Greetings all on these amazing forums! I am at a crossroads in my life and have been seeking out advice from many sources. I have researched the subject matter myself, asked friends, and Family members for advice. Now, I have decide to throw up the situation on this forum to see if others can weigh in that may have been through something similar or has known someone who’s been down this road.
I live in Louisiana and work within a fairly large IT Department that mainly focuses on providing IT Solutions to Healthcare. I have been at this one organization going on 5 years and have had different job positions/departments during this time. I would still think I’m close to the bottom of the totem pole within this organization but I’ve gained some solid skills while working for this company (Nunchaku skills, Bow Hunting Skills, Computer hacking skills…). For reals though, I’ve worked in their Call Center, Provisioning Access Team, Local Computer Support for remote clinic sites, Physician Support (Call Center), and now I’m been in a Quality Assurance position for the past 6 months. I’m at the point where other places I can get within the company…just don’t interest me enough to go in that direction (would need to specialize like Server admin, Network Admin, Programming, etc).
My closest friend moved with her family to Washington State after she spent many months not able to find a decent job in Louisiana. She has since got employed in Seattle, WA and has her own place. I’ve gone up to visit it twice and fell in love with everything that is Seattle, WA. Every place has its own characters but having lived all my life in Louisiana…Washington State is just breath taking. Since my visits, coming back home to Louisiana…is just miserable lol. I now compare everything to Washington in one way or another.
My close friend has offered for me to stay with her until I get on my feet; she doesn’t make a huge income but I have a sizeable savings that could support me for about 1 year. I then started applying for jobs in Seattle, WA while still living in Louisiana…no dice. I’ve applied to countless jobs but never got a single call or e-mail response back…besides the “Sorry this position has been filled”, so I delayed attempting to move. My best friend is still encouraging me to just say screw it and move up to Washington. I have my savings I could lean on while I look for a job in Seattle, WA and hope for the best.
TLDR:
So, just to recap…I’m a 29 year old with 7 years IT background (2 x Related IT Associate Degrees) considering leaving my stable job to move to up Seattle, WA…I will be jobless with my savings and a friend who’s will to put me up…does this sound like a stupid idea? I understand it's a risk but I feel at this point if I don't do something like this now...I may never get a better opportunity to.
Thanks for any advice!
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Intel, Nike, Sales force, Kaiser Permanente, Genentech, Columbia all have huge workforces up here.
Don't move without a job. Big gaps in employment are pretty big hurdles to overcome.
Microsoft just rejiggered their rules on contacting and put a ton of people out of work.
I was unemployed for six weeks and didn't manage to get a single interview before I scored my old job back.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
More seriously... Are you concerned that none of the applications you sent got any response at all? Why are you uninterested in gaining further skills at your current company? If people with similar skills are getting laid off in other parts of the country, then perhaps now is not the time to rest your head against the chopping block.
As for employment gaps, don't worry about that. If employers really don't hire someone with lots of time in between jobs, just make something up. I've been in the same situation and as long as you just put something there, preferably with a reference to back you up, they won't dig any deeper than just making a call.
Getting something in place prior to moving would be the best, obviously, but you have so much in savings that it's not mandatory. Still, even getting a coffee shop job would be better than nothing.
Also the housing market around here sucks, so coming from LA your wallet will cry when you see rent prices.
Have an income of some kind. Pay some bills.
$1k a month isn't bad coming from SoCal.
He's coming from Louisiana, though. It might not be something he assumed.
I am now working remotely for the same company while living in the beautiful city of Seattle. It's still a huge change living in the south and now living somewhere like Seattle but I'm adjusting. I just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and opinions. If anyone wants to make a big change in your life, it's scary but some times the rewards are worth the risks.
Biggest piece of advice: learn to love the Seahawks or at least pretend to do so. It will make your life a lot easier.
Awesome, you won't regret it. And even if you do end up needing to find a new job, it's not that bad here. My wife and I took a year off to travel the world and wanted to live somewhere new when we came back to the states, so we randomly ended up in Seattle. We were able to find a place here quick and while it took a few months we now have better jobs than when we left. Not sure how your company pays, but I've found the average pay is much better here than it was when we lived in Texas. We found a cheap place in upper Queen Anne, what part are you in?
I'm sure someone from Louisiana knows all about adapting to sports fans.
I just moved up here too. Quickly bought a Seahawks shirt to wear on Fridays. Im not a sports fan, but it definitely helps break that new person barrier.
Hey Satan!
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oh trust me, I've learned to fake Sportanese fluently in Louisiana lol. I've never been a huge sports fan and you can quickly find yourself being alienated if you don't "Join in" during the sports talk.
I've moved into the outskirts of the Bellevue Wa area for the time being. I know real estate is an issue, at least that is what I keep hearing from people but I'm going to look into something better later on.