I want to move to CO in the relatively near future - I'm fairly certain there's some good opportunity there, and I really want a change of scenery in general.
However, I've never moved to another state before as an adult. How do you find and land a job in a place you don't live close enough to for in person interviews? How do you find a place to live if you don't already live nearby?
Any tips or gotchas would be appreciated! Plus, I'd love to hear your stories on how the journey went, what worked and what didn't, and if you're pleased with the move!
Top comments (4)
My wife and I did a cross-state move about 10 years ago, and while it was stressful and more difficult than a local move, it was not horrible. Honestly today it's probably easier now than it was then.
Most tech companies today should be willing and able to either fly you in for face to face interviews or hold them over skype or some other video conferencing system.
Housing is can be tricky, but with all the apartments and housing sites available today, it's doable. I would recommend researching crime stats for the various neighborhoods you are interested in as well as reviews and ratings for the towns/neighborhoods online to see if the culture and feel of the area is what you are looking for as well as the cost of living and general availability of what you need.
Also, if you do start getting serious about a position with a specific company (or even just during/after interviews) you can ask the interviewers about what areas of town the employees generally live in. You could even ask about what areas are good or bad just to get some local opinions.
It was the toughest move we've done, but the most rewarding. Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback! I'm finding the researching hardest to do, honestly - it just gets overwhelming! Gonna keep at it, though. :)
Yes! My wife and I have lived in three states in the last dozen years. We lived in NY, then SC, and finally GA in the Atlanta metro area.
When it comes to finding a job or opportunity, look for local groups with your same interests. I joined a Linux Users group in South Carolina before moving there, and met a ton of great people, virtually. When I finally moved to SC, it was in the Columbia area, not upstate where my new virtual friends were. I kept in touch with many of them, in fact they started the SouthEast Linux Fest, and I was able to attend a few times and meet some of them in person!
My move to Atlanta from SC was facilitated by conversations in the group.
Visit the new state as much as you can. We went on a trip to Atlanta, did some touristy stuff, and fell in love with the city. We now live 30 miles outside but still in the metro area.
Real Estate - my wife is a guru, it's really kind of fun for her, like an extreme hobby. She loves looking at houses and has a ton of real estate contacts. At one point we bought/sold three different houses in a year.
Many variables come from your own situation. My wife and I have no kids but had three cats at one point. When we were in between houses, we had to find an apartment which would accommodate three indoor pets. We did end up finding one. We also never spent more than a few months in any apartment. We were not afraid to break a lease. We often spent $1000 only to earn or save many times that somewhere else in a short time frame. The apartment with the three cats, we were there for two months, and gave our notice to move out the day we moved in.
Also, is remote work possible? I met my wife on a BBS 25 years ago. We were big into IRC and had hundreds of friends across the globe. To say we're good at making "virtual friends" and cooperating remotely, well that's an understatement. Today most of my work is done remotely in the middle of the night. Planning and preparation are done during the day, during "normal business hours".
Overall we're happy but we're still looking for our next big thing, and I wouldn't be surprised if we relocated again.
Thanks for sharing! Looking for local to the area groups is something I hadn't thought of - I'll have to look into that!