Has anyone ever relocated?

[Rich]

I moved from the UK to Oregon about 4 years ago and have never looked back.
Salary doubled, house size tripled, car size doubled and waist band, well, increased!!

Have you got a gun yet though?

 

[shades]

My wife and I have moved 27 times in 35 years - not running away, either!

To name a few: Minnesota (several places), Pensacola FL, Denver, San Diego, USS Oriskany ( ), Monterey CA, Virginia Beach, VA, Quad Cities (IL), St. Louis, Nebraska, Missouri (several places)....

Not necessarily in that order.

We seemed to have survived: two children, four grandchildren... and still a few years from true retirement.
________
Star Craft Replays

 

[RayH]

Have you got a gun yet though?

Yes, I forgot to mention that.
My wife, a 'damn yank', has two. A 44 and a 357.
I haven't fired them in ages as we don't have any bullets.

 

[MrsGorilla]

Yes, I forgot to mention that.
My wife, a 'damn yank', has two. A 44 and a 357.
I haven't fired them in ages as we don't have any bullets.

Ah. So you've been truly 'Americanized' then? All you need to do now is go deer hunting and you'll fit right in.

 

[RayH]

Couldn't do that, too much of a wimp.
Would rather pet them.

 

[shades]

Ok, well now it is getting more difficult. I looked up the address of the business on Google, and the location of where I would be working is like right on the bay. It isn't exactly in SF, either - it is across the bay, in an area they call East Bay, which is more reasonable in price for everything. I would be looking out my office window at the water. How wonderful would that be?

Then I looked up real estate, and found a few houses I could rent for about 1.5 times what I pay now, but they are very lovely, and not far from work.

Just as a hint, you might consider that 1.5 factor low. Granted, East Bay is cheaper than SF itself, but that isn't much to compare.

You also might want to check utilities costs.
________
Silver Surfer Vaporizer

 

[fuzzygeek]

Would rather pet them

A wild deer would gore you or stand on its back legs where it would proceed to kick and slice you if you attempted that.

Too many people think of a wild animal as a cute pet, but the people at a college in Maine found out differently a few years ago. A female moose would come out of the woods and eat the grass on the campus. It was there so often, no one paid much attention to it. One day a man was walking toward a building when he passed between the cow and her calf. That is a no no and the moose chased the man who fortunately made it into the building.

In wyoming elk would wonder into a park. People thought they were cute and domesticated until a bull didn't like someone getting two close and attacked the person who kept running around a picnic table to avoid the elk.

A hunter sprayed elk urine scent on himself and got near a male deer (a buck). He thought it would be cute to have the results taped. The deer approached him, got on its back legs and proceded to attack him unmercifully. He was lucky to live. The deer and the elk don't commune too good together.

 

[fuzzygeek]

Sorry got off subject (I Riched it, sorry Rich...I couldn't resist it).

Relocation: North Carolina to southern New Mexico. Southern New Mexico to Pan Handle region of Florida...beautiful beaches hot and humid. Florida to southern New Mexico. Southern New Mexico to Central New Mexico. Central New Mexico to Montgomery Alabama. Montgomery to Naples Italy. Naples to central New Mexico. Central New Mexico to Huntsville Alabama. Huntsville back to central New Mexico where I settled down for the time being. I prefer the moderate climate here. If it gets hot, the humidly is low.

 

[RayH]

Agreed. They ARE wild animals after all.
I wouldn't go out of my way to pat them on the head.
But nor would I trek miles into the wilderness and shoot one either.
If I need meat I'll go to Safeway.

 

[fuzzygeek]

I wasn't coming down on you, it was just a general thought. The other day it was in the news that a lady scaled two walls to get inside an elephant pen. The elephant hit her with its trunk. She crawled back out hurt. Cartoons confuse people. Remember the Bear Man: a film was recently made about him. He earnestly believed that he could keep getting close to wild bears and they would just accept him. But the bear is still wild and can react as an animal will. In the end he and his girlfriend were food. Their screams were heard on the tape, but that wasn't released. Your answer was defensive, but my comments were intended for a broader audience. In Georgia, at Moody AFB about 10 years ago, the base commander was out driving by a lake and saw a 2 year old kid near the childrens play area tossing bread to an 8 foot alligator while his parents were eating at a nearby picnic table unaware of what their child was doing and unaware of the alligator. The base commander jerked his car off the road, drove over the grasslands and a ditch, jumped out the vehicle and grabbed the kid. The alligator was only 6 feet from the kid. The picnic area was afterward fenced off from the lake and the gator was relocated to another area. As a kid (3 or 4)I walked around my house. I saw a snake and leaned over to pick him up. He was sunning himself, probably had just eaten. As my hand reached down, I decided to go in the house and tell my father. I told him a big worm was outside. He was thinking about a 6 inch worm, it was a 4 foot copperhead snake. There are people who really don't realize what a wild animal is like. I saw a glimpse of something crossing a dirt road in front of me in the desert as I was returning from working on a mountain. I stopped the truck, got out and walked toward the direction I saw the animal take. Suddenly I saw it, and it turned its head toward me and hissed. It was the only badger I have ever seen in the wild and he was not happy with me. I beat a hasty retreat.

