Relocation a Good Idea for me?

[brookline]

Hi Cimorene:
Thanks for your replies. I may end up doing what you are suggesting which is to simply send out resumes and see where the bites come back. My usual preference is to have a plan and execute on it. Flooding the southeastern US with resumes seems daunting.

I consider a big city to be anyplace as large or larger than Boston where I live now. I have gone cash only but my wife does not seem to understand that a mortgage is debt like a student loan or credit card expense. That is a problem for us. When you say we are not in a hole, that is comforting. Is it correct to say we are fine in a low cost of living area but in trouble in a big city?
I would prefer not to move (weather aside) with family ties and such. However, I have 2 little kids that need to be supported and live in a low stress household. Thus, I am looking at drastic solutions. My wife's job loss does give us some extra freedom to make radical choices.

[Chad]

I live in the DC area. Yes, it is expensive, and has grown even more so recently. Doable if you are single, have one other and are willing to live in small spaces.

If you have kids its way more of a challenge. You won't find decent daycare here that would make sense for both of you to work unless you both make upwards of $80K each (est.) Not a good place to raise a family on a budget, because you usually end up with really long commutes. My DW decided to "retire" after our third given all of the financial and logistical complications. Would one of you be willing to stop working now?

You are correct its very job friendly -- lots of work here, especially for government contractors in technical and IT fields. But you would have to plan very carefully. Otherwise you end up with 2-hour commutes and never see your kids.

Hi Dragline,
Thanks for your response. What you are saying is what I would be very concerned about moving to DC. I find a job that pays well but daycare remains a crushing cost. I would not mind the SAHP option for myself but my wife gets really anxious where money is involved. It would be easier to work. She has said she would like to stay home but I do not see her doing that happily.

Another option would be to look at the Beltway Bandits (Lockheed, Northrop, RAND, Bechtel, etc.). They all have major operations outside the DC area and in cheaper locales. It's quite possible they have positions in those locations.

[brookline]

Another option would be to look at the Beltway Bandits (Lockheed, Northrop, RAND, Bechtel, etc.). They all have major operations outside the DC area and in cheaper locales. It's quite possible they have positions in those locations.

Hi Chad,
Thanks for the tip. In my current line of work I need employers that are big.Those places are certainly the right size for me.

[George the original one]

> Is it correct to say we are fine in a low cost of living area but in trouble in a big city?

$500k home equity... in most parts of the USA, you can buy a nice home suitable for a largish family for that amount and probably have leftover monies.

[Chad]

Another city to look at would be Baltimore. A little smaller than Boston, but it's basically part of one big city that runs from Boston to DC. It has all the major government contractors and is much closer to Dallas prices than DC prices.

Also, it's a cheap train ride back to Boston to visit friends or relatives. Just something to consider.

[brookline]

Another city to look at would be Baltimore. A little smaller than Boston, but it's basically part of one big city that runs from Boston to DC. It has all the major government contractors and is much closer to Dallas prices than DC prices.

Also, it's a cheap train ride back to Boston to visit friends or relatives. Just something to consider.

Hi Chad,
Thanks for the tip. I have some medical issues and imagine Johns Hopkins to be a top-notch hospital,

[brookline]

My usual preference is to have a plan and execute on it. Flooding the southeastern US with resumes seems daunting.

I consider a big city to be anyplace as large or larger than Boston where I live now.

I would prefer not to move (weather aside) with family ties and such. However, I have 2 little kids that need to be supported and live in a low stress household. Thus, I am looking at drastic solutions. My wife's job loss does give us some extra freedom to make radical choices.

Your plan right now involves shooting out resumes. It's a plan, and you can execute it. It's market research. But don't worry - you aren't going to wallpaper SE US with your resume.

