Quantcast

Relocating without a job offer. Good or bad idea?

Polandspring88

Superman
Mar 31, 2004
3,066
7
Broomfield, CO
So the lease on our current place runs out at the end of August and we (myself and GF) are currently contemplating our next move. We have been talking about relocating to Colorado for a few years now and are wondering if this would be a good opportunity to do so. I have been applying to jobs for a month or so now (Mechanical Engineer) and have received little interest thus far.

Has anyone ever just said screw it, packed up shop and moved hoping for the best? How did that work out? While I do have enough savings to support myself for 8 months or so, I'd hate to tap into that if I didn't have to.

Thoughts? I've been toying with this idea for a while now and given my propensity for worrying, it's kind of hard to just swallow and it and take off.
 

skyst3alth

Monkey
Apr 13, 2004
866
0
Denver, CO
Do it, pvssy. Things fall apart and you can sleep on my couch.

I got my current job before moving out here, but only by a couple weeks before I told myself I was just gonna wing it and see what happened.
 

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,496
9,528
might i suggest the highline village apartments in aurora as a place to live.

on a quiet night you can hear gunfire at the mall.
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
40,146
16,543
Riding the baggage carousel.
Made my move to Portland from Cali years ago without a job. Found work pretty quick so i guess it worked out okay. Still with the same company, just in a different town.

Yup. Worked out great. Moved out here in '93 without a job. Haven't worked a day since.

Being unemployed in CO is actually the best way to roll...
:monkey:
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,197
19,162
Canaderp
might i suggest the highline village apartments in aurora as a place to live.

on a quiet night you can hear gunfire at the mall.
And if you live there, you can shop at the King Soopers on 6th and Peoria and always have an armed escort to help you through the checkout :D
 

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,496
9,528
And if you live there, you can shop at the King Soopers on 6th and Peoria and always have an armed escort to help you through the checkout :D
just pretend you're the president.

i miss 24hr shopping.
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
Living where you want = good idea
Letting a job determine where you live = bad idea
 

mfarch

Chimp
Feb 9, 2011
9
0
i made the move from connecticut to texas last july without having a job lined up. i started sending out resumes about 2 months before i moved down and didn't hear anything.

all my family is in texas and they kept telling me the economy never saw a recession down here, and there are plenty of jobs. my second week here i had 3 interviews and 3 job offers. i started work my third week and work has only picked up since. i'm an architect by the way.

once i changed my address on my resume to texas the phone started ringing. sometimes employers are wary of hiring out of state employees.
 

mudgirl

Molester of monkeys
Jun 8, 2007
540
6
Tied up in the basement
once i changed my address on my resume to texas the phone started ringing. sometimes employers are wary of hiring out of state employees.
I've heard this as well. I am moving to central MA at the end of June, whether I have a job lined up or not. I've been sending out resumes for the past 3 weeks or so, and I do have an interview lined up for Monday. But even if that doesn't work out for one reason or another, I'm still moving. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting my phone to start ringing until I had a MA address on my resume. I do have some savings and I'm moving in with my boyfriend, so I'm not starting *completely* from scratch, but it is a bit nerve-wracking, for sure.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,193
media blackout
Living where you want = good idea
Letting a job determine where you live = bad idea
yes and yes/no.

fwiw you'll probably get more interviews if you're already in the area (companies know you won't require relocation) BUT... if they don't pay your relo, it is tax deductible
 

?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
I moved to Germany without a job or knowing the language. I've now been here 15 months and working for 13 of them. So far so good.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,945
13,138
Portland, OR
I moved to Portland sans job, but I was in school. It only took a week or so to find something here, but I was young and had zero marketable skills then.
 

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
Great question. I'm hoping between now and the end of August I won't be able to say that I can't find anything. It's not like I don't have a good skill set or experience.
I can not find a good entry level BSME in my area. Everyone of them I talk to already has a job before their final semester of school has even started.
i once i changed my address on my resume to texas the phone started ringing. sometimes employers are wary of hiring out of state employees.
This is important, I recommend to any candidate that I speak to that is doing this to post a physical address on their resume near the job they are applying to. Use an aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, friends, etc. address.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,945
13,138
Portland, OR
This is important, I recommend to any candidate that I speak to that is doing this to post a physical address on their resume near the job they are applying to. Use an aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, friends, etc. address.
For a brief (and I do mean brief) time, I thought about moving back to Cali and used my folks address as mine to get some hits.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
Where you thinking of going Mike?
I think he's heading to Montana.

Boy's gonna have quite a shock when he realizes the weather there is *significantly* different than SoCal. :rofl:
Yes going to montana, i love the weather up there, was just up there month ago, fun little foot and a half snow storm while i was there, 18 degrees for the day. Simply amazing place. The weather in montana is far more appealing than socal
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,032
5,925
borcester rhymes
yeah you absolutely need an appropriate address to apply.

I went through this after graduating. Wanted desperately to move to denver or seattle. couldn't get a job without a job. Didn't have money to move myself. If you can afford it, I would definitely just move, and see if you can get a **** job in the meantime.