Relocating Without Work - Getting Noticed

Anyone relocate without a job lined up?

My wife and I aren't interested in living just anywhere. We want mountains, desert, little to no snow, average winter temps above 40 (No SD or ND). We don't want traffic congestion or smog (no TX or CA), so we're looking at Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Colorado Springs, Tucson, SLC, Las Vegas, Reno, Carson City, greater Phoenix area, places in Florida would be ok, but not ideal, and Chattanooga or Asheville would be ok as well.

We don't want to buy a home in our current city, despite it being close to family. We don't want kids, yet. We're almost debt free (just my student loans) with a healthy amount of savings (over 25k). We'd pay of my loans before we move.

We're slimming down our belongings, hopefully by this summer we will be able to pack all of our stuff into a small storage unit or a single room. We'll give away the rest to family members or friends.

We've got family out west in CA and her parents have always told us that they'd welcome us in their (huge mostly empty) home in Philly if we ever needed a safety net. Her parents will also become snow birds soon, with a house in Florida as well as Pittbsurgh, and they've said we could live with them in either location.

In the meantime, we're applying for jobs like mad, but really struggling to get noticed. She had an interview in Florida, but didn't get an offer. I attribute to this to our career fields being rather low budget. She works for mostly non-profits, and I work in natural gas utilities. Neither are likely to pay for flights, much less relocation. Neither of us have education or positions high enough to grab attention, but we don't want to spend money on more school. I'm open to getting more technical skills, but no more college. Despite being a quick learner and mechanically minded, labor oriented jobs see my degree and wonder why I'd be interested in "grunt work."

We believe we'd have far better chances being in a city with a solid job market, low unemployment, and a willingness to work anything to pay rent. I did this before when I moved to Erie, and went from changing tires and catering to working in county planning in 3 years.

Our current "last ditch" strategy is to focus on open positions that are NOT posted on job boards like Indeed or LinkedIn. We feel this will put us in a smaller pool of candidates, and give us better chances. Downside? These employers may be looking for local candidates only.

Has anyone done this? Move without a job, minimal experience, and job skills that aren't in demand?

Done it before and it worked out. I'd be scared as hell to do it now.

When I made the jump from Washington State to Texas interviews were still "person to person" (8 years ago?) so I had the opportunity to really turn on the charm (I've found a good handshake, eye contact, and a positive attitude will land you almost any job). Now it seems like most of the jobs I apply for are online and the interviews are almost always telecons. I apply for about 20 jobs per interview and the hiring process takes 6-months. With those odds, it'd take a lot to get me to move without a job.

It sounds like you've got a great savings safety net, and if spent wisely you could live "quite a while" off of it. I'm not sure how much you'd need to make to "get by", but if it's in the realm of grunt work pay then I say: DO IT! Do it while you can!

If manual labor jobs don't hire you because you have a degree, quit telling them you have a degree

Linkedin: I've been on there for about 3-months and found that most of my opportunities were through recruiting agencies and the salaries were about 60% of what I make now. Not all the offerings were anywhere close to where I'd want to live, but hey; it's free advertisement.

Let me start by saying I haven't done this. If I did:

1. I would be fully confident I would be able to get a job. I believe if I can get a job here I can get a job there. Maybe not the same job, but a job.
2. I'd have an exit plan (like you allude to). I.e. we are willing to spend x of our savings to keep us going for x months without work. Past that, move back.
3. Like you, I would significantly cut my stuff and my spending. You can live a long time on little money most places in america despite what middle-class people tell you.
4. People make the difference. I find I don't miss places, I miss people. Just know that going in.

First problem, in my experience doing long-distance job hunting (and I've heard similar from others) I've found that if the companies find out you're not local, you'll get circle-filed immediately. Unless you're some kind of rock star they don't want the potential hassle of someone who is relocating, even on their own dime. You have to fake being local, and I've heard of people using Google Talk phone numbers and similar to do it. This also carries the risk inherent to lying on your resumé. Not looking too good now is it?

Another approach is to just go where you're going and get a E36 M3ty minimum-wage job to help you survive while you furiously search for jobs locally. Obviously this requires you to be pretty committed to your destination and could be bad in fields that are very picky about your work history.

BTW if it makes you feel any better about the degree, it seems that the only thing worse than having one when job searching is not having one.

There is smog along the front range including Colorado Springs.

I'm near Asheville and lot it!

I have a friend who moved to a few different places and looked for work locally. It worked out for him. He ended up in Hendersonville, NC. Today we work together.

He rented week hotel rooms (dives) to save money while he looked for work. He stayed for only a few weeks until the found an area he liked.

There are numerous non-profit companies in this area.

rcutclif wrote: 1. I would be fully confident I would be able to get a job. I believe if I can get a job here I can get a job there. Maybe not the same job, but a job.