The good news with your criterion of being in a city as large as Boston or larger cuts everything down to a much more manageable list than anywhere in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_U ... ical_Areas

• New York
  Los Angeles
  Chicago
  Dallas
  Houston
  Philadelphia
  DC
  Miami
  Atlanta
  San Francisco
  Phoenix

Of those options (and other people can chime in with their input), I'd say that it's possible to live reasonably well with 2 kids in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Phoenix. Jacob lives in Chicago, which shows that it can be done. He also lived in San Francisco, but the rent is exploding over there; I doubt (from the very little I know of your wife) that she would be amenable to living in an RV, as Jacob did.

Houston and Dallas are listed as good big cities to go to for jobs in 2014. http://www.forbes.com/pictures/edgl45gf ... -division/
In your shoes, I'd probably move to Texas. Housing is much cheaper than it is in other metro areas. Tyler Cowen said in his TIME cover article that $300,000 will buy you:

• 210 sq ft loft, 1 bath in San Francisco
  492 sq ft 1 bed, 1 bath in Brooklyn
  604 sq ft 1 bed, 1 bath in Arlington, Virginia (DC metro)
  900 sq ft 1 bed, 1 bath in Chicago
  3,052 sq ft 4 bed, 3 bath in Austin

$300,000 for a house seems reasonable. A very quick search on Zillow turned up many acceptable houses for a family your size for $300,000 or less in Dallas.

(I can't help elsewhere - I only know that Atlanta has grown substantially in the past decade, and Phoenix is a place of urban sprawl - so are Dallas and Houston, though.)

Hi Cimorene,
You really consolidated things! Atlanta is the most appealing big city on that list for me (it is warm and we have been there). I have read it is a hostile environment for commuter cyclists. Austin is an interesting option. Those housing prices are amazing. It is warm and supposed to be tolerable for commuter cyclists. I have read that rest of the state is tough for cyclists (even if Lance is from Texas .

[brookline]

> Is it correct to say we are fine in a low cost of living area but in trouble in a big city?

$500k home equity... in most parts of the USA, you can buy a nice home suitable for a largish family for that amount and probably have leftover monies.

Hi George,
Thanks for your response. It is good to know that cheaper options exist. Where we live now, some condos sell deeded parking spaces for $500,000 or more.

[brookline]

Another option would be to look at the Beltway Bandits (Lockheed, Northrop, RAND, Bechtel, etc.). They all have major operations outside the DC area and in cheaper locales. It's quite possible they have positions in those locations.

Hi Chad.
I am open to working for them outside of DC. Are you thinking of say the Northern VA DC suburbs or just elsewhere in the US? I am hoping for a cluster of big employers in one area.

[Chad]

Another option would be to look at the Beltway Bandits (Lockheed, Northrop, RAND, Bechtel, etc.). They all have major operations outside the DC area and in cheaper locales. It's quite possible they have positions in those locations.

Hi Chad.
I am open to working for them outside of DC. Are you thinking of say the Northern VA DC suburbs or just elsewhere in the US? I am hoping for a cluster of big employers in one area.

NOVA (northern Virginia) is not any cheaper than DC. Though, the big contractors are obviously there. I'm thinking more like Baltimore, Richmond, Columbus (OH), etc. Bechtel has a lot of operations in Columbus, while Lockheed and Northrop have operations all over the place. There is no one non-DC area to look at. I would search by specific company and type of job, and then determine if the location met your needs. I'm not sure that any place other than the DC area, except maybe Baltimore has a big cluster of the Bandits.

[brookline]

> Is it correct to say we are fine in a low cost of living area but in trouble in a big city?

$500k home equity... in most parts of the USA, you can buy a nice home suitable for a largish family for that amount and probably have leftover monies.

Hi George,
Thanks for your response. That is encouraging!

[Dragline]

You might find this useful on the housing side -- at least for relative comparisons:

http://www.wtop.com/1415/3625800/You-ne ... own-a-home

Note that Boston and DC are pretty similar on this score.

[brookline]

You might find this useful on the housing side -- at least for relative comparisons:

http://www.wtop.com/1415/3625800/You-ne ... own-a-home

Note that Boston and DC are pretty similar on this score.

