Relocating for jobs? Opinions and thoughts please.

[wj4]

Hi all,

I want to see who's relocated solely for job, and what you have to say about the whole experience. Someone I know recently moved to the Mid West from Los Angeles because of a new job. He landed a job that pays 30% more, and the living expense in the new city is roughly 50% of L.A.'s.

I've been thinking of doing the same sooner or later. Like this person, I'm single with nothing really tying me down. Although I'm acquainted and comfortable with my current location, I feel like it would behoove me to look on a national or international scale to make myself grow as a professional, not to mention gain further cultural awareness.

Thanks in advance

 

[Trompe le Monde]

.

 

[why]

OP: If it's really as you say it is, why would you not?

 

[wj4]



OP: If it's really as you say it is, why would you not?

No big or logical reasons really. I became so used to where I am. I've been living around the area, give or take a few miles since we moved here in 1994.

 

[wj4]



4 times, 2 domestically, 2 internationally
theres almost no downside to it, besides obviously if youre moving to a worse location, or if you have deep familial ties that needs to be uprooted
for me, no brainer -- tons of professional and financial incentives to do so

One of my professors encouraged us to go international at least once just to learn the culture shocks. I think he's done it in 8-10 countries. He said he enjoyed the experiences greatly. The only downside was that he was not able to bring everything he bought back home, and left a good portion at the apartment provided to him.

What countries did you move to if you don't mind me asking? Good pay as well?

I know developing countries are at times offering very aggressive pay, free housing, nannies, the works so it becomes very enticing.

 

[why]



I know developing countries are at times offering very aggressive pay, free housing, nannies, the works so it becomes very enticing.

Usually the 'very aggressive pay' is relative to local salaries.

 

[globetrotter]

I've done it several times, and my dad did it basicaly every year when I was growing up. when you can do it, when you don't have a family, I would do it without thinking too much, it can be a great experience.

now that I have kids, I am trying to stay in the same place for good.

I love the midwest, I love the low cost of living.

 

[wj4]



Usually the 'very aggressive pay' is relative to local salaries.

Many people don't realize how much money it takes to live the superlative lifestyle in a poorer nation. Having an aggressive salary compared to the locals will sadly probably not allow you to live a luxury lifestyle, hehe.

Some of my family members want me to move back home (Thailand), but unless I can earn significantly more over there, I doubt I would. The cost of fine goods (be it cars or clothes) is just too much to afford if you're not truly affluent. I am tempted on moving back temporally though, just to work with my people. I believe the max stay is around 5 years for an international firm.

I've done it several times, and my dad did it basicaly every year when I was growing up. when you can do it, when you don't have a family, I would do it without thinking too much, it can be a great experience.
now that I have kids, I am trying to stay in the same place for good.
I love the midwest, I love the low cost of living.

A couple of my office mates are from Chicago and they love how the low 50s Fahrenheit is super freezing to us. Not that this pertains to the topic, but I saw an episode of House Hunters yesterday, and it featured Chicago. Houses are kinda $$. The couple was looking for a 3 bedroom place, and budget was around $650k. Houses shown were nice, but nothing breathtaking.

I do agree with you that I will be more grounded when I get married and have kids. But I do feel like I'm getting older. I'm turning 27 next month, fellas. Who wants to join me for the early bird special at Denny's? My treat!

Thanks for the inputs so far, gents. Truly appreciate it

 

[Trompe le Monde]



One of my professors encouraged us to go international at least once just to learn the culture shocks. I think he's done it in 8-10 countries. He said he enjoyed the experiences greatly. The only downside was that he was not able to bring everything he bought back home, and left a good portion at the apartment provided to him.
What countries did you move to if you don't mind me asking? Good pay as well?
I know developing countries are at times offering very aggressive pay, free housing, nannies, the works so it becomes very enticing.

yes youre right - there are many perks payable as direct cash compensation including travel allowance, furniture, language schools, reloc bonuses. other things like tax assistance, dont forget increased vacation.

so 2 things should be guaratneed: that you get paid much higher than locals in your equivalent roles, and that you should atleast maintain the same quality of life (purchasing power wise) as the place you move. the notion of relocating is not desirable to many people due to personal and cultural reasons, so the itntl package is always attractive to respect that fact.

