Do any of you have experience leaving everything and starting in a new state?

When applying for jobs from out of state, what's the best way to do it? Should I just save a bunch and make the move before I have a job, or start pumping resumes out in the city first? How did you find a place to live? I'm in the middle of a career, but I imagine I could find work in any major city as a system administrator.

Basically, I'm wondering how you did it. What were your steps?

12/19/2010 11:44:39 PM

Have the new job pay relocation expenses. Problem solved

12/20/2010 12:04:23 AM

how much related work experience do you have? if a company wants you they'll pay moving expenses

but if you're not quite there yet, if you know anyone in the city you're looking in, ask if you can use their address on your resume. some companies take local applicants more seriously

12/20/2010 12:09:31 AM

Was offered a job with paid relo, researched a place to live with the help of family, and moved. Snagged the job at an NCSU career fair, but it was with the federal government and they will accept you if you have a pulse and half decent grades. Now I live back in Cary. Interviewed for a job back here and was made an offer with some money for relocation. Accepted and moved back with the help of family.

I would never move without having a job. I would consider networking on linkedin with relevant contacts in the city I was interested in and inquire with them about any openings where they work.

I would wait until the economy doesn't blow ass before you save up a bunch and then move to a new city. You want to make sure there are dozens of job listings for dozens of candidates, not one job listing for hundreds of candidates.

12/20/2010 12:09:35 AM

Quote :

"I would never move without having a job."

12/22/2010 11:31:32 AM

I saved up and moved to NYC with no job offers. Got a job 6 months later.

12/22/2010 11:47:18 AM

directly.

12/22/2010 12:00:13 PM

I moved to DC a year and a half ago for a new job. I was applying to a few different places, and I wasn't necessarily committed to moving out of Raleigh.

I had a job offer before I moved with a signing bonus that took care of a lot of the moving costs. The only potential downside to waiting for a job offer is you might not have a lot of time to find a place a move.

I had three weeks from my job offer to my start date to find a place in DC and move there. Now, is that a more palatable risk for a lot of people compared to moving to a new city without a job? Maybe so. I'd prefer it the way I did it, but hey, different strokes.

It was definitely stressful, but my situation was a little different. I'd actually never been to DC. My job interview was my first visit here. I used Craigslist to find a place to live with some roommates to save some money and give myself more time to find an apartment on my own. I ended up liking that situation so much I lived there for a year before I got my own place.

Coming here to visit all the prospective houses/apartments was the second time I was in DC, and when I moved here was the third visit.

Cliff's Notes version:
1. Job offer before I moved
2. Signing bonus for some moving expenses
3. Only three weeks to find a place to live, move, get settled and start work
4. Used Craigslist to find a suitable temporary living situation for a few months to get here and buy some more time to find an apartment.

12/22/2010 12:05:27 PM

I meant to say 6 weeks. Whoops!

12/22/2010 12:44:07 PM

start applying (make sure you contact recruiters/headhunters), save aggressively at the same time. if nothing clicks, but you're still itching to move, go ahead and move on the back of said savings.

i will be on secondment from work in one or more large Asian cities in 2011. im excited about it.

12/22/2010 1:28:21 PM