I feel the same way. We may take a pay cut, but we're willing to do most anything to make ends meet. Only mouths to feed are our own. I'd probably aim for catering as there is a lot of free meals in that industry.

rcutclif wrote: 2. I'd have an exit plan (like you allude to). I.e. we are willing to spend x of our savings to keep us going for x months without work. Past that, move back.

Yea I suppose we can always run home to parents if needed.

rcutclif wrote: 3. Like you, I would significantly cut my stuff and my spending. You can live a long time on little money most places in america despite what middle-class people tell you.

We would try to avoid area with rent higher than $650 a month for a one bedroom apartment. In 2010 we lived on around $23,000 joint income (she was a volunteer).

rcutclif wrote: 4. People make the difference. I find I don't miss places, I miss people. Just know that going in.

I don't doubt we'll miss people, and but we can always come back satisfied with our decision, if that's the case. Her brother won't leave Pittsburgh, which means her parents will own a house there, which mean we'll always be coming back to PA at least one a year. My parents and what's left of my family is here as well.

I haven't done it exactly as you describe, but kind-of-sort-of similar. We were in Philly, ready to make a change. My wife is a speech therapist...she can get a job anywhere, anytime. I work in auto insurance. I wanted to be somewhere that had a pocket of insurance companies. After considering lots of places, we settled on Atlanta. There are a lot of insurance companies here, but it's a very competitive market. I sent resume after resume, heard nothing but crickets. I was starting to wonder if I was on some kind of black list. Just hard to get noticed. I wound up getting in touch with a local recruiter, who set me up with job with a small company. It was supposed to be a temp job, but I worked my way into getting it to be permanent. I am still with that company 8 months later and I work from home. Working from home is awesome. I'm still keeping my eyes open for a position more suited to my personal desires, but this is working out fine.

Maybe look for a corporate recruiter who may be able to help you?

How do you search for recruiters? I've found some, but they tend to be regional and unfortunately those were in places I didn't want to move. I've never tried searching out a recruiter in a specific area.

Maybe I could search Linkedin for people with my skills in my field in a given area, and see who they work for and if those employers are temp agencies?

I honestly don't know how you'd search for recruiters. I think the recruiters find you via keyword search or something (ie: aviation). Once I was on, I connected with my work buddies, former work buddies, and so on. It could have been through them that the recruiters found me.

Reno/Carson City/Tahoe doesn't have that great a job market, however a complaint I hear very frequently is that new hires simply don't show up or show up only briefly. So if you don't overly embellish your resume and show up for work on time, you've got a good chance to land a decent job.

I found two. One through a posting they had on CareerBuilder.com. Another through some mutual contacts in the industry. I know a lot of them are on LinkedIn, at least in my line of work. I'm sure Google could be your friend here.

Financially, not having a job before relocating is suicide. As a young adult, these are the years that really count for getting your financial house in order before the age of 30 and/or kids. Due to the effects of compound interest/investment over time/inflation.

Honestly, I am happy and excited for people chasing their dreams. But there is the theoretical, and then the reality. If you are cool with the risk you may be living out of a cardboard box, then you can theoretically do whatever you like, and by all means, go for it. Bankruptcy is a serious issue though, what happens if neither one of you can get jobs and you run out of money? That risk is too much for myself, because it can easily happen. YMMV.

Edit- Of course, my dreams involve things like raising two kids and putting them through post secondary, traveling all over the world, racing in the Baja 1000 and Dakar, etc etc etc. Those things require serious financial backing and planning. I also want to live like a rockstar when I retire @ 55 (or earlier). Your future dreams might be different than mine.

+1 for finding a decent recruiter. Get on Linkedin and get your network up and running. PM me and I can be your first contact on there.

What sort of work do you do around natural gas? O&G is tough at this second but always has a strong support network depending on what part of the country you end up.

84FSP wrote: +1 for finding a decent recruiter. Get on Linkedin and get your network up and running. PM me and I can be your first contact on there.

I have 81 people in my network but again, nobody outside of Pennsylvania. I need more contacts in the state I wish to move.

84FSP wrote: What sort of work do you do around natural gas? O&G is tough at this second but always has a strong support network depending on what part of the country you end up.

Natural Gas Utilites. Mapping and Data Analyst.

I have moved without a job. Lived that way for a long, long time.

You have a slightlly different problem- you WANT a job. I didn't.

You have a second problem- you lack commitment? Contentment? Roots? I am not sure what to call it.

But let me be straight- you have more "What job?" threads on this site than everyone else combined. Don't take that the wrong way- I admire it about you. But you are unsettled.

You have that same unsettled character regarding WHERE you want to live. Again, no insult. I like that you know the things you love, and are willing to prioritize them.

BUT, it comes across. And it will come across to an employer. They are not going to make an investment in you if they feel like you are going to skip town.

