get your feet settled and learn about companies in which you want to apply to in the area. Good luck - If I was you... I would do it. Although people living there know the current conditions of California, don't we all? Simply do what is best for you! Who is to say you are not going to find a great paying job after-all? You are your own worst critic... put everyone's opinion behind you and go for it.

[GoodbyeBoston]

Wow. I have not been on here since I originally posted, and I am amazed by the change of attitude. It sounds like I'm not the only one who thinks that as long as I "don't turn my nose up... roll up [my] sleeves and get to work" then I will at the very least survive in the short-term without burning too much of my savings.
I think that it will be a great experience for me. I have been saving up for a year to do this and I have come to a point where I am no longer being pushed by my current job. I have many skills that are very specific to the industry that I work in (affordable housing > homebuying and financial education) and I also have diverse yet relevant skills that when coupled with my economics degree from Boston University allow me to transcend into financial-oriented positions in different industries.
And I'm young, so if I have to wash out the inside of a spent brewing tank or go around selling Cutco knives door-to-door for a few months, I don't think that it will be detremental to my resume.

I thank you posters of late. Your words of optimism (hopefully of realism) have given me a much more postive view of my decision. I aim to move by February 1st, when I hope to have my tax returns, which along with my continued pay, will give me around $17k in savings (knock on wood that some unexpected expense doesn't pop up).
Honestly, my biggest concern about the move is where to ship my motorcycle. Do I ship it to a dealer and pay ridiculous storage fees or ship it to my new roommates, whom I have not even met yet? "Hello new roommate! It's nice to finally meet you. Here's your room, you'll be sharing the upstairs bathroom with me and Joe gets the first floor bathroom - don't worry, he has IBS, so it's better this way. Oh yeah, and by the way, someone knocked over your Ducati and when I tried to pick it up it fell onto the other side. Sorry." That would be a great start.
I'm kidding, that piece is the least serious of my worries, but it's still something to figure out.

Thanks for the good vibes people. Hopefully, I will be able to reply to someone's post like this when I'm settled and say, "Hey, you can do it. I left my secure 42k/year job in Boston so that I could live with my girlfriend of 4 years whose parents did not even know about our relationship at the time. I left security to dive into the uncertain. Sure I drained my savings and had to sell my bike and lost one of my front teeth along the way, but you sure get to meet a lot of interesting people being a pedicab! Oh yeah, my girlfriend and I didn't even work out. But man does San Diego's weather beat Boston's anyday of the week. Just go for it man!"
Hopefully it won't be that bad...

[treevernal]

Hey GoodbyeBoston!

I am in a very similar situation to you. I am 26, from Philly, PA and am planning on moving to San Diego April 2010 without a job lined up.

I work in biotech and am hoping to eventually get my foot in the door with one of the biotech companies north of the city (but I'm happy working retail for many months at first; I have a lot saved up too).

It's funny, I actually sat down with the CEO of one of my company's sponsors (he's from San Diego and knows the industry out there) and he recommended that I go without a job! This was after hearing so many people tell me I was crazy to be thinking about it, so I was torn for a while.

I've been trying to talk to as many people in the area as I can about the market and they all keep telling me to just go for it. I keep running everything in my head over and over again but I feel this is the best choice for me too (but unlike you, I don't actually know anyone in San Diego)

I'm planning to fly out mid February to secure an apartment for April 1st. I'm then gonna give my notice to work, be done there March 12th, then drive out March 15th while taking an 18-day road-trip cross-country to arrive in San Diego around April 1st. I've always wanted to do a road trip cross-country and I figure, there's no better opportunity than this!

My "back-up" plan is to leave after a year if I cannot live on what I make out there alone. This way, I won't have blown through all of my savings and I can still say I went for it.

Best of luck man. Please keep me up to date on your planning and definitely let me know how the job search goes once you arrive.

Later,
Dan

[thepinksquid]

My husband and I moved from Florida to San Diego last May. We have our own business from home, so we are essentially able to work from anywhere. We hated, hated, hated Florida (for a plethora of reasons I won't get into) and figured, oh, why the hell not! I was also accepted to grad school here...but, errm, I never ended up going.

Anyhow, I can tell you that it's the BEST thing we've done for ourselves. Now, we were rather fortunate as we work for ourselves and don't have to find jobs, but still...it was a risk. Thankfully, our business is going pretty well and we are getting by.

NOW, I will say that we both were very familiar with San Diego before we moved, and had a place lined up to live before we actually moved across the country. And, might I add, it did cost around $8,000 in to move/get started/get settled.

Will we stay here long-term? I hope so, but I'm not sure. It depends on when/if we decide to purchase a home, and also there's several other cities we've yet to explore as extensively as I would like. Honestly...Denver, Seattle and perhaps even Austin, TX might be contenders for living long-term as they all have a cheaper COL.

Honestly, if you want to--do it. Just prepare yourself that you may have to go through your reserves to get settled here (or even go into debt). But if you're OK with that, don't miss out on doing somewhat you want and possibly regret not taking the chance.

[SDgyrl]

Thanks for the good vibes people. Hopefully, I will be able to reply to someone's post like this when I'm settled and say, "Hey, you can do it. I left my secure 42k/year job in Boston so that I could live with my girlfriend of 4 years whose parents did not even know about our relationship at the time. I left security to dive into the uncertain. Sure I drained my savings and had to sell my bike and lost one of my front teeth along the way, but you sure get to meet a lot of interesting people being a pedicab! Oh yeah, my girlfriend and I didn't even work out. But man does San Diego's weather beat Boston's anyday of the week. Just go for it man!"
Hopefully it won't be that bad...

Love it! What a great attitude. You are wonderfully spirited and clearly intelligent and talented. Count me among the ones who are saying you should go for it! I would if I were in your shoes. Regarding your work experience, have you looked at the City of San Diego job listings site? Happened to notice a listing for a Community Development Specialist (at various levels) and one of the areas mentioned is affordable housing:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/pjaol/curr...egory_cd=Admin

[habs girl]

Ok...so I don't live in San Diego, so clearly I don't know first hand about the struggles of life down there. I want to quote someone who wrote in this forum who moved to San Diego and loves it. He said, "I'm not afraid to fail. Rather, I'm afraid never to have tried. Fifty years from now, I don't want to be wondering what would have happened if I'd moved to San Diego."

This is the motto I now live by. At least you will have taken a risk and if you fail, then sure, you can go home or elsewhere with your tail between your legs. But you will be happy knowing you gave it your all and it just wasn't the right time. Good luck. Maybe I'll see you there in a few years, having suffered through many more ridiculous Canadian winters!