Have fun in the woods, just make noise and enjoy the outdoors.

 

[Rich]

Bloody hell, what a dangerous country, as if having Bush in the White House wasn't bad enough. Wouldn't you be better off emigrating altogether?

 

[lmnop7854]

My wife and I have moved 27 times in 35 years - not running away, either!

To name a few: Minnesota (several places), Pensacola FL, Denver, San Diego, USS Oriskany ( ), Monterey CA, Virginia Beach, VA, Quad Cities (IL), St. Louis, Nebraska, Missouri (several places)....

Not necessarily in that order.

We seemed to have survived: two children, four grandchildren... and still a few years from true retirement.

Were there situations where you questioned whether you were doing the right thing? Or were they forced situations? And did you worry about surviving? How was San DIego and Monterey?

Lisa

 

[lmnop7854]

Relocation: North Carolina to southern New Mexico. Southern New Mexico to Pan Handle region of Florida...beautiful beaches hot and humid. Florida to southern New Mexico. Southern New Mexico to Central New Mexico. Central New Mexico to Montgomery Alabama. Montgomery to Naples Italy. Naples to central New Mexico. Central New Mexico to Huntsville Alabama. Huntsville back to central New Mexico where I settled down for the time being. I prefer the moderate climate here. If it gets hot, the humidly is low.

And so did you have any apprehension about any of those moves? concerning finances?

Lisa

 

[lmnop7854]

Just as a hint, you might consider that 1.5 factor low. Granted, East Bay is cheaper than SF itself, but that isn't much to compare.

You also might want to check utilities costs.

Yeah, I have been finding really nice places for much more than that. It's just hard to know the good neighborhoods versus the bad ones.

I'm trying to get in touch with someone who works and lives out there so I can get an idea of what the costs will really be, and how hard it will be to find something.

Lisa

 

[fuzzygeek]

And so did you have any apprehension about any of those moves? concerning finances?

Lisa

Most of them were covered except the last one. That cost me a about 10000 and I was taking a 10000 cut in pay. Huntsville at that time had 5000 unemployed high tech types. Six churches had set up work groups for the number of unemployed. I left because I couldn't even get an interview in the 4 months I was unemployed. I had worked on a proposal, we advertised for 15 engineers/programmer types, we got 845 resumes and the bid wouldn't even take place for 5 months.

I moved back to New Mexico into a total sellers market where houses were getting bought the same day they went on the market with people bidding above the asking price. Rentals were very scarce and no apartments with more that two bedrooms were available in a town of 500,000. We lived with our close friends for two months and actually remained friends. My credit card debt zoomed during this whole time. However I am still glad we made the move.

 

[lmnop7854]

My cousin and his wife live in Albuquerque (that is a hard one to spell) with their new twins. I imagine it is probably very beautiful there.

The bonus in my situation is that at least I am only moving if I get the job, so I will have one when I go. My BF will not be as fortunate, but he is a musician, and CA is the mecca for those types - I have no doubt he will pick something up that will bring in some cash. And he can take care of the baby!!

Lisa

 

[pono1]

Best advice I can offer: Try very hard to find the time and money to go visit the place for three or four days. While there, find a list of rentals (apts, condos, houses) and a good map and spend at least half your time driving to as many different parts of the area as possible, examining the various rentals and neighborhoods and chatting with agents...

Be sure to also take some time to do fun things -- whatever fun for you is (hiking, dancing, museums, drugs, Scrabble, etc.) so that you don't feel frazzled and, as a result, sour on the place.

If you ultimately decide you want to move, housing-wise look for a short-term lease at first (don't buy anything), giving yourself a chance to really get to know the area. Within six months to a year you will have a much better feel for things. You can then decide whether you want to flee or stay and if it's stay the areas you'd like live.

Regards,
Tim

 

[lmnop7854]

Pono:

That is exactly my plan. The next step in the interview process will have them flying me out there to see the place, and I plan to stay an extra day - that is all I will have, since I have a baby at home - and really look around. I have also asked the HR lady to set me up with someone who can give me some advice about costs of living out there - utilities, day care, etc - so I have some sort of guideline to go by.

Incidentally, I talked to my mom and dad last night about this, and they were very supportive - especially my dad. I still feel guilty for possibly taking their granddaughter away, but we will take it one step at a time.

Lisa

 

[pono1]

Sounds like a relatively safe leap since you have work lined up... I know it's scary but I'm sure you'll be able to deal with the cost of living and cloudless days.

Regards,
Tim

 

[statsman]

My original career was in radio broadcasting. I grew up and went to school in Toronto. My first job in broadcasting was in Lloyminster Saskatchewan (it really does exist, its not a speck of dirt on the map). Over the next five years I lived in Calgary (great town), Victoria BC (nice town, fantastic weather), Halifax Nova Scotia (lousy weather, wonderful people) and finally I lived for 10 years in Ottawa Ontario before giving up on broadcasting and getting a degree.
Every city has somthing going for it both pro and con.
By the way, a friend of mine who lives near San Francisco says that no one can afford to buy a house there. You have to wait for your parents to pass on and leave theirs to you.