So, I have a suggestion (which would not work for most people here)... Why not consider NOT HAVING A JOB.

You could live out of a small RV and travel, volunteering for various organizations, until you found that thing you are seeking- that special place, wonderful job, whatever.

I did it.

There are some volunteer organizations that have things like housing, and RV spots. Habitat for Humanity does, all over the country. They also have a need for some skilled labor (like CAD, or mapping) at some affiliates, which may mean you could volunteer your way into a paid position. I spent 10 years volunteering with them.

You are an enigma. On the one hand, you sound like a "free spirit", someone who doesn't want to be tied by things or convention. But unlike most "free spirits", you seem to have this need for a job.

I think you should seriously consider it.

Heck, I've moved continents without having a job at either end and not much in the way of contacts at the receiving end.

SVreX wrote: You have a second problem- you lack commitment? Contentment? Roots? I am not sure what to call it. But let me be straight- you have more "What job?" threads on this site than everyone else combined. Don't take that the wrong way- I admire it about you. But you are unsettled. You have that same unsettled character regarding WHERE you want to live. Again, no insult. I like that you know the things you love, and are willing to prioritize them.

I'd say I have pretty good idea of where I want to live. Someplace not Pennsylvania. I've lived here my entire life. I want to try something new. Much like how I've come to a better conclusion of what kind of job will make me happy, I'm hoping that living various places will do something similar. It'll better help appreciate why I live someplace.

Remember, I'm not the only one wanting this, my wife does as well, and she's not unsettled. She's known exactly what she wanted to do since high school. So much so that its a detriment to her work ethic. I think she could make big bucks in business, but she insists on working in non-profits.

I don't think its been since both of us had normal 8-5 jobs that we realized how much we hate cold weather. It's bad enough not seeing any daylight, but not being able to expose any skin for 5 months of the year is brutal on our outdoor souls.

SVreX wrote: So, I have a suggestion (which would not work for most people here)... Why not consider NOT HAVING A JOB. You are an enigma. On the one hand, you sound like a "free spirit", someone who doesn't want to be tied by things or convention. But unlike most "free spirits", you seem to have this need for a job. I think you should seriously consider it.

I'm ok with that as long as I can do it at minimal expense, and when its time to start making an income I can do quickly. My wife volunteered with AmeriCorp for 2 years and it lead to a decent pay-rate with good experience. We have friends who have done similar things, but they haven't been so lucky. They've really struggled to get jobs that pay more than $14/hr because it was as though most of the volunteer work didn't translate to business, it just translated to working hard for no money.

My wife would like to have kids before she's 35, she'd like to own a home, she'd like to settle down, but she's like me, she has no idea WHERE to settle down that will make her happy.

I've considered the idea of us both going into AmeriCorp again just as a way of both of us working someplace new. AmeriCorp provides great networking opportunities for transplants.

I worked with a lot of AmeriCorps Volunteers through HfH.

"Not Pennsylvania", and "...she has no idea WHERE to settle down" are NOT settled places.

And, that kind of perspective on place scares the crap out of potential employers.

On living out of an RV:

I'm worried the cost of a comfortable RV, coupled with the expense of fuel would hit our savings hard.

SVreX wrote: "Not Pennsylvania", and "...she has no idea WHERE to settle down" are NOT settled places. And, that kind of perspective on place scares the crap out of potential employers.

While I'd agree, we're not 3/6/12 month workers. We're more 2-5 year types. Which today isn't uncommon.

In the last 6 years she's worked two jobs. Her industry is known for high burn out and transience. Mine is not.

What's comfortable? My wife and I shared a twin bed when we were first married for 2 years.

Don't forget the resale. A $10,000 clean used RV can be resold after 2 years for about $9000. That's only a $1000 hit to your savings.

PHeller wrote: Which today isn't uncommon.

Right.

And it's part of why young people are underpaid. Companies have to offset the training expense against the long term contribution. There are very few jobs that actually make the company money before 6 months, and often closer to 2 years. When people switch jobs frequently, they are not capable of increasing the bottom line to the companies enough to justify the expense. It shows itself in the pay scales.

Do you want to be common?

Like I said, you are an enigma.

SVreX wrote: What's comfortable? My wife and I shared a twin bed when we were first married for 2 years. Don't forget the resale. A $10,000 clean used RV can be resold after 2 years for about $9000. That's only a $1000 hit to your savings.

So what, buy an RV, plant it to various cities of interest, apply for jobs, volunteer, if nothing happens, move on?

I could call myself a gypsy.

In reply to PHeller:

I was a gypsy for a long time. Kind of wish I still was. It was a good life.

In fact, Habitat for Humanity used to call their full-time RVer's "Gypsies".

Now they call them "Care-a-Vanners".