one thing to note is how little people get paid, in absolute terms, everywhere in the world. save for norway, australia, and maybe a few other countries. the earnings are much less stratified across different professions; it might be a big surprise of how low your peers are paid, if youre from a high-earning profession. atleast this was true for me in the british aisles and central europe

only thing i personally miss is (1) a car (not conducive to roads/traffic/infrastructure here), (2) access to diversity of good food, (3) and the ability to get anything done at any time... e.g. put a spine on a book at midnight and buying a toenail clipper at 4am. course this depends where youre coming from and going to

 

[wj4]



yes youre right - there are many perks payable as direct cash compensation including travel allowance, furniture, language schools, reloc bonuses. other things like tax assistance, dont forget increased vacation.
so 2 things should be guaratneed: that you get paid much higher than locals in your equivalent roles, and that you should atleast maintain the same quality of life (purchasing power wise) as the place you move. the notion of relocating is not desirable to many people due to personal and cultural reasons, so the itntl package is always attractive to respect that fact.
one thing to note is how little people get paid, in absolute terms, everywhere in the world. save for norway, australia, and maybe a few other countries. the earnings are much less stratified across different professions; it might be a big surprise of how low your peers are paid, if youre from a high-earning profession. atleast this was true for me in the british aisles and central europe
only thing i personally miss is (1) a car (not conducive to roads/traffic/infrastructure here), (2) access to diversity of good food, (3) and the ability to get anything done at any time... e.g. put a spine on a book at midnight and buying a toenail clipper at 4am. course this depends where youre coming from and going to

Where are you at, my friend?

I definitely acknowledge that. Some of the people I talked to back in the homeland don't believe me when I told them a car like a 3 series BMW or C Class Benz is pretty obtainable once you get a bachelor's degree, especially with leasing options. I'm a big car nut, and cars back home are 200-300%. If you have the means to afford a new Honda Accord, you have a decent paying job. I looked at prices fora BMW M3 and super cars, and they are extremely ridiculous. Not factoring in that the roads are jam-packed usually in the first place.

Places like Starbucks are not accessible to a lot of the normal people in many parts of the world because prices are the same, while those respectable professionals make a small fraction of what their counterparts in the U.S. make. Fast food places like McDonald's aren't looked down upon like in the U.S. because they are expensive compared to street food, and the ambiance is quite nice too.

As a kid, I used to really dislike going back to a '3rd world country', but now I wish I had the time to go back and learn more about the differences, haha.

 

[Trompe le Monde]

.

 

[wj4]



im posting from austria. (staying up to watch my alma mater drop their game in the waning minutes).
funny thing about starbucks is that its worshipped as emblematic of the west and its wealth. in turkey, its fashionable to conduct business meetings there :foo:
personally i felt a lot of discomfort going back to 3rd world country owing to the disparity in wealth. having a work lunch at 20$ a head while the restaurant literally next door are serving them at 50 cents a head. that seems all sorts of perverse. and i cant reconcile that in my head.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, my friend. I can probably carry the conversation with you for a while, but perhaps other members will be bored by it, haha.

I agree with your points for sure.

 

[imschatz]

I moved for a job 4 months ago.

Before I moved I would have had to make serious lifestyle changes in order to hit my financial goals. I was also working in an industry I couldn't care less about (doing asset planning for a call centre).

Now .. I've started hitting my financial goals (earning twice as much with marginal increase in living expenses, just bought my first home, now onto investing while continuing to pay down my student loans), and working in my dream industry (electricity generation) for my dream company (Canada's largest publicly traded power company).

It was a no brainier .. I moved within 2 weeks of accepting the job. The whole process from job application to start was 23 days.

Did I make the right decision? I don't know .. But if I had turned it down, and another opportunity never came again .. I would have been one bitter old man.

 

[wj4]

I forgot to ask the biggest and probably silliest question. For someone who has a stable job now, and want to try this...what would be the best way to go about it? Just start applying for positions that the person likes regardless of the location?

 

[Peter1]

You have to consider both the job and the location, unless you really don't care about where you live. I've moved half a dozen times, but always, always to a great place, even if it wasn't an obvious huge vertical step up, career wise. It's a lot harder with kids. We moved to Paris from manhattan this year and its been a huge psychic and financial drain, mostly because of the French bureaucracy.. However we are finally mostly settled and starting to enjoy the city.

Over the past 20 years I've lived in Raleigh, Northern California, Philadelphia, hunterdon county, New York, and now Paris. All amazing places in their own right. As for Thailand, my brother lived in Bangkok for 5 years and loved it -- I found it hard to navigate but I was just visiting.