Hi Dragline,
Thanks for posting the article. It is interesting to see that Baltimore's prices are so much lower than DC's prices. I wonder if the Baltimore suburbs are also inexpensive. Of course, while I love my hometown of Boston, it is dismaying to see just how high housing prices are in this area.

[simple aly]

I live in DC metro. I would have the job in hand first and then evaluate. Everything is expensive here. You can't even go to Chinatown here for cheap food and goods because the Chinatown was taken over by expensive yuppie-serving stores.

Also DC is crawling with 22 year olds from [insert prestigious liberal arts college here] and any number of them will work for free or $10 per hour. So you would want to be looking at jobs where you wouldn't be competing with that segment. As in, not a technical writer or any writing that a 22 year old from Princeton can pick up in three days.

That being said, when you start getting interviews and offers you'll be able to evaluate better. If you can get a good job DC has a lot to offer and there are cheaper places to live here. Well, cheaper than Bethesda or Penn Quarter anyway. Either a bit further out, near or beyond the Beltway, or in an "up and coming" area.

[CactusSurfer]

First of all, the rumors about the DC being incredibly expensive, having awful traffic, and having lots of money/jobs floating around are completely true. Even if you do make more money, everything (housing, food, child care) is pricier. Then again, you mentioned your wife had a somewhat shakey job history--depending on what she does, she might have an easier time finding a job in DC than elsewhere.

Also, some of the big government contractors others have mentioned with a major presence in the area have had sizable layoffs the past couple of years--I don't know how much that affects their proposal development, though. These contractors also tend to have operations all over the country, as others have mentioned. Have you found anything like what you're looking for in greater Boston?

[brookline]

First of all, the rumors about the DC being incredibly expensive, having awful traffic, and having lots of money/jobs floating around are completely true. Even if you do make more money, everything (housing, food, child care) is pricier. Then again, you mentioned your wife had a somewhat shakey job history--depending on what she does, she might have an easier time finding a job in DC than elsewhere.

Also, some of the big government contractors others have mentioned with a major presence in the area have had sizable layoffs the past couple of years--I don't know how much that affects their proposal development, though. These contractors also tend to have operations all over the country, as others have mentioned. Have you found anything like what you're looking for in greater Boston?

Hi Larry,
Thanks for your thoughtful response. This is helpful information. Boston has a very few federal contractors in fields where I would be (here at least) relatively employable. One of them has 1 or 2 proposal positions they would likely want to phase out, another pays stingily, and another 2 pay generously but work their proposal writers to death. I have little kids and medical issues so the latter 2 would bad fits. There are some other contractors but I would be a very bad fit with them for reasons of skill set or corporate culture.

[brookline]

I live in DC metro. I would have the job in hand first and then evaluate. Everything is expensive here. You can't even go to Chinatown here for cheap food and goods because the Chinatown was taken over by expensive yuppie-serving stores.

Also DC is crawling with 22 year olds from [insert prestigious liberal arts college here] and any number of them will work for free or $10 per hour. So you would want to be looking at jobs where you wouldn't be competing with that segment. As in, not a technical writer or any writing that a 22 year old from Princeton can pick up in three days.

That being said, when you start getting interviews and offers you'll be able to evaluate better. If you can get a good job DC has a lot to offer and there are cheaper places to live here. Well, cheaper than Bethesda or Penn Quarter anyway. Either a bit further out, near or beyond the Beltway, or in an "up and coming" area.

Hi Simple Aly,
Thanks for a really helpful response. I hope I am not competing against 22 year old recent Ivy League graduates. Boston is loaded with people from that demographic. I will probably send down some test resumes (for a lack of a better term) to get a sense of market interest in the next couple months. But if prices are really bad, I will look elsewhere. A prior poster above mentioned remote work. I definitely want to look into that. If I could pull in $70,000 working remotely in a low cost of living area that has a coast, some culture and attractions, good schools for the kids, and is bicycle friendly, I would be moving